Herbert J. Muller

Herbert J. Muller (July 7, 1905 – January 27, 1980) was an American historian, academic, government official and writer. Quotes Men of science, men given to "realism," are likely to make a clean sweep of old interests and sentiments as so much rubbish. They regard religion as superstition, metaphysics as moonshine, art as primitive pastime, and all ritual as monkey-business; they apparently assume that because the traditional answers to old needs have been discredited, the needs themselves have vanished. Science and Criticism (1943) ch. 1, sec. 1 Although science is no doubt the Jehovah of the modern world, there is considerable doubt about the glory of its handiwork. Science and Criticism (1943) ch. 3, sec. 1 To say...that a man is made up of certain chemical elements is a satisfactory description only for those who intend to use him as a fertilizer. Science and Criticism (1943) ch. 5, sec. 1 Few have heard of Fra Luca Pacioli, the inventor of double-entry book-keeping; but he has probably had much more influence on human life than has Dante or Michelangelo. The Uses of the Past (1957) ch. 8 It is open to question whether men today, despite the enormous increase in their knowledge, wealth, and power, can yet endure a universe that leaves them alone, or can manage to live in freedom. The Loom of History (1958) ch. 1, sec. 3 It is fitting that her [Ancient Egypt's] most enduring works remain the pyramids. They are monuments to the majesty of her ideal, and to its basic absurdity; to the promise of her beginnings, and to its curse. The Loom of History (1958) ch. 4, sec. 1 It has become too easy to see that the luckless men of the past lived by mistakes, even absurd beliefs, so we may well fail in a decent respect for them, and forget that historians of the future will point out that we too lived by myths. Freedom in the Western World (1963) ch. 2, sec. 3 External links Category:1905 births Category:1980 deaths Category:Historians from the United States Category:Non-fiction authors from the United States Category:Cornell University alumni Category:Cornell University faculty Category:Indiana University faculty Category:Purdue University faculty