CitationContextSource LinkCitation “A man who reads, reflects, or plans belongs to a species rather than to his sex; in his best moments he rises even above the human.” ~Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian-French author Memoirs of Hadrian (1951) trans. Grace Frick, New York: Farrar, Straus & Young, 1955, p. 165; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org Context Extended excerpt [Fictional autobiography of the Roman Emperor Hadrian]: “I should have desired more: to see the human creature unadorned, alone with herself as she indeed must have been at least sometimes, in illness or after the death of a first-born child, or when a wrinkle began to show in her mirror. A
CitationContextSource LinkCitation “History can suggest to us alternatives that we would never otherwise consider. It can both warn and inspire. It can warn us that it is possible for a whole nation to be brainwashed, for “enlightened” and “educated” people to commit genocide, for a “democratic” country to maintain slavery, for oppressed to turn into oppressors, for “socialism” to be tyrannical and “liberalism” to be imperialist, for whole peoples to be led to war like sheep. It can also show us that apparently powerless underlings can defeat their rulers, that men (for at least most moments of time) can live like brothers, that men can make incredible sacrifices on behalf
Learn more about William Zinsser | Here are a few good places to start – William Zinsser – Official website includes a biography, photo gallery, book passages, links to articles, and music page: www.williamzinsserwriter.com/william-zinsser-music.html ‘On Memoir, Truth and ‘Writing Well’’ (13 April 2006) NPR “All Things Considered” conversation with Michelle Norris; link includes audio file, transcript & excerpt from Zinsser’s book How to Write a Memoir: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5340618 ‘The Complete Zinsser on Friday’| The American Scholar collection of Zinsser essays: https://theamericanscholar.org/the-complete-zinsser-on-friday/#.V_XPL5MrKAY ‘Lives: William K. Zinsser ‘44’’ (3 February 2016) Princeton Alumni Weekly tribute by Sanda Sobieraj Westfall: https://paw.princeton.edu/article/lives-william-k-zinsser-%E2%80%9944 ‘My Stardust Memories’ (2 August 2010) The American Scholar – What’s it like to
ZINN, Howard