L.E. Flinders Quotes

“Change is always a scary thing. We try to imagine various scenarios to prepare ourselves, like Jacob did with his hypotheticals. But when you find yourself in circumstances that you never thought possible, even if frequently imagined, when the consequences of those impossible, fantasy-tinted circumstances become real, it can be paralyzing.”

“Political cynicism, disengagement, democratic decadence — call it what you will — is too often an excuse for physical and intellectual laziness.”

“Is it possible that we ‘hate’ politics because we have forgotten its specific and limited nature, its overwhelming value, and also its innate fragility? Could it be that our expectations are so high that politics appears almost destined to disappoint? Democratic politics cannot make ‘every sad heart glad’, as Crick argued, nor did it ever promise to do so. But not always getting what you want, an awareness that public governance is often slow and bureaucratic, a frustration that some decisions are hard to understand or have to be made in secret, disbelief and anger at the selfinterested behaviour of a small number of politicians, and an acceptance that some people will always take out more from the system than they put in—these are the prices you pay for living in a democracy.”

“Is it possible thatwe ‘hate’ politics because we have forgotten its specifi c and limitednature, its overwhelming value, and also its innate fragility? Could it bethat our expectations are so high that politics appears almost destinedto disappoint? Democratic politics cannot make ‘every sad heart glad’,as Crick argued, nor did it ever promise to do so. But not alwaysgetting what you want, an awareness that public governance is oftenslow and bureaucratic, a frustration that some decisions are hard tounderstand or have to be made in secret, disbelief and anger at the selfinterestedbehaviour of a small number of politicians, and an acceptancethat some people will always take out more from the system thanthey put in—these are the prices you pay for living in a democracy.”

“Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.”

“Le vin est la gaieté, dit-on ; comment cet océan de vin qui submerge la commune de Bercy n’égaye-t-il pas un peu ces navrants paysages ? Tout Bacchus est là ; Bacchus, chanté avec tant de constance par nos poètes ébriolants. Bacchus ne peut-il rasséréner ces horizons en deuil ? ou faut-il croire que Bacchus lui-même, ennemi de l’eau, est incommodé par le voisinage de la rivière ?”

“Quand on parle des vices d’un homme, si on vous dit : “Tout le monde le dit” ne le croyez pas ; si l’on parle de ses vertus en vous disant encore : “Tout le monde le dit”, croyez-le.”

“Sonnez, grelots; sonnez, clochettes; sonnez, cloches!Car mon rêve impossible a pris corps et je l’aiEntre mes bras pressé : le Bonheur, cet ailéVoyageur qui de l’Homme évite les approches,- Sonnez grelots; sonnez, clochettes, sonnez, cloches!Le Bonheur a marché côte à côte avec moi;Mais la FATALITÉ ne connaît point de trêve :Le ver est dans le fruit, le réveil dans le rêve,Et le remords est dans l’amour : telle est la loi.- Le Bonheur a marché côte à côte avec moi.”

“Le spectacle est le mauvais rêve de la société moderne enchaînée, qui n'exprime finalement que son désir de dormir. Le spectacle est le gardien de ce sommeil.”

“I am well placed to know that Le Pen is not an anti-Semite. If one considers his life seriously... a man who went to fight with the Israelis in '56! Many times, he tried to better the party's relationship with the Jewish community, even though I do not like the term.”