A university is not, primarily, a place in which to learn how to make a living; it is a place in which to learn how to be more fully a human being, how to draw upon one’s resources, how to discipline the mind and expand the imagination; how to make some sense out of the big world we will shortly be thrown into.
SYDNEY J. HARRISWhen I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’
More Sydney J. Harris Quotes
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Time is love, above all else. It is the most precious commodity in the world and should be lavished on those we care most about.
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When we inform, we lead from strength; when we communicate, we lead from weakness-and it is precisely this confession of mortality that engages the ears, heads and hearts of those we want to enlist as allies in a common cause.
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A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, his is also one who is permanently disappointed in the future.
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Take away grievances from some people and you remove their reasons for living; most of us are nourished by hope, but a considerable minority get psychic nutrition from their resentments, and would waste away purposelessly without them.
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It is not only useless, it is harmful, to believe in oneself until one truly knows oneself. And to know oneself means to accept our moments of insanity, of eccentricity, of childishness and blindness.
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It’s odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that English is the only major language in which “I” is capitalized; in many other languages “You” is capitalized and the “i” is lower case.” —
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If a small thing has the power to make you angry, does that not indicate something about your size?
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Usually, if we hate, it is the shadow of the person that we hate, rather than the substance.
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When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’
SYDNEY J. HARRIS -
Making out an invitation list for a party brings out the worst in everyone. It is then that our most ruthless estimates of the people we know come into play.
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The best combination of parents consists of a father who is gentle beneath his firmness, and a mother who is firm beneath her gentleness.
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The truest test of independent judgment is being able to dislike someone who admires us, and to admire someone who dislikes us.
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Patriotism is proud of a country’s virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues.
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A loser says that’s the way it’s always been done. A winner says there ought to be a better way.
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Enemies, as well as lovers, come to resemble each other over a period of time.
SYDNEY J. HARRIS