A superstition which pretends to be scientific creates a much greater confusion of thought than one which contents itself with simple popular practices. Johan Huizinga
An aristocratic culture does not advertise its emotions. In its forms of expression it is sober and reserved. Its general attitude is stoic. Johan Huizinga
Every age yearns for a more beautiful world. The deeper the desperation and the depression about the confusing present, the more intense that yearning. Johan Huizinga
From whichever angle one looks at it, the application of racial theories remains a striking proof of the lowered demands of public opinion upon the purity of critical judgment. Johan Huizinga
History can predict nothing except that great changes in human relationships will never come about in the form in which they have been anticipated. Johan Huizinga
History creates comprehensibility primarily by arranging facts meaningfully and only in a very limited sense by establishing strict causal connections. Johan Huizinga
It is impossible to strive for the heroic life. The title of hero is bestowed by the survivors upon the fallen, who themselves know nothing of heroism. Johan Huizinga
Physical nature lies at our feet shackled with a hundred chains. What of the control of human nature? Do not point to the triumphs of psychiatry, social services or the war against crime. Domination of human nature can only mean the domination of every man by himself. Johan Huizinga
Play is a uniquely adaptive act, not subordinate to some other adaptive act, but with a special function of its own in human experience. Johan Huizinga
Systematic philosophical and practical anti-intellectualism such as we are witnessing appears to be something truly novel in the history of human culture. Johan Huizinga
The repudiation of the primacy of understanding means the repudiation of the norms of judgment as well, and hence the abandonment of all ethical standards. Johan Huizinga
