Intelligence makes clear to us the interrelationship of means and ends. But mere thinking cannot give us a sense of the ultimate and fundamental ends. To make clear these fundamental ends and valuations and to set them fast in the emotional life of the individual, seems to me precisely the most important function which religion has to form in the social life of man. Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment.
Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. Emerson, Ralph Waldo Ideas must work through the brains and arms of men, or they are no better than dreams. Never read a book that is not a year old. Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.