Ontogeny Repeats Quotes

Studentdom, he felt, must pass its own Examinations and define its own Commencement--a slow, most painful process, made the more anguishing by bloody intelligences like the Bonifacists of Siegfrieder College. Yet however it seemed at times that men got nowhere, but only repeated class by class the mistakes of their predecessors, two crucial facts about them were at once their hope and the limitation of their possibility, so he believed. One was their historicity: the campus was young, the student race even younger, and by contrast with the whole of past time, the great collegiate cultures had been born only yesterday. The other had to do with comparative cyclology, a field of systematic speculation he could not review for me just then, but whose present relevance lay in the correspondency he held to obtain between the life-history of individuals and the history of studentdom in general. As the embryologists maintained that ontogeny repeats phylogeny, so, Max claimed, the race itself--and on a smaller scale, West-Campus culture--followed demonstrably--in capital letters, as it were, or slow motion--the life-pattern of its least new freshman. This was the basis of Spielman's Law--ontogeny repeats cosmogeny--and there was much more to it and to the science of cyclology whereof it was first principle. The important thing for now was that, by his calculations, West-Campus as a whole was in mid-adolescence...
'Look how we been acting,' he invited me, referring to intercollegia ~ John Barth

I will that women adorn themselves in modest apparel," he says, "with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; "But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection." Here he looks us over. "All," he repeats. "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. "For Adam was first formed, then Eve. "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. "Notwithstanding she shall be saved by childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety." Saved ~ Margaret Atwood

Idolatry is always subject to the law of diminishing returns. ~ Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

It is almost possible to measure a writer's skill by the dexterity with which he repeats, and yet avoids monotony. ~ George G. Williams

I've become a handmaiden to other people's relationships. Aiding and abetting. And now I'm al alone. Thank God for Miranda. I'll always have her. Miranda will never have a relationship. So where the hell is she?

"Having sex," she repeats. She slides onto the cushion. "I met a guy and we've been having nonstop sex for the last two days. And the worst thing about it? I couldn't poop. I honestly could not poop until he finally left this morning."

"He's not the best-looking guy. But I told myself that looks aren't everything. And he really is smart. Which can be a turn-on. I've always said I'd rather be with a smart, ugly guy than a goodlooking dumb guy. Because what are you going to talk about with a dumb guy?"

"So then," Miranda continues, "we're walking through the Mews -- that cute little cobblestoned street -- and suddenly he pushes me up against the wall and starts making out with me!"

"I hardly know him," she giggles, "but so what? If it's right, it's right, don't you think? ~ Candace Bushnell

The danger is, you have a formula and you just repeat it. ~ Martin Parr

One mustn't be so cocksure, Joker says. Bad habit, he repeats. ~ Jostein Gaarder

What color are you?" he repeats, his eyes never leaving my face. "You, Bristol, are a freaking prism. ~ Kennedy Ryan

We need an engineering friend." She points a finger at Carin. "Go back to Briar and hook up with an engineering student."

"Okay, but I'll need to actually have sex with him beforehand, so I won't be back until," she pretends to check the time, "ten or so."

"We're all college graduates," I proclaim. "We can put this together ourselves."

Clapping my hands, I motion for everyone to get on the floor with me. After three tries of trying to lower myself to the ground and making Hope and Carin nearly pee their pants laughing in the process, D'Andre takes pity on all of us and helps me onto my knees. Which is where Tucker finds us.

"Is this some new fertility ritual?" he drawls from the doorway, one shoulder propped against the frame. "Because she's already pregnant, you know."

"Get yo ass in here, white boy, and put this thing together," D'Andre snaps. "This is ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous?" Tucker stops next to me, and I take the opportunity to lean against his legs. Even kneeling is hard when you're toting around an extra thirty pounds. "We took it apart. How can you not know how to put it back together?"

D'Andre repeats his earlier excuse. "I'm an accounting major."

Tucker rolls his eyes. "You got an Allen wrench?"

"Are you mocking us right now?" I grumble. "I don't have any wrenches, let alone ones with names."

He grins. "Leave this to me, darlin'. I'll get it fixed u ~ Elle Kennedy

Coming down for the thousandth time, I'm perched on the precipice of a billion broken promises. I'm speeding through the intersections of my own broken heartstrings, blowing red lights and ignoring red flags. I'm thinking, 'history repeats itself.' I'm wondering why. The world outside is still happening also. ~ Kris Kidd

Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale, And nightly to the listening earth Repeats the story of her birth. ~ Joseph Addison

