Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Aldous Huxley Novelist

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United Kingdom
  • Born: Jul 26, 1894
  • Died: Nov 22, 1963

Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer, philosopher and a prominent member of the Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World, set in a dystopian London, The Doors of Perception, which recalls experiences when taking a psychedelic drug, and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel writing, film stories and scripts. He spent the later part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death.

Huxley was a humanist, pacifist, and satirist. He became deeply concerned that humans might become subjugated through the sophisticated use of the mass media or mood-altering drugs, or tragically affected by misunderstanding or the misapplication of increasingly sophisticated technology.

Huxley later became interested in spiritual subjects such as parapsychology and philosophical mysticism, in particular, Universalism. He is also well known for his use of psychedelic drugs. By the end of his life, Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent intellectuals of his time.

Proverbs are always platitudes until you have personally experienced the truth of them. truth

All gods are homemade, and it is we who pull their strings, and so, give them the power to pull ours. power

Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are dead. nature

Experience teaches only the teachable. experience

I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself. change

What is absurd and monstrous about war is that men who have no personal quarrel should be trained to murder one another in cold blood. men & war

Specialized meaninglessness has come to be regarded, in certain circles, as a kind of hallmark of true science. science

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. travel

Science has explained nothing the more we know the more fantastic the world becomes and the profounder the surrounding darkness. science

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards. technology

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad. truth

An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by a thrilling lie. truth

There isn't any formula or method. You learn to love by loving - by paying attention and doing what one thereby discovers has to be done. love

There is something curiously boring about somebody else's happiness. happiness

A man may be a pessimistic determinist before lunch and an optimistic believer in the will's freedom after it. freedom

A bad book is as much of a labor to write as a good one, it comes as sincerely from the author's soul. good

Thought must be divided against itself before it can come to any knowledge of itself. knowledge

Like every man of sense and good feeling, I abominate work. good & work

The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude. religion

There's only one effectively redemptive sacrifice, the sacrifice of self-will to make room for the knowledge of God. God & knowledge

Man approaches the unattainable truth through a succession of errors. truth

That all men are equal is a proposition to which, at ordinary times, no sane human being has ever given his assent. men

Sons have always a rebellious wish to be disillusioned by that which charmed their fathers. dad

What we feel and think and are is to a great extent determined by the state of our ductless glands and viscera. great

Experience is not what happens to you it's what you do with what happens to you. experience & wisdom

Everyone who wants to do good to the human race always ends in universal bullying. good

It's with bad sentiments that one makes good novels. good

Men do not learn much from the lessons of history and that is the most important of all the lessons of history. history & men

Cynical realism is the intelligent man's best excuse for doing nothing in an intolerable situation. best

Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions it's walled and roofed with them. Yes, and furnished too. good

Happiness is a hard master, particularly other people's happiness. happiness

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. music

To his dog, every man is Napoleon hence the constant popularity of dogs. pet

De Sade is the one completely consistent and thoroughgoing revolutionary of history. history

We are all geniuses up to the age of ten. age

Dream in a pragmatic way. dreams

The worst enemy of life, freedom and the common decencies is total anarchy their second worst enemy is total efficiency. freedom

Idealism is the noble toga that political gentlemen drape over their will to power. power

The impulse to cruelty is, in many people, almost as violent as the impulse to sexual love - almost as violent and much more mischievous. love

So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly arise and make them miserable. men

The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which mean never losing your enthusiasm. age

That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. history & men

Beauty is worse than wine, it intoxicates both the holder and beholder. beauty

People intoxicate themselves with work so they won't see how they really are. work

Man is an intelligence in servitude to his organs. intelligence