Mustapha Mond Quotes

Mustapha Mond paused, put down the first book and, picking up the other, turned over the pages. "Take this, for example," he said, and in his deep voice once more began to read: "'A man grows old; he feels in himself that radical sense of weakness, of listlessness, of discomfort, which accompanies the advance of age; and, feeling thus, imagines himself merely sick, lulling his fears with the notion that this distressing condition is due to some particular cause, from which, as from an illness, he hopes to recover. Vain imaginings! That sickness is old age; and a horrible disease it is.
They say that it is the fear of death and of what comes after death that makes men turn to religion as they advance in years. But my own experience has given me the conviction that, quite apart from any such terrors or imaginings, the religious sentiment tends to develop as we grow older; to develop because, as the passions grow calm, as the fancy and sensibilities are less excited and less excitable, our reason becomes less troubled in its working, less obscured by the images, desires and distractions, in which it used to be absorbed; whereupon God emerges as from behind a cloud; our soul feels, sees, turns towards the source of all light; turns naturally and inevitably; for now that all that gave to the world of sensations its life and charms has begun to leak away from us, now that phenomenal existence is no more bolstered up by impressions from within or from without, we feel the need ~ Aldous Huxley

As if any one believed anything by instinct! One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them. Finding bad reasons for what one believes for other bad reasons - that's philosophy. People believe in God because they've been conditioned to believe in God.'
'But all the same,' insisted the Savage, 'it is natural to believe in God when you're alone - quite alone, in the night, thinking about death ... '
'But people are never alone now,' said Mustapha Mond. 'We make them hate solitude; and we arrange their lives so that it's almost impossible for them to ever to have it. ~ Aldous Huxley

And home was as squalid psychically as physically. Psychically, it was a rabbit hole, a midden, hot with the frictions of tightly packed life, reeking with emotion. What suffocating intimacies, what dangerous, insane, obscene relationships between the members of the family group! Maniacally, the mother brooded over her children (her children) … brooded over them like a cat over its kittens; but a cat that could talk, a cat that could say, "My baby, my baby," over and over again. "My baby, and oh, oh, at my breast, the little hands, the hunger, and that unspeakable agonizing pleasure! Till at last my baby sleeps, my baby sleeps with a bubble of white milk at the corner of his mouth. My little baby sleeps …"
"Yes," said Mustapha Mond, nodding his head, "you may well shudder. ~ Aldous Huxley

But all the same," insisted the Savage, "it is natural to believe in God when you're alone - quite alone, in the night, thinking about death ... " "But people never are alone now," said Mustapha Mond. "We make them hate solitude; and we arrange their lives so that it's almost impossible for them ever to have it. ~ Aldous Huxley

Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. But there were also husbands, wives, lovers. There were also monogamy and romance. "Though you probably don't know what those are," said Mustapha Mond. They shook their heads. Family, monogamy, romance. Everywhere exclusiveness, a narrow channelling of impulse and energy. "But every one belongs to every one else," he concluded, citing the hypnopaedic proverb. ~ Aldous Huxley

But I like the inconveniences."
"We don't," said the Controller. "We prefer to do things comfortably."
"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin."
"In fact," said Mustapha Mond, "you're claiming the right to be unhappy."
"All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy. ~ Aldous Huxley

It was a masterly piece of work. But once you began admitting explanations in terms of purpose - well, you didn't know what the result might be. It was the sort of idea that might easily decondition the more unsettled minds among the higher castes - make them lose their faith in happiness as the Sovereign Good and take to believing, instead, that the goal was somewhere beyond, somewhere outside the present human sphere; that the purpose of life was not the maintenance of well-being, but some intensification and refining of consciousness, some enlargement of knowledge. Which was, the Controller reflected, quite possibly true. But not, in the present circumstance, admissible. ~ Aldous Huxley

Science? The Savage frowned. He knew the word. But what it exactly signified he could not say. Shakespeare and the old men of the pueblo had never mentioned science, and from Linda he had only gathered the vaguest hints: science was something you made helicopters with, some thing that caused you to laugh at the Corn Dances, something that prevented you from being wrinkled and losing your teeth. He made a desperate effort to take the Controller's meaning.

"Yes," Mustapha Mond was saying, "that's another item in the cost of stability. It isn't only art that's incompatible with happiness; it's also science. Science is dangerous; we have to keep it most carefully chained and muzzled."

"What?" said Helmholtz, in astonishment. "But we're always saying that science is everything. It's a hypnopaedic platitude."

"Three times a week between thirteen and seventeen," put in Bernard.

"And all the science propaganda we do at the College …"

"Yes; but what sort of science?" asked Mustapha Mond sarcastically. "You've had no scientific training, so you can't judge. I was a pretty good physicist in my time. Too good–good enough to realize that all our science is just a cookery book, with an orthodox theory of cooking that nobody's allowed to question, and a list of recipes that mustn't be added to except by special permission from the head cook. I'm the head cook now. But I was an inquisitive young scullion once. I started doing a bit of co ~ Aldous Huxley

Chaos is not the lack of order, it is merely the absence of order, that the observer is used to. ~ Mamur Mustapha

To be able to think freely isn't a crime, it's a gift. A real privilege; one not enjoyed by a vast majority of people globally, unfortunately. ~ Mamur Mustapha

Your moral values & ability to rationalize; not your religious beliefs or political affiliations define what you should stand for in society. ~ Mamur Mustapha

Leaders build bridges; and seek common grounds to unite. Pygmies build walls; and invent excuses to divide. ~ Mamur Mustapha

Intolerance breeds hatred. Hatred creates divisions. Divisions destroy common grounds. ~ Mamur Mustapha

Grandparents are extremely rich folks with silver in their hair and gold in their hearts. ~ Mamur Mustapha

In the realm of international relations, the dilemma with 'State Morality' is that the rich countries choose to be immoral to maintain their dominance, whereas the poor countries can't afford to be moral in order to just survive. ~ Mamur Mustapha

In your absolute defiance against tyranny, lies and all odds; lies therein, your true moral strength. Rise! ~ Mamur Mustapha

Your voice will enter corners your eyes will never see, so speak up ~ Ibrahim Mustapha

If 'character' had a body...'integrity' would be it's spinal cord and 'humility' it's heart. ~ Mamur Mustapha

Nations that take pride in or glorify war, violence and death are sick societies. When unbridled patriotism trumps humanity, peace, justice & rationality, it becomes a poisonous cancer that is both abhorrent as well as mortiferous. ~ Mamur Mustapha

History has always been violent, unstoppable and bound to happen; either with or without you. Acknowledge it. ~ Mamur Mustapha

The imaginary fortress in your head you seek refuge in; never has, & never will protect your physical being from harm. ~ Mamur Mustapha

Politics is an alternative to war and if you're in it, you live it as such. You win some & you lose at times. ~ Mamur Mustapha

My back swing off the first tee had put him in mond of an eldery woman of dubious morals trying to struggle out of a dress too tight around the shoulders. ~ Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy

I cannot imagine not reading. Some books, of course, are like lovers; you go to bed with them once and fall asleep immediately ... But other books become house guests. THey take up residence in the rooms of the mond and never leave. ~ Joe Bennett

Courage sometimes skips a whole generation; make sure it doesn't happen to your's. Make your stand & make it now. ~ Mamur Mustapha

Beautiful moments in life need no words for description. Living those moments and feeling the beauty suffices. ~ Mamur Mustapha