The metaphysicians of Tlon do not seek for the truth or even for verisimilitude, but rather for the astounding. They judge that metaphysics is a branch of fantastic literature. They know that a system is nothing more than the subordination of all aspects of the universe to any one such aspect. Even the phrase 'all aspects' is rejectable, for it supposes the impossible addition of the present and of all past moments.

It is no exaggeration to state that the classic culture of Tlon comprises only one discipline: psychology. All others are subordinated to it. I have said that …

One of the schools of Tlon goes so far as to negate time; it reasons that the present is indefinite, that the future has no reality other than as a present hop…

The geometry of Tlon comprises two somewhat different disciplines: the visual and the tactile. The latter corresponds to our own geometry and is subordinated t…

The worst of our institutions, in its worst aspect, cannot keep down energy, truthfulness, and earnest struggle for the right.

Metaphysics is the finding of bad reasons for what we believe upon instinct; but to find these reasons is no less an instinct.

The struggle for existence in a universe we did not choose, and the burden of being a member of the only race which values objective, verifiable truth as an en…