tiny thoughts https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/ the micro-blog version of “Taking Thoughts Captive” with brief quotes, fleeting thoughts, and other ephemera from the cutting room floor... Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:39:59 +0000 https://i.snap.as/UXJnxT10.ico tiny thoughts https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/ "To be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day,... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/to-be-nobody-but-yourself-in-a-world-which-is-doing-its-best-night-and-day?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["To be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else—means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." -- E.E. Cummings, "A Poet's Advice to Students"]]> “To be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else—means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”

— E.E. Cummings, “A Poet's Advice to Students”

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/to-be-nobody-but-yourself-in-a-world-which-is-doing-its-best-night-and-day Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:01:00 +0000 "We do not seek the favor of men by our doctrine, for we teach that all men are... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/we-do-not-seek-the-favor-of-men-by-our-doctrine-for-we-teach-that-all-men-are?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["We do not seek the favor of men by our doctrine, for we teach that all men are ungodly by nature and are children of wrath. We condemn the free will of man, his strength, wisdom, righteousness, and all religion of man’s own devising (religionem voluntariam). In short, we say that there is nothing whatever in us that serves to merit grace and the remission of sins. But we preach that we obtain this grace only and merely by the mercy of God for Christ’s sake….This surely is not preaching to please men and the world; for nothing can more deeply and bitterly irritate the world than then condemnation of its wisdom, righteousness, religion, and power….So we, with Paul, most confidently and certainly pronounce accursed all doctrine that does not agree with ours; for by our preaching we are seeking neither the applause of men nor the favor of princes and bishops but the favor of God alone. His grace and gift alone we preach, despising and condemning, whatever is of ourselves." -- Martin Luther, Galatians Commentary, 1531]]> “We do not seek the favor of men by our doctrine, for we teach that all men are ungodly by nature and are children of wrath. We condemn the free will of man, his strength, wisdom, righteousness, and all religion of man’s own devising (religionem voluntariam). In short, we say that there is nothing whatever in us that serves to merit grace and the remission of sins. But we preach that we obtain this grace only and merely by the mercy of God for Christ’s sake….This surely is not preaching to please men and the world; for nothing can more deeply and bitterly irritate the world than then condemnation of its wisdom, righteousness, religion, and power….So we, with Paul, most confidently and certainly pronounce accursed all doctrine that does not agree with ours; for by our preaching we are seeking neither the applause of men nor the favor of princes and bishops but the favor of God alone. His grace and gift alone we preach, despising and condemning, whatever is of ourselves.”

— Martin Luther, Galatians Commentary, 1531

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/we-do-not-seek-the-favor-of-men-by-our-doctrine-for-we-teach-that-all-men-are Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:23:38 +0000 “I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus & Thucydides, for Newton &... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/i-have-given-up-newspapers-in-exchange-for-tacitus-and-thucydides-for-newton-and?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[“I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus & Thucydides, for Newton & Euclid; & I find myself much the happier.” -- Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 21 January 21, 1812 ]]> “I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus & Thucydides, for Newton & Euclid; & I find myself much the happier.”

— Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 21 January 21, 1812

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/i-have-given-up-newspapers-in-exchange-for-tacitus-and-thucydides-for-newton-and Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:23:46 +0000 "If we think of it, all that a University, or final highest School can do for... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/if-we-think-of-it-all-that-a-university-or-final-highest-school-can-do-for?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["If we think of it, all that a University, or final highest School can do for us, is still but what the first School began doing, — teach us to read." — Thomas Carlyle, “The Hero as Man of Letters” (1840)]]> “If we think of it, all that a University, or final highest School can do for us, is still but what the first School began doing, — teach us to read.”

— Thomas Carlyle, “The Hero as Man of Letters” (1840)

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/if-we-think-of-it-all-that-a-university-or-final-highest-school-can-do-for Tue, 15 Sep 2026 20:39:45 +0000 "The Writer of a Book, is not he a Preacher preaching not to this parish or... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/the-writer-of-a-book-is-not-he-a-preacher-preaching-not-to-this-parish-or?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["The Writer of a Book, is not he a Preacher preaching not to this parish or that, on this day or that, but to all men in all times and places?" -- Thomas Carlyle, "The Hero as Man of Letters" (1840)]]> “The Writer of a Book, is not he a Preacher preaching not to this parish or that, on this day or that, but to all men in all times and places?”

