"So why do I write, torturing myself to put it down? Because in spite of myself I've learned some things. Without the possibility of action, all know… - Ralph Ellison

Without the possibility of action, all knowledge comes to one labeled “file and forget,” and I can neither file nor forget.

Without the possibility of action, all knowledge comes to one labeled "File and forget."

And let's remember that science isn't a game of chess, although chess may be played scientifically. The other thing to remember is that if we are to organize the masses we must first organize ourselves.

Perhaps to lose a sense of where you are implies the danger of losing a sense of who you are. That must be it, I thought — to lose your direction is to lose your face.

I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself.