Here’s a quick quip from Belloc that I recently enjoyed.
Explicit Materialism, compared with the other philosophies meeting in man’s Palace of Debate, is like a jolly little self-satisfied dwarf who should be perpetually trying to push his way into the stately ceremonies of a Senate, and as perpetually getting turned out by the officials at the door: but who, on occasions, when the officials slept or were drunk, managed to push his way in and get at least to the top of the stairs for a few minutes.
Hilaire Belloc, Survivals and New ArrivalsĀ (Rockford, IL, TAN, 1992).