Sydney J. Harris
Sydney J. Harris
Sydney J. Harriswas an American journalist for the Chicago Daily News and, later, the Chicago Sun-Times. He wrote 11 books and his weekday column, “Strictly Personal,” was syndicated in approximately 200 newspapers throughout the United States and Canada...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth14 September 1917
CountryUnited States of America
Sydney J. Harris quotes about
atheist real believe
The real heretic is not the atheist or agnostic (who are often decent people) but those who murmur "it doesn't matter what you believe, as long as it makes you feel good." This turns religion into a subjective matter, like taste in furnishings, and robs theology of its claim to ultimate truth.
middle discomfort partisans
The main discomfort in being a middle-of-the-roader is that you get sideswiped by partisans going in both directions.
peace war nuclear
Nuclear war is inevitable, says the pessimists; Nuclear war is impossible, says the optimists; Nuclear war is inevitable unless we make it impossible, says the realists.
forgiveness forgiving loser
A winner rebukes and forgives; a loser is too timid to rebuke and too petty to forgive.
order people feelings
Many people feel "guilty" about things they shouldn't feel guilty about, in order to shut out feelings of guilt about things they should feel guilty about.
party play people
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.
differences enemy use
The difference between faith and superstition is that the first uses reason to go as far as it can, and then makes the jump; the second shuns reason entirely — which is why superstition is not the ally, but the enemy, of true religion.
voting democracy republican
There are always too many Democratic congressmen, too many Republican congressmen, and never enough U.S. congressmen.
philosophy moral ethics
Any philosophy that can be put in a nutshell belongs there.
teaching confusing boring
Good teaching must be slow enough so that it is not confusing, and fast enough so that it is not boring.
curiosity secret indifference
Many a secret that cannot be pried out by curiosity can be drawn out by indifference.
summer winter keeping-promises
Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do something next summer; this is how commencement speakers are caught.
philosophy power-politics doctrine
Any creed whose basic doctrines do not include respect for the creeds of others, is simply power politics masquerading as philosophy.
knowledge brain
Knowledge fills a large brain; it merely inflates a small one.