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
civilization order liberty
Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos.
men liberty progress
Human progress having reached a high level through respect for the liberty and dignity of men, it has become desirable to re-affirm these evident truths
liberty chaos dictatorship
When liberty exceeds intelligence, it begets chaos, which begets dictatorship.
order liberty hunger
When liberty destroys order the hunger for order will destroy liberty.
men law liberty
Man became free when he recognized that he was subject to law.
government political liberty
Forced to choose, the poor, like the rich, love money more than political liberty; and the only political freedom capable of enduring is one that is so pruned as to keep the rich from denuding the poor by ability or subtlety and the poor from robbing the rich by violence or votes.
civilization luxury liberty
Liberty is a luxury of security; the free individual is a product and a mark of civilization.
liberty anarchy dies
As soon as liberty is complete it dies in anarchy.
liberty dictatorship license
When liberty becomes license, dictatorship is near.
knowledge knowledge-and-power liberty
Knowledge is power but only wisdom is liberty.
order liberty products
Liberty is a product of order.
dishonest ill integrity others praising speak
To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves.
answer belief creative god history mean nature negative reluctant support supreme vitality
Does history support a belief in God? If by God we mean not the creative vitality of nature but a supreme being intelligent and benevolent, the answer must be a reluctant negative
character technology opportunity
The influence of geographic factors diminishes as technology grows. The character and contour of a terrain may offer opportunities for agriculture, mining, or trade, but only the imagination and initiative of leaders, and the hardy industry of followers, can transform the possibilities into fact...Man, not the earth, makes civilization.