— Thomas Carlyle, “The Hero as Man of Letters” (1840)

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/the-writer-of-a-book-is-not-he-a-preacher-preaching-not-to-this-parish-or Tue, 15 Sep 2026 20:38:26 +0000 "Certainly the Art of Writing is the most miraculous of all things man has... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/certainly-the-art-of-writing-is-the-most-miraculous-of-all-things-man-has?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["Certainly the Art of Writing is the most miraculous of all things man has devised. Odin's Runes were the first form of the work of a Hero; Books written words, are still miraculous Runes, the latest form! In Books lies the soul of the whole Past Time; the articulate audible voice of the Past, when the body and material substance of it has altogether vanished like a dream. Mighty fleets and armies, harbors and arsenals, vast cities, high-domed, many-engined, — they are precious, great: but what do they become? Agamemnon, the many Agamemnons, Pericleses, and their Greece; all is gone now to some ruined fragments, dumb mournful wrecks and blocks: but the Books of Greece! There Greece, to every thinker, still very literally lives: can be called up again into life. No magic Rune is stranger than a Book. All that Mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of Books. They are the chosen possession of men." -- Thomas Carlyle, "The Hero as Man of Letters" (1840)]]> “Certainly the Art of Writing is the most miraculous of all things man has devised. Odin's Runes were the first form of the work of a Hero; Books written words, are still miraculous Runes, the latest form! In Books lies the soul of the whole Past Time; the articulate audible voice of the Past, when the body and material substance of it has altogether vanished like a dream. Mighty fleets and armies, harbors and arsenals, vast cities, high-domed, many-engined, — they are precious, great: but what do they become? Agamemnon, the many Agamemnons, Pericleses, and their Greece; all is gone now to some ruined fragments, dumb mournful wrecks and blocks: but the Books of Greece! There Greece, to every thinker, still very literally lives: can be called up again into life. No magic Rune is stranger than a Book. All that Mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of Books. They are the chosen possession of men.”

— Thomas Carlyle, “The Hero as Man of Letters” (1840)

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/certainly-the-art-of-writing-is-the-most-miraculous-of-all-things-man-has Tue, 15 Sep 2026 20:37:09 +0000 "Political language — and with variations this is true of all political... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/political-language-and-with-variations-this-is-true-of-all-political-parties?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." -- George Orwell]]> “Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”

— George Orwell

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/political-language-and-with-variations-this-is-true-of-all-political-parties Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:02:48 +0000 “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/the-best-people-possess-a-feeling-for-beauty-the-courage-to-take-risks-the?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[“The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.” -- Ernest Hemingway]]> “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.”

— Ernest Hemingway

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/the-best-people-possess-a-feeling-for-beauty-the-courage-to-take-risks-the Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:52:05 +0000 "Nowadays, the moronic youth to whom movies are marketed prefer the visible to... https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/nowadays-the-moronic-youth-to-whom-movies-are-marketed-prefer-the-visible-to?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["Nowadays, the moronic youth to whom movies are marketed prefer the visible to exceed reality—ergo the endless car-chases, explosions, and sci-fi fantasies. An intelligent film is as rare as a non-swearing teenager; being able to quote Breaking Bad’s best bits is the new measure of cultural refinement. With few exceptions, the quality of screen-writing, acting, and directing is now abysmal." -- Taki Theodoracopulos, from "Hollywood's War on America"]]> “Nowadays, the moronic youth to whom movies are marketed prefer the visible to exceed reality—ergo the endless car-chases, explosions, and sci-fi fantasies. An intelligent film is as rare as a non-swearing teenager; being able to quote Breaking Bad’s best bits is the new measure of cultural refinement. With few exceptions, the quality of screen-writing, acting, and directing is now abysmal.”

— Taki Theodoracopulos, from “Hollywood's War on America”

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/nowadays-the-moronic-youth-to-whom-movies-are-marketed-prefer-the-visible-to Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:22:25 +0000 "We can’t crucify beauty without steadily walking into hell. https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/we-cant-crucify-beauty-without-steadily-walking-into-hell?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA["We can’t crucify beauty without steadily walking into hell. Every time we walk the dog we are surrounded by hints of the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s a big thought to swim into. One of the ways we can practice being saintly is to notice that sort of grace. The more we abide in it, the more folks around us start to notice. This is one of the attributes that used to define saints; you glimpse more of the Kingdom of Heaven around them. They are literally an eye-opener." -- Martin Shaw, Liturgies of the Wild: Myths That Make Us]]> “We can’t crucify beauty without steadily walking into hell. Every time we walk the dog we are surrounded by hints of the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s a big thought to swim into. One of the ways we can practice being saintly is to notice that sort of grace. The more we abide in it, the more folks around us start to notice. This is one of the attributes that used to define saints; you glimpse more of the Kingdom of Heaven around them. They are literally an eye-opener.”

— Martin Shaw, Liturgies of the Wild: Myths That Make Us

]]> https://tiny.takingthoughtscaptive.org/we-cant-crucify-beauty-without-steadily-walking-into-hell Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:27:31 +0000