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Currently showing 10,076 quotes

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.

Aldous Huxley

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Topic

Technological progress Progress

Author

Aldous Huxley

Source

Ends and Means

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1937 1930s 20th century

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Citation

Huxley, Aldous. Ends and Means (an Enquiry Into the Nature of Ideals and Into the Methods Employed for Their Realization). Chatto & Windus, 1937, ch. 1.

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He could see the island of Manhattan off to the left. The towers were jammed together so tightly, he could feel the mass and stupendous weight. Just think of the millions, from all over the globe, who yearned to be on that island, in those towers, in those narrow streets! There it was, the Rome, the Paris, the London of the twentieth century, the city of ambition, the dense magnetic rock, the irresistible destination of all those who insist on being where things are happening-and he was among the victors!

Tom Wolfe

The Bonfire of the Vanities

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Topic

New York City Cities

Author

Tom Wolfe

Source

The Bonfire of the Vanities

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1987 1980s 20th century

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Citation

Wolfe, Tom. The Bonfire of the Vanities. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1987.

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We must trust to nothing but facts: these are presented to us by nature and cannot deceive.

Antoine Lavoisier

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Topic

Facts Scientific method Science

Author

Antoine Lavoisier

Source

Elements of Chemistry

Genre

Scientific literature

Language

French

Time

1789 1780s 18th century

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Original Citation

Lavoisier, Antoine. Elements of Chemistry, in a New Systematic Order, Containing All the Modern Discoveries, translated by Robert Kerr. William Creech, 1790.

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Current Citation

Lavoisier, Antoine. Elements of Chemistry, translated by Robert Kerr. Dover Publications, 1965.

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Small is beautiful.

E.F. Schumacher

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Topic

Simplicity

Author

E.F. Schumacher

Source

The Radical Humanist

Medium

Essay

Language

English

Time

1973 1970s 20th century

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Citation

Schumacher, E. F. "Small is Beautiful." The Radical Humanist, Aug. 1973, vol. 37, no. 5.

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We can act as if there were a God; feel as if we were free; consider Nature as if she were full of special designs; lay plans as if we were to be immortal; and we find then that these words do make a genuine difference in our moral life.

William James

The Varieties of Religious Experience

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Topic

Power of thought Beliefs

Author

William James

Source

The Varieties of Religious Experience

Genre

Psychological literature

Language

English

Time

1902 1900s 20th century

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Original Citation

James, William. "The Reality of the Unseen." Gifford Lecture. c. 1902, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. Lecture.

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Current Citation

James, William. "The Reality of the Unseen." The Varieties of Religious Experience, edited by Martin E. Marty. Penguin Classics, 1982.

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There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or feign it where it does not.

François de La Rochefoucauld

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Pretend love Love

Author

François de La Rochefoucauld

Source

Reflections

Medium

Epigram

Language

French

Time

1678 1670s 17th century

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Original Citation

La Rochefoucauld, Francois. Reflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims]. c. 1665.

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Current Citation

La Rochefoucauld, Francois. Collected Maxims and Other Reflections, translated by E. H. and A. M. Blackmore and Francine Giguere. Oxford University Press, 2008.

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No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity.

William Shakespeare

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Topic

Nature of animals Yin and yang Compassion

Speaker

Lady Anne

Author

William Shakespeare

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

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Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Richard III. London: Andrew Wise, 1597, act 1, sc. 2.

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Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Richard the Third." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 2.

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Superficial observers seem to find no destiny for our abounding increase in population, in wealth and power except that of imperialism. They fail to see that the American people are engrossed in the building for themselves of a new economic system, a new social system, a new political system all of which are characterized by aspirations of freedom of opportunity and thereby are the negation of imperialism.

Herbert Hoover

Inaugural Address of Herbert Hoover

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American imperialism American experiment America and the world

Speaker

Herbert Hoover

Source

Inaugural Address of Herbert Hoover Presidential inaugural address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1929 1920s 20th century

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Citation

Hoover, Herbert. "Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1929, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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Debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.

William J. Brennan, Jr

New York Times Company v. Sullivan

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Topic

Freedom of speech and expression First Amendment Bill of Rights Constitutional law

Author

William J. Brennan, Jr

Source

New York Times Company v. Sullivan

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1964 1960s 20th century

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Citation

Brennan, William J., Jr. United States, Supreme Court. New York Times Company v. Sullivan. United States Reports, vol. 376, 9 Mar. 1964, pp. 254-305. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/376/254/.

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Great God! this is an awful place.

Robert Falcon Scott

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On the South Pole.

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Topic

Antarctica

Author

Robert Falcon Scott

Medium

Personal journal

Language

English

Time

1912 1910s 20th century

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Original Citation

Scott, Robert Falcon. Diary entry. 17 Jan. 1912.

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Current Citation

Scott, Robert Falcon. "Wednesday, January 17 [1912]." Scott's Last Expedition. Oxford University Press, 2005.