Neliss, why is this rug wet?"
Legna peeked around the corner to glance at the rug in question, looking as if she had never seen it before.
"We have a rug there?"
"Did you or did you not promise me you were not going to practice extending how long you can hold your invisible bowls of water in the house? And what on earth is that noise?"
"Okay, I confess to the water thing, which was an honest mistake, I swear it. But as for a noise, I have no idea what you are talking about."
"You cannot hear that? It has been driving me crazy for days now. It just repeats over and over again, a sort of clicking sound."
"Well, it took a millennium, but you have finally gone completely senile. Listen, this is a house built by Lycanthropes. It is more a cave than a house, to be honest. I have yet to decorate to my satisfaction. There is probably some gizmo of some kind lying around, and I will come across it eventually or it will quit working the longer it is exposed to our influence. Even though I do not hear anything, I will start looking for it. Is this satisfactory?"
"I swear, Magdelegna, I am never letting you visit that Druid ever again."
"Oh, stop it. You do not intimidate me, as much as you would love to think you do. Now, I will come over there if you promise not to yell at me anymore. You have been quite moody lately."
"I would be a hell of a lot less moody if I could figure out what that damn noise is."
Legna came around the corner, mo ~ Jacquelyn Frank

Every object in nature is impressed with God's footsteps, and every day repeats the wonders of creation. There is not an object, be it pebble or pearl, weed or rose, the flower-spangled sward beneath, or the star-spangled sky above, not a worm or an angel, a drop of water or a boundless ocean, in which intelligence may not discern, and piety adore, the providence of Him who took our nature that He might save our souls. ~ Thomas Guthrie

To my complete and utter surprise, the writing on his door is gone.
Vanished.
"What happened?" I ask.
It takes him a second before he realizes what I'm asking. "I washed it off," he explains.
"You what?"
"I wasn't going to, but I didn't want the super to give me a hard time. Plus, I thought it might freak out some of my neighbors. You have to admit, death threats on doors can be pretty offensive, generally speaking. Not to mention the sheer fact that it made me look like a total asshole - like some old girlfriend was trying to get even."
"Did you take pictures at least?"
"Actually, no." He cringes. "That probably would've been a good idea."
"But Tray saw the writing, right?"
"Um . . ." He nibbles his lip, clearly reading my angst.
"You told me he was with you last night. You said you called him."
"I tried, but he didn't pick up, and I didn't want you to worry."
"So, you lied?" I snap.
"I didn't want you to worry," he repeats. "Please, don't be upset."
"How can I not be? We're talking about your life here. You can't go erasing evidence off your door. And you can't be lying to me, either. How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me the truth?"
"Why are you helping me?" he asks, taking a step closer. "I mean, I'm grateful and all, and you know I love spending time with you, be it death-threat missions or pizza and a movie. It's just . . . what do you get out of it? What's this sudden interest in my ~ Laurie Faria Stolarz

Remember that history always repeats itself. Every great bubble in history has broken. There are no exceptions. ~ Jeremy Grantham

History repeats itself only in that, from afar, we all seem to lead exactly the same life. We are all born; we all spend time here on earth; we all die. But up close, we have each walked down our own separate paths. We have stood at our own lonely crossroads. We have touched the lives of others at crucial points, for better or for worse. In the end, each of us has lived a unique life story, astounding and complicated, a story that could never be repeated. ~ Edward Bloor

Phylogeny and ontogeny are, therefore, the two coordinated branches of morphology. Phylogeny is the developmental history [Entwickelungsgeschichte] of the abstract, genealogical individual; ontogeny, on the other hand, is the developmental history of the concrete, morphological individual. ~ Ernst Haeckel

I don't read all the junk. I joke if I did, I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. But, Sometimes the comments over the top - really ugly. Many of them are critical of my looks, like the one that criticized my "thunder thighs." I get that a lot. Some of the tweets are too vulgar to repeat. ~ Gretchen Carlson

Those who know nothing about history are doomed forever to repeat it. ~ Will Durant

Art itself shuns commonality: while the scientist may seek the phenomenon that repeats itself, the artist seeks the exception. ~ Dore Ashton

History never repeats itself. Man always does. ~ Voltaire

For the average American freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more. ~ Gore Vidal

History never repeats itself," said Voltaire; "man always does." Thucydides, ~ Barbara W. Tuchman

I inhale, trying not to smile. "Maybe I can try to accept your apology."
"Maybe," he repeats like I'm full of shit and I've already scribbled hearts about M + F in my diary. Just so you know, I don't have a diary. And if I did…Farrow would be all over it. ~ Krista Ritchie

Who makes the fairest show means most deceit. ~ Pericles

Go as hard as you can on the first piece and then pray that you get switched. Repeat. ~ Mike Teti

I trust you, Cash. I trust you."
He grabs my wrist and presses his lips to the inside then pulls gently until I'm bent at the waist and my face is close to his.
"Come home with me. Please." I can feel his warm breath on my lips, they're so close. I lean forward to close the small gap, but he leans away. "Please," he repeats softly.
I would never tell him, but he could ask me anything right now and I'd agree to it. Anything at all.
"Okay." As soon as the words leave my lips, his mouth is on mine. ~ M. Leighton

