Steampunk Paper Doll Journal - Spread 14 - Thinkers

"The thinker is preeminently a man (or woman) who sees where others do not.  The novelty of what he says, its character as a sort of revelation, the charm that attaches to it, all come from the fact that he sees....
Independence is the word which describes the moral aspect of this capacity for vision.  Nothing is more striking than the absence of intellectual independence in most human beings: they conform in opinion as they do in manners, and are perfectly content with repeating formulas.  While they do so, the thinker calmly looks around, giving full play to his mental freedom.  He may agree with the consensus of public opinion, but it will not be because it is a universal opiion.
Even the sacrosanct thing called plain common sense is not enough to intimidate him into conformity.
- Ernest Dimnet (in 'The Art of Thinking' New York: Fawcett, 1961, pg 316) (1866-1954) (French priest, author, educator and lecturer)