Will Durant
Will Durant
William James "Will" Durantwas an American writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for The Story of Civilization, 11 volumes written in collaboration with his wife, Ariel Durant, and published between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for The Story of Philosophy, described as "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy"...
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth5 November 1885
men land minorities
Destroy it. There may be a redistribution of the land, but the natural inequality of men soon re-creates an inequality of possessions and privileges, and raises to power a new minority with essentially the same instincts as the old.
civilization history ruins
The South creates the civilizations, the North conquers them, ruins them, borrows from them, spreads them: this is one summary of history.
christian religious rome
In Constantinople, more Christians were slaughtered by Christians in the years 342-343 than by all the persecutions by pagans in the history of Rome.
haste action foresight
Power dements even more than it corrupts, lowering the guard of foresight and raising the haste of action.
pride wish proud
If you wish to be loved, be modest; if you wish to be admired, be proud; if you wish both, combine external modesty with internal pride.
civilization apathy decay
[H]istory assures us that civilizations decay quite leisurely.
work men haste
No man who is in a hurry is quite civilized.
achievement doe pale
Knowledge that does not generate achievement is a pale and bloodless thing, unworthy of mankind.
history age sin
History offers some consolation by reminding us that sin has flourished in every age.
art men order
Civilization is social order promoting cultural creation. Four elements constitute it: economic provision, political organization, moral tradition, and the pursuit of knowledge and the arts. It begins where chaos and insecurity end. For when fear is overcome, curiosity and constructiveness are free, and man passes by natural impulse towards the understanding and embellishment of life.
views concentration-of-wealth economic-history
We conclude that the concentration of wealth is natural and inevitable, and is periodically alleviated by violent or peaceable partial redistribution. In this view all economic history is the slow heartbeat of the social organism, a vast systole and diastole of concentrating wealth and compulsive redistribution.
cat would-be sides
A cat has a reputation to protect. If it had a halo, it would be worn cocked to one side.
love motivational faith
Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing the things historians usually record, while on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is what happened on the banks.
philosophy self discipline
Philosophy is harmonized knowledge making a harmonious life; it is the self-discipline which lifts us to serenity and freedom. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom is liberty.