Quotes by Sydney J. Harris

Men may be divided almost any way we please, but I have found the most useful distinction to be made between those who devote their lives to conjugating the verb "to be," and those who spend their lives conjugating the verb "to have."

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.

It may be true that the weak will always be driven to the wall; but it is the task of a just society to see that the wall is climbable.

Skepticism is not an end in itself; it is a tool for the discovery of truths.

When you run into someone who is disagreeable to others, you may be sure he is uncomfortable with himself; the amount of pain we inflict upon others is directly proportional to the amount we feel within us.

When we have "second thoughts" about something, our first thoughts don't seem like thoughts at all - just feelings.

You may be certain that when a man begins to call himself a "realist," he is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of.

American parents, on the whole, do not want their sons to be artisans or craftsmen, but business or professional people. As a result, millions of youngsters are being prepared for careers they have little aptitude for - and little interest in except for dubious prestige.

Filth is always a sign of weakness - in the mouth of the user and in the mind of the writer.

The generality of mankind is lazy. What distinguishes men of genuine achievement from the rest of us is not so much their intellectual powers and aptitudes as their curiosity, their energy, their fullest use of their potentialities. Nobody really knows how smart or talented he is until he finds the incentives to use himself to the fullest. God has given us more than we know what to do with.