"Mankind have always wandered or settled, agreed or quarrelled, in troops and companies."

Adam Ferguson Literature See all quotes by Adam Ferguson →

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“Man, in his animal capacity, is qualified to subsist in every climate.”

“Every step and every movement of the multitude, even in what are termed enlightened ages, are made with equal blindness to the future; and nations stumble upon establishments, which are indeed the result of human action, but not the execution of any human design.”

“The history of mankind is confined within a limited period, and from every quarter brings an intimation that human affairs have had a beginning.”

“In every commercial state, notwithstanding any pretension to equal rights, the exaltation of a few must depress the many.”

“Men are to be estimated, not from what they know, but from what they are able to perform.”

“We are fond of distinctions; we place ourselves in opposition, and quarrel under the denominations of faction and party, without any material subject of controversy.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions."

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Education1807–1882

#Human Nature

"Well it seems to me absolutely scandalous to try to set wage levels which wipe out jobs. I mean these are people who are not on the dole. They want to work and if you price them out of the market its …"

— Irwin Stelzer

Economics1932

#Human Nature

"It is important, then, to see confirmation, or the validation of one’s constructs, as securing a base upon which one can build major revisions of construct system. This is why we so often cite securit…"

— George Kelly (psychologist)

Psychology1905–1967

#Human Nature

"I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were ma…"

— Nelson Mandela

Politics1918–2013

#Human Nature