Sydney J. Harris

An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that read more

An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.

The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love read more

The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, "I was wrong".

The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one's mind a pleasant place in which to spend one's read more

The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one's mind a pleasant place in which to spend one's leisure.

Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought read more

Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.

It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined read more

It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves, and if you're not comfortable within yourself, you can't be comfortable with others. -Sydney J. Harris.