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Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her.

Kate Chopin

The Awakening

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Topic

Man and the universe Society and the individual

Author

Kate Chopin

Source

The Awakening

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1899 1890s 19th century

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Original Citation

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Chicago and New York: Herbert S. Stone & Co., 1899, ch. 6.

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Current Citation

Chopin, Kate. "The Awakening." The Awakening and Selected Stories. Penguin Classics, 2003, ch. 6.

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Though the President is Commander-in-chief, Congress is his commander; and, God willing, he shall obey. He and his minions shall learn that this is not a Government of kings and satraps, but a Government of the people, and that Congress is the people.

Thaddeus Stevens

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Topic

Separation of powers Constitutional theory

Speaker

Thaddeus Stevens

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1867 1860s 19th century

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Original Citation

Stevens, Thaddeus. Address in the House of Representatives. House of Representatives meeting. 3 Jan. 1867, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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Current Citation

Stevens, Thaddeus. "Reconstruction." The Selected Papers of Thaddeus Stevens: April 1865-August 1868, edited by Beverly Wilson Palmer and Holly Byers Ochoa. Vol. 2, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998.

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You will find angling to be like the virtue of humility, which has a calmness of spirit, and a world of other blessings attending upon it.

Izaak Walton

The Compleat Angler

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Topic

Fishing

Author

Izaak Walton

Source

The Compleat Angler

Medium

Treatise

Language

English

Time

1653 1650s 17th century

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Original Citation

Walton, Izaak. The Compleat Angler. London: Richard Marriot, 1653, pt. 1, ch. 1.

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Walton, Izaak. The Compleat Angler, edited by Marjorie Swann. Oxford University Press, 2014, pt. 1, ch. 1.

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Formerly when great fortunes were only made in war, war was a business; but now, when great fortunes are only made by business, business is war!

Christian Nestell Bovee

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Topic

Business

Author

Christian Nestell Bovee

Source

Institutions and Summaries of Thought

Language

English

Time

1862 1860s 19th century

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Citation

Bovee, Chrisitan Nestell. Intuitions and Summaries of Thought. Vol. 1, New York: Sheldon and Company/Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1862.

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Military force—especially when wielded by an outside power—just cannot bring order in a country that cannot govern itself.

Robert McNamara

Read McNamara Recalls, and Regrets, Vietnam at the New York Times
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Military strategy Political theory War

Author

Robert McNamara

Language

English

Time

1995 1990s 20th century

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Citation

McNamara, Robert. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. Random House, 1995. Originally published in the Daily Telegraph, 10 Apr. 1995.

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To put it in one word: I believe that Judaism knows nothing of revealed religion, in the sense in which this is understood by Christians. The Israelites possess divine legislation.

Moses Mendelssohn

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Christianity and Judaism Judaism

Author

Moses Mendelssohn

Language

German

Time

1783 1780s 18th century

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Original Citation

Mendelssohn, Moses. Jerusalem oder über religiöse Macht und Judentum [Jerusalem, or on Religious Power and Judaism]. Berlin: Friedrich Maurer, 1783.

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Mendelssohn, Moses. Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism, translated by Allan Arkush. Brandeis University Press, 1983.

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I never dared be radical when young
For fear it would make me conservative when old.

Robert Frost

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Topic

Radicalism Conservatism Political ideology

Author

Robert Frost

Source

Precaution

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1936 1930s 20th century

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Citation

Frost, Robert. "Precaution." Poetry Magazine, Apr. 1936.

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Our Congress represents the people and the States. In all legislative affairs it is the natural collaborator with the President. In spite of all the criticism which often falls to its lot, I do not hesitate to say that there is no more independent and effective legislative body in the world. It is, and should be, jealous of its prerogative. I welcome its cooperation, and expect to share with it not only the responsibility, but the credit, for our common effort to secure beneficial legislation.

Calvin Coolidge

Inaugural Address of Calvin Coolidge

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US Congress

Speaker

Calvin Coolidge

Source

Inaugural Address of Calvin Coolidge Presidential inaugural address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1925 1920s 20th century

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Citation

Coolidge, Calvin. "Second Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1925, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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A hint-don't paint too much direct from nature. Art is an abstraction! Study nature then brood on it and treasure the creation which will result, which is the only way to ascend towards God-to create like our Divine Master.

Paul Gauguin

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Topic

Nature of art Art

Author

Paul Gauguin

Medium

Letter

Statement Type

Advice

Language

French

Time

1888 1880s 19th century

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Citation

Gauguin, Paul. Letter to Emile Schuffenecker. 14 Aug. 1888.

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Art has to move you and design does not, unless it's a good design for a bus.

David Hockney

Quoted in The Guardian

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Topic

Nature of art Art

Speaker

David Hockney

Source

The Guardian

Medium

Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1988 1980s 20th century

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Citation

Hockney, David. The Guardian. 26 Oct. 1988.

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