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
banks build civilization filled happened historians ignore people pessimists poetry raise shouting sing stream whittle
Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with from people , 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 the story of what happened on the banks. Historians are pessimists because they ignore the banks for the river.
banks build civilization filled happened historians ignore people pessimists poetry raise shouting sing stream whittle
Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with from people , 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 the story of what happened on the banks. Historians are pessimists because they ignore the banks for the river.
philosophy people logic
In its youth a people produce mythology and poetry; in its decadence, philosophy and logic.
nature motivation people
The time when you need to do something is when no one else is willing to do it, when people are saying it can't be done.
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.
people events earth
We Americans are the best informed people on earth as to the events of the last twenty-four hours; we are the not the best informed as the events of the last sixty centuries.
people opiates communism
Communism is the opiate of the people.
people
We are thin. We are just going to have to go with the people we got.
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
civilization order liberty
Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos.
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.
conservative radical valuable
The conservative who resists change is as valuable as the radical who proposes it.
men civilization earth
Man, not the earth, makes civilization.