"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
Charles Mackay, "Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness Of Crowds " (1841)
[Of Vexen:] "The ability to abandon the well trodden path is genius if you can see the cliff edge, but it is insanity if you can't. Learn to be a bit more pedestrian in your approach to learning"
Dr Allen (form tutor), 1996-Spring
"[Vexen] would be well advised to follow accepted traditions of studying and behavior. Not even he can run before he can walk"
A.J. Saddler, Headmaster, 1996-Spring
"Words are magical and potent... use them effectively"
Blanche Barton, High Priestess of the Church of Satan
Church of Satan website
"Verily, I have done this thing and that for sufferers, but ever meseemed I did a better thing when I learned how to rejoice. Since ever man was he hath too little rejoiced.
This only, my brethren, is our original sin! And when we learn better to rejoice we best forget how to hurt others and to contrive pain."
Nietzsche, "Thus Spake Zarathustra" p87 (Italics are mine)
"Dearly beloved, never forget, when you hear anyone vaunt the progress of enlightenment, that the Devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist!"
Charles Baudelaire
"No second gone comes ever again take heed and see ye do nothing in vain"
Inscription upon an Archway off Oxford Street in London
"The valour of [a hero] can only be proved by their fighting against tremendous and terrifying adversaries, with the universe crashing about them, the sun darkened, the stars falling from their places, flames playing against the sky itself, the earth sinking into the sea. Fate can put men and women into positions whence it seems impossible for them to emerge with honour. They are judged by their choice, still more, perhaps, by the steadfastness with which they carry out their chosen aim"
http://iws.ccccd.edu/andrade/britlit/beowulf/religion.html
"Small minds are much distressed by little things.
Great minds see them all but are not upset by them."
Francois de La Rochefoucauld, French author & moralist (1613 - 1680)
"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), USA first lady, wife of Franklin Roosevelt.
[To Vexen] "So, I see you as having a similar spirit as Francis...but you've developed it independently, on your own. What you've said about simplicity...the simple things...is right in line with Francis. Your enjoyment of simple clothes and food. You're perpetual happiness. The fact that you don't care what other people think. You have a natural inclination towards "peace" I've noticed...like in your approach to your Satanist mailing list...and the fact that you were open and able to get along with me...a Christian. Your dislike and ability to remove yourself from societal/cultural influences. Your ability to see the wisdom in animals/nature and take lessons from them."
Empiress to Vexen, spring 2001 used on essay "Francis and Vexen"
"AntiChrist Superstar is [... about] what everybody feels in their hearts but is too afraid to say. It's honest. It's not picking on any one person, it's picking on everybody including myself. We're all hypocrites, but by admitting it, you transcend it and it no longer becomes a personality defect as it is in the people who blindly cling to their own self-righteousness. By knowing all this, you grow from it. I've grown from it."
Marilyn Manson, "The long hard road out of hell" Plexus Publishing Ltd 1998, p261
"[A slave who was part of a revolt] was burnt [, he was] made to sit on the ground [...] chained to an iron stake, the fire was applied to his feet. He uttered not a groan, and saw his legs reduced to ashes with the utmost firmness and composure; after which, one of his arms by some means getting loose, he snatched a brand from the fire that was consuming him, and flung it in the face of the executioner."
"History of Slavery" by Susanne Everett, p84
