Read Discourses and Selected Writings for Free Online Page A

arguments that will change his mind. [2] This is proof neither of his own strength nor of his teacher’s weakness. When someone caught in an argument hardens to stone, there is just no more reasoning with them.
    [3] Now, a person can suffer two kinds of petrifaction, 9 that of the intellect, and that of the sense of honour, when somebody assumes a defiant stance, resolved neither to assent to self-evident truths nor leave off fighting. [4] Most of us dread the deadening of the body and will do anything to avoid it. About the deadening of the soul, however, we don’t care one iota. [5] Even in the case of the soul, we regard a man as pitiable if he is deficient in thinking or learning. We pity the mentally retarded, and students with learning difficulties. But if somebody’ssense of shame and respect are dead, we will actually call this determination.
    [6] ‘Do you realize that you are awake?’
    ‘No, any more than when I dream and have the impression that I am awake.’
    ‘And is the one impression in no way different from the other?’
    ‘No.’
    [7] Can I go on reasoning with such a person? What fire or iron can be applied to him, to make him conscious of his condition? He senses it, but pretends he doesn’t; that makes him even worse off than a corpse.
    [8] One person does not notice a contradiction in his reasoning; he is unfortunate. Another person notices it, all right, but does not budge and does not back down; he is even more unfortunate. [9] His sense of honour and truthfulness has been excised, and his reason – not excised, but brutalized. Am I to call this strength of character? I can’t – any more than I can apply the same name to the ‘strength’ of degenerates that enables them to say and do in public whatever they please.
I 6 On providence
    [1] It is easy to praise providence for everything that happens in the world provided you have both the ability to see individual events in the context of the whole and a sense of gratitude. [2] Without these, either you will not see the usefulness of what happens or, even supposing that you do see it, you will not be grateful for it.
    [3] If God had created colours, but not the faculty of vision, colours would have been of little use. [4] Or if God had created vision, but not made sure that objects could be seen, vision would have been worthless. [5] And even if he had made them both, but not created light – [6] then neither would have been of any value.
    So who contrived this universal accommodation of things toone another? Who fitted the sword to the scabbard and the scabbard to the sword? No one? [7] In the case of artifacts, it is just this kind of symmetry and structure that regularly persuade us that they must be the work of some artisan, instead of objects created at random. [8] Do sword and scabbard testify to their creator, whereas visible things, vision and light, together, do not? [9] What about the desire of the male for sex with the female, and their ability to use the organs constructed for that purpose – don’t they proclaim their creator, too?
    [10] All right, then: What about the complex organization of the mind – built so that, when we meet ∗ with sensible objects, we don’t just have their forms impressed upon us, we make a selection from among them; and add and subtract impressions to form various kinds of mental combinations; and from certain ideas make inferences to others somehow related 10 – aren’t such abilities able to make a big enough impression so that it becomes impossible for us to discount the possibility of a creator? [11] If not, it’s left to us to explain who made them, and how such amazing and craftsmanlike abilities came into being by accident, on their own. 11
    [12] Are humans alone in possession of such skills? It’s true that there are many skills distinctive to humans, skills that as a rational animal he uniquely needs. But the irrational animals share with man many of the same faculties. [13] Do they