Richard Whately
Richard Whately
Richard Whatelywas an English rhetorician, logician, economist, academic and theologian who also served as a reforming Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. He was a leading Broad Churchman, a prolific and combative author over a wide range of topics, a flamboyant character, and one of the first reviewers to recognise the talents of Jane Austen...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth1 February 1787
effort exempt failures
He is only exempt from failures who makes no effort
failure effort
He only is exempt from failures who makes no efforts.
although argument cushion cut destroy difficult easy feat known thrust weak
Weak arguments are often thrust before my path; but although they are most insubstantial, it is not easy to destroy them. There is not a more difficult feat known than to cut through a cushion with a sword.
faith flower fruit
As the flower is before the fruit, so is faith before good works.
art mind analysis
As a science, logic institutes an analysis of the process of the mind in reasoning, and investigating the principles on which argumentation is conducted; as an art, it furnishes such rules as may be derived from those principles, for guarding against erroneous deductions.
english-writer
Preach not because you have to say something, but because you have something to say.
english-writer few men side truth
All men wish to have truth on their side; but few to be on the side of truth.
argue argument best gets hungry
Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.
english-writer human objects optics
In our judgment of human transactions, the law of optics is reversed; we see the most indistinctly the objects which are close around us.
man neglecting pursuing
A man is called selfish, not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor's
acts best honesty man principle
Honesty is the best policy," but he who acts on that principle is not an honest man
religious strong political
A fanatic, either, religious or political, is the subject of strong delusions.
prudent circumstances remarkable
It is a remarkable circumstance in reference to cunning persons that they are often deficient not only in comprehensive, far-sighted wisdom, but even in prudent, cautious circumspection.
men decision mind
Men first make up their minds (and the smaller the mind the sooner made up), and then seek for the reasons; and if they chance to stumble upon a good reason, of course they do not reject it. But though they are right, they are only right by chance.