Quotation by

William James

The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour.

William James

Nature

Understanding this quote AI Analysis

William James is saying that alcohol influences people because it awakens their sense of wonder and imagination, which is often suppressed by logical thinking and harsh judgment when they are sober. In other words, drinking allows people to experience feelings and ideas that are normally pushed down by everyday reality and criticism.

More by this author

All quotes by William James →

More quotes about Nature

See all →

To say to the painter that Nature is to be taken as she is, is to say to the player that he may sit on the piano.

It is the nature of the self to manifest itself, In every atom slumbers the might of the self.

It's incredible how nature sets females up to take care of people, and yet it is tricky for them to take care of themselves.

Nature, I have constantly argued in my work, is the real superpower of this godless universe. It is the ultimate disposer of human fate, randomly recarving geography over 10,000-year epochs.

High Romanticism shows you nature in all its harsh and lovely metamorphoses. Flood, fire and quake fling us back to the primal struggle for survival and reveal our gross dependency on mammoth, still …

I have never been able to grasp the meaning of time. I don't believe it exists. I've felt this again and again, when alone and out in nature. On such occasions, time does not exist. Nor does the futu…