“Civilization is the mastery of violence, the triumph, constantly challenged, over the aggressive nature of the primate.  For primates we have been and primates we shall remain, however often we learn to find joy in [things of beauty].  This is the very purpose of education.  What does education imply?  One must offer [things of beauty] tirelessly, in order to escape the natural impulses of our species, because those impulses do not change, and continually threaten the fragile equilibrium of survival.”

–“The Elegance of the Hedgehog”