Wit & Wisdom
From Margaret MacMillan, Jakob Burckhardt, Henry David Thoreau, Josh Billings, Kenneth Bancroft Clark, Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Edison
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“History should not be written to make the present generation feel good but to remind us that human affairs are complicated.”
Margaret MacMillan, quoted in the New York Review of Books
“Neither in the life of the individual nor in that of mankind is it desirable to know the future.”
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Historian Jakob Burckhardt, quoted in the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch
“It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.”
Henry David Thoreau, quoted in the Montreal Gazette
“One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Humorist Josh Billings, quoted in The Kansas City Star
“Pride, like humility, is destroyed by one’s insistence that he possesses it.”
Psychologist Kenneth Bancroft Clark, quoted in the Dayton, Ohio, Daily News
“Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.”
Bertolt Brecht, quoted in BookReporter.com
“Vision without execution is hallucination.”
Thomas Edison, quoted in The Wall Street Journal
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