I've no burning desire to be one

On this day in 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy.

"It is too readily assumed that 'non-attachment' is not only better than a full acceptance of earthly life, but that the ordinary man only rejects it because it is too difficult; in other words, that the average human being is a failed saint. It is doubtful whether this is true.

"Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never felt much temptation to be human beings.

"If one could follow it to its psychological roots, one would, I believe, find that the main motive for 'non-attachment' is a desire to escape from the pain of living." -- George Orwell.



To read about another famous death on this day, visit Farewells

We'll all die with our boots on

George Orwell (1984, Animal Farm) died on this day in 1950.

"If you want a picture of the future," Orwell wrote in 1984, imagine a boot stomping on a human face--forever."

To live -- and to do good -- is to suffer

Albert Schweitzer was born on this day in 1875.

“High-toned humanitarians constantly overestimate the sufferings of those they sympathize with.” – H. L. Mencken.

“A humanitarian is always a hypocrite.” – George Orwell.