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 average desire
Even when repressed, inequality grows; only the man who is below the average in economic ability desires equality; those who are conscious of superior ability desire freedom, and in the end superior ability has its way.
understanding tolerance mind
India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of mature mind, understanding spirit and a unifying, pacifying love for all human beings.
jesus powerful simple
That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so lofty ethic, and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Gospels.
change home world
It came to me that reform should begin at home, and since that day I have not had time to remake the world.
tolerance certainty grows
Tolerance grows only when faith loses certainty; certainty is murderous.
distance philosophy two
In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.
men promise revolution
If our economy of freedom fails to distribute wealth as ably as it has created it, the road to dictatorship will be open to any man who can persuasively promise security to all.
suffering thoughts-of-death
How much more suffering is caused by the thought of death than by death itself.
country time people
It may be true that you can't fool all the people all the time, but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country.
change civilization existence
Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.
stress discovery order
In my youth I stressed freedom, and in my old age I stress order. I have made the great discovery that liberty is a product of order.
men thinking law
If man asks for many laws it is only because he is sure that his neighbor needs them; privately he is an unphilosophical anarchist, and thinks laws in his own case superfluous.
running men circles
So the story of man runs in a dreary circle, because he is not yet master of the earth that holds him.
strong war mean
The victors called the revolution a triumph of liberty; but now and then liberty in the slogans of the strong means freedom from restraint in the exploitation of the weak.