“Vanity is a motive of immense potency. Anyone who has much to do with children knows how they are constantly performing some antic, and saying ‘Look at me.’ ‘Look at me’ is one of the most fundamental desires of the human heart. It can take innumerable forms, from buffoonery to the pursuit of posthumous fame.”
More from Bertrand Russell
“We know too much, and feel too little.”
“Love is wise – Hatred is foolish.”
“Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.”
“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”