Quotes About Tradition

Ancestor worship must be an appealing idea to those who are about to become ancestors.

Every schoolboy knows that the Indians used every part of the buffalo, which is true. But they did not use every part of every buffalo.

Growing up, I considered [my dad] to be an exemplar of fidelity. For instance, he didn't believe in removing his wedding ring, no matter what. Whenever he washed his hands, he would thoroughly scrub his right hand, then align his two ring fingers tip to tip, slide the ring from his left ring finger to his right, then scrub his left hand.

There was no arguing with a man's faith in the legends of his childhood.

When I was a boy, my grandfather taught me the list of kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius the Elder, Servius Tullius. Tarquinius the Proud was to be the last, the very last, cast out and replaced forever by something called a republic. A mockery! A mistake! An experiment that failed! Today is the republic's final day. Tomorrow, men will shout in the Forum, 'All hail King Coriolanus!

Learn the rules before you break them.

They don't make it as well as they did in the past!0

Art flouts convention. Convention became convention because it works.

Beer for breakfast, ale for lunch, stout with dinner and a few mugs in between. The average Northern European, including women and children drank three liters of beer a day. That's almost two six-packs, but often the beer had a much higher alcoholic content. People in positions of power, like the police, drank much more. Finnish soldiers were given a ration of five liters of strong ale a day (about as much as seven six-packs). Monks in Sussex made do with 12 cans worth.

Only two questions, however, need concern the civilized creature. Why is traditional kosher wine so second-rate (it is often boiled); and, if Muslims and Jews are the only people whose laws make them (almost) each other's ideal dinner guests, why can't they get along?

Our elders wanted to forget the past, and relatively youthful people, like myself, complied with their wishes; we had been trained to fear our history.

I had always believed marriage to be as my parents portrayed it, something safe and staid. With you, that will not be so.

The Mewts have an almost holy regard for beautiful boys beloved of kings, and Alofel was aware of this. Mewtish folklore was plump with tales about the mysterious, sacrosanct relationship of male lovers, whereas the Cossics were far more casual about these lessons. Most Cossic noblemen had wives and boys, but there was really little distinction between them.

She felt as if she'd finally come home, to people that had always been her people. Women working magic together, a tradition as old as the earth Herself.

We are the last flickering remnants of a once-mighty heritage, Val. We should keep that flame alive.

Cossics do not understand Mewts. They ascribe to them the morals and values of Cos. This is a grave mistake. I am not Cossic, and I can appreciate the Mewtish mind only too well. The Cossic nobleman is a thinker; honourable, loyal, and traditional, but he keeps emotion in check. Challis Hespereth demands sex as a sacrifice, not love. The Mewt, on the other hand, is a passionate individual; he feels. Love to him is all; it is his god. He would die for for it.

People are hungry for stories. It's part of our very being. Storytelling is a form of history, of immortality too. It goes from one generation to another. -Studs Terkel

A culture that values only what has succeeded before, where the first rule of success is that there must be something to be 'measured' and counted, is not a culture that will sustain alternatives to market-driven 'creativity.' (NYRB, Vol. LX, No. 17)

Hitesh, old flower, Christmas is exactly the same, it's you

Quinguagesima. St David's Day

The monarchy is finished. It was finished a while ago, but they're still making the corpses dance.

The protect-against-evil-eye mark was similar to the dots that Parsis drew on their children's head and feet, and the thick kohl eyeliner that adorned young Hindu children.

If a younger sister marries before an older brother, people will believe she had to marry for reasons of pregnancy. Every bead of her reputation will be sold.

Parsis say to always give the first bite of food to the dog!