I'm a very, very unreckless person. I mean, I look left, I look right, I look left, I look right, then I repeat the process and then I decide not to cross the road at the last minute. ~ Jonathan Meades

Marriage is a lot of things - a source of love, security, the joy of children, but it's also an interpersonal battlefield, and it's not hard to see why: Take two disparate people, toss them together in often-confined quarters, add the stresses of money and kids - now lather, rinse, repeat for the rest of your natural life. What could go wrong? ~ Jeffrey Kluger

It comes out so quietly that I have to ask her to repeat it: It's just that I thought maybe you were married to me. ~ Audrey Niffenegger

Literature can no longer be either Mimesis or Mathesis but merely Semiosis, the adventure of what is impossible to language, in a word: Text (it is wrong to say that the notion of 'text' repeats the notion of 'literature': literature represents a finite world, the text figures the infinite of language). ~ Roland Barthes

Unless we learn from history, we are destined to repeat it. This is no longer merely an academic exercise, but may contain our worlds fate and our destiny. ~ Alex Haley

A low self-love in the parent desires that his child should repeat his character and fortune. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do markets do? They consolidate, they breakout, they extend, they overextend, they back and fill, they consolidate, and repeat the process. That's all you need to know about the markets. ~ Donald Miller

But optimism dribbles away when horror repeats. ~ Tim Reed

The Machinery are a bunch of fuckwits who believe that the human body is best conceptualised as a machine, and that if behaviour is stripped down to only what is functional, a higher form of humanity will emerge. This means actions that lead to the fulfilment of their basic needs only. Disease is a malfunction. You can see where this goes. They're boring as hell, they only speak to convey information and they are more inflexible than actual machines. They are said to be good spouses and accountants. The one beside me has a distinct self-image, fully identified as a machine. He repeats to himself mentally, 'You are a machine, you are a machine. ~ Tade Thompson

I cannot know what the future will bring us," he says in a rapid undertone. "I cannot know where you will be given in marriage, nor what life might hold for me. But I can't let you go without telling you
without telling you at least once
that I love you."
I snatch a breath at the words. "Woodville
"
"I can offer you nothing; I am next to nothing, and you are the greatest lady in France. But I wanted you to know, I love you and I want you, and I have done since the day I first saw you."
"I should
"
"I have to tell you, you have to know. I have loved you honorably as a knight should do his lady, and I have loved you passionately as a man might a woman; and now, before I leave you, I want to tell you that I love you, I love you
" He breaks off and looks at me desperately. "I had to tell you," he repeats. ~ Philippa Gregory

One must separate from anything that forces one to repeat No again and again. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

When God repeats a promise, you can be absolutely sure it isn't because he has a problem keeping it. ~ Anonymous

If history really forever repeats itself: then, it has always been then. ~ Mokokoma Mokhonoana

To affirm a person is to see the good in them that they cannot see in themselves and to repeat it in spite of appearances to the contrary. Please, this is not some Pollyanna optimism that is blind to the reality of evil, but rather like a fine radar system that is tuned in to the true, the good, and the beautiful. ~ Brennan Manning

That's what life is: repetitive routines. It's a matter of finding the balance between deviating from those patterns and knowing when to repeat them. ~ Joseph Gordon-Levitt

What happened? Stan repeats.
To us?
To the country?
What happened when childhood ends in Dealey Plaza, in Memphis, in the kitchen of the Ambassador, your belief your hope your trust lying in a pool of blood again? Fifty-five thousand of your brothers dead in Vietnam, a million Vietnamese, photos of naked napalmed children running down a dirt road, Kent State, Soviet tanks roll into Prague so you turn on drop out you know you can't reinvent the country but maybe you reimagine yourself you believe you really believe that you can that you can create a world of your own and then you lower that expectation to just a piece of ground to make a stand on but then you learn that piece of ground costs money that you don't have.
What happened?
Altamont, Charlie Manson, Sharon Tate, Son of Sam, Mark Chapman we saw a dream turn into a nightmare we saw love and peace turn into endless war and violence our idealism into realism our realism into cynicism our cynicism into apathy our apathy into selfishness our selfishness into greed and then greed was good and we
Had babies, Ben, we had you and we had hopes but we also had fears we created nests that became bunkers we made our houses baby-safe and we bought car seats and organic apple juice and hired multilingual nannies and paid tuition to private schools out of love but also out of fear.
What happened?
You start by trying to create a new world and then you find yourself just wanting to add a b ~ Don Winslow

I repeat that in this sense the most splendid court in Christendom is provincial, having authority to consult about Transalpine interests only, and not the affairs of Rome. A praetor or proconsul would suffice to settle the questions which absorb the attention of the English Parliament and the American Congress. ~ Henry David Thoreau