History fades into fable, fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy, the inscription molders from the tablet, the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns, arches, pyramids — what are they but heaps of sand, and their epitaphs but characters written in the dust? —Washington Irving More about this quote Tags: history memory myth Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
When ideas go unexamined and unchallenged for a long enough time, certain things happen. They become mythological, and they become very, very powerful. They create conformity. They intimidate. —E. L. Doctorow More about this quote Tags: power ideas myth conformity Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Heroes are created by popular demand, sometimes out of the scantiest materials, or none at all. —Gerald W. Johnson More about this quote Tags: heroism myth popularity hero worship Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
True myths may serve for thousands of years as an inexhaustible source of intellectual speculation, religious joy, ethical inquiry, and artistic renewal. The real mystery is not destroyed by reason. The fake one is. You look at it and it vanishes. You look at the Blond Hero — really look — and he turns into a gerbil. But you look at Apollo, and he looks back at you. The poet Rilke looked at a statue of Apollo about fifty years ago, and Apollo spoke to him. "You must change your life," he said. When the true myth rises into consciousness, that is always its message: "You must change your life. —Ursula K. Le Guin More about this quote Tags: life religion change myth mystery art reason consciousness reflection inquiry Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
To explain why we become attached to our birthplaces, we pretend that we are trees and speak of "roots." Look under your feet. You will not find gnarled growths sprouting through the soles. Roots, I sometimes think, are a conservative myth, designed to keep us in our places. —Salman Rushdie More about this quote Tags: myth home conservative place roots Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
The American myth that anyone who works hard will get ahead, and that wealth accumulation is a product of individual effort and merit, is no longer sustainable. —Manning Marable More about this quote Tags: myth USA wealth accumulation Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email