Robert A. Burton Quotes & Sayings

Out of too much learning become mad. — Robert A. Burton

Build castles in the air. — Robert A. Burton

It is most true, stylus virum arguit, - our style betrays us. — Robert A. Burton

Tobacco, divine, rare superexcellent tobacco, which goes far beyond all panaceas, potable gold and philosopher's stones, a sovereign remedy to all diseases. — Robert A. Burton

Seneca thinks the gods are well pleased when they see great men contending with adversity. — Robert A. Burton

They are proud in humility, proud that they are not proud. — Robert A. Burton

Compassion, empathy, and humility can only arise out of recognizing that our common desires are differently expressed. — Robert A. Burton

Hope and patience are two sovereign remedies for all, the surest reposals, the softest cushions to lean on in adversity. — Robert A. Burton

We want to be known for having original ideas, inspired hunches, and gut feelings that make a difference. Indeed, a "well-honed sixth sense"' is considered a measure of the good clinician. But being a good doctor also requires sticking with the best medical evidence, even if it contradicts your personal experience. We need to distinguish between gut feeling and testable knowledge, between hunches and empirically tested evidence. — Robert A. Burton

The history of science is the back-and-forth movement of trial-and-error advances and retreats, punctuated by moments of brilliance and marred by periods of excess. — Robert A. Burton

Temperance is a bridle of gold; he, who uses it rightly, is more like a god than a man. — Robert A. Burton

Diseases crucify the soul of man, attenuate our bodies, dry them, wither them, rivel them up like old apples, make them as so many Anatomies. — Robert A. Burton

Naught so sweet as melancholy. — Robert A. Burton

Though not necessarily aware of when we feel purpose and meaning, we are nearly always aware of the sickening feeling when we don't possess them. This isn't an intellectual misapprehension; it is a gut sense of disorientation and a loss of personal direction. Rarely are brute mental effort and self-help pep talks able to rekindle the missing feeling. For most of us, we simply wait patiently, knowing from past experience that the feeling will return in its own sweet time ... Of particular interest is [Tolstoy's] conclusion as to the inability of science and reason to provide a personal sense of meaning. — Robert A. Burton

Good science requires distinguishing between "felt knowledge" and knowledge arising out of testable observations. "I am sure" is a mental sensation, not a testable conclusion. Put hunches, gut feelings, and intuitions into the suggestion box. Let empiric methods shake out the good from bad suggestions. — Robert A. Burton

Dawkins conveniently illustrates the rationalist's dilemma: How do you articulate a personal sense of purpose when you intellectually have concluded that the world is pointless? What is the purpose of pointing out pointlessness? What does it mean to find purpose in understanding pointlessness? Once again we are back at the conflict between Dawkins' intellect (the world is pointless) and his mental sensation of purpose (I will show others that faith is irrational). To understand the intensity of this felt purpose, Google Dawkins' bio and speaking engagements. His near-evangelical effort to convince the faithful of the folly of their convictions has the same zealous ring as those missionaries who feel it is their duty to convert the heathens. — Robert A. Burton

Our mental limitations prevent us from accepting our mental limitations. — Robert A. Burton

Cookery is become an art, a noble science; cooks are gentlemen. — Robert A. Burton

No one seriously doubts Socrates' maxim: The unexamined life isn't worth living. Self-assessment and attempts at self-improvement are essential aspects of "the good life." Yes, we should engage in ruthless self-reflection and harsh scrutiny, but we should simultaneously acknowledge that such introspection will, at best, only result in a partial view of our minds at work. Complete objectivity is not an option. — Robert A. Burton

Good science is more than the mechanics of research and experimentation. Good science requires that scientists look inward-to contemplate the origin of their thoughts. The failures of science do not begin with flawed evidence or fumbled statistics; they begin with personal self-deception and an unjustified sense of knowing. — Robert A. Burton

Every schoolboy hath that famous testament of Grunnius Corocotta Porcellus at his fingers end. — Robert A. Burton

Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion. — Robert A. Burton

He is only fantastical that is not in fashion. — Robert A. Burton

Certainty is not biologically possible. We must learn (and teach our children) to tolerate the unpleasantness of uncertainty. Science has given us the language and tools of probabilities. We have methods for analyzing and ranking opinion according to their likelihood of correctness. That is enough. — Robert A. Burton

Employment, which Galen calls 'Nature's Physician,' is so essential to human happiness that indolence is justly considered as the mother of misery. — Robert A. Burton

Properly conducted scientific studies ... give us a pretty good idea of when something is likely to be correct. To me, pretty good is a linguistic statistic that falls somewhere in between more likely than not and beyond a reasonable doubt, et avoides the pitfalls arising from the belief in complete objectivity. — Robert A. Burton