August 29th, 2009 / 6:33 pm
Power Quote

Power Quote: William Hazlitt (for Blake)

dick-cheney

Nature seems (the more we look into it) made up of antipathies: without something to hate, we should lose the very spring of thought and action. Life would turn to a stagnant pool, were it not ruffled by the jarring interests, the unruly passions, of men. The white streak in our own fortunes is brightened (or just rendered visible by making all around it as dark as possible; so the rainbow paints its form upon the cloud. Is it pride? Is it envy? Is it the force of contrast? Is it weakness or malice? But so it is, that there is a secret affinity, a hankering after, evil in the human mind, and that it takes a perverse, but a fortunate delight in mischief, since it is a never-failing source of satisfaction. Pure good soon grows insipid, wants variety and spirit. Pain is a bittersweet, wants variety and spirit. Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust: hatred alone is immortal.

“On the Pleasure of Hating”

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10 Comments

  1. michael james

      “without something to hate, we should lose the very spring of thought and action. ”

      Well that’s a blatant lie. If not a lie, than a blatant untruth. I’ve come to realize that nature adjusts to whatever situation its in. And let’s say we lived in a world without hate, without this proclivity to mischief or evil or etc, we would adapt to move into thought and action. (this is based on if his theory is true).

      But let’s say he spoke too strongly. That he meant more so ‘something to dislike’. Then I could agree. As hate is a burning, a vomiting reaction, while dislike is more of a bad taste and a spitout.

  2. michael james

      “without something to hate, we should lose the very spring of thought and action. ”

      Well that’s a blatant lie. If not a lie, than a blatant untruth. I’ve come to realize that nature adjusts to whatever situation its in. And let’s say we lived in a world without hate, without this proclivity to mischief or evil or etc, we would adapt to move into thought and action. (this is based on if his theory is true).

      But let’s say he spoke too strongly. That he meant more so ‘something to dislike’. Then I could agree. As hate is a burning, a vomiting reaction, while dislike is more of a bad taste and a spitout.

  3. Janey Smith

      I love to hate.

  4. Janey Smith

      I love to hate.

  5. Blake Butler

      i like dat

  6. Blake Butler

      i like dat

  7. Gian

      Beautiful quote, Just.

  8. Gian

      Beautiful quote, Just.

  9. rachel

      How about:

      Where humanity least imposes itself, the greatest amount of variety is found.

      Nothing has destroyed Earth’s bounty like human’s passionate desire to prove its own talents.

      Pure good is an acceptance of and delight in one another, the only act which perpetuates us. Hatred lasts as long as its flames are offered food.

  10. rachel

      How about:

      Where humanity least imposes itself, the greatest amount of variety is found.

      Nothing has destroyed Earth’s bounty like human’s passionate desire to prove its own talents.

      Pure good is an acceptance of and delight in one another, the only act which perpetuates us. Hatred lasts as long as its flames are offered food.