Many a secret that cannot be pried out by curiosity can be drawn out by indifference. Sydney J. Harris More Quotes by Sydney J. Harris More Quotes From Sydney J. Harris And most of the failures in parent-child relationships, from my observation, begin when the child begins to acquire a mind and a will of its own, to make independent decisions and to question the omnipotence or the wisdom of the parent. Sydney J. Harris omnipotenceindependentchildren By the time a man asks you for advice, he has generally made up his mind what he wants to do, and is looking for confirmation rather than counseling. Sydney J. Harris mindadvicemen We believe what we want to believe, what we like to believe, what suits our prejudices and fuels our passions. Sydney J. Harris prejudicepassionbelieve The paradox of friendship is that it is both the strongest thing in the world and the most fragile. Wild horses cannot separate friends, but whining words can. A man will lay down his life for his friend but will not sacrifice his eardrums. Sydney J. Harris horsesacrificefriendship Elitism is the slur directed at merit by mediocrity. Sydney J. Harris meritmediocrityacceptance The art of listening needs its highest development in listening to oneself; our most important task is to develop an ear that can really hear what we're saying. Sydney J. Harris empathylisteningart Confidence, once lost or betrayed, can never be restored again to the same measure; and we learn too late in life that our acts of deception are irrevocable - they may be forgiven, but they cannot be forgotten by their victims. Sydney J. Harris deceptionmaytoo-late Being yourself is not remaining what you were, or being satisfied with what you are. It is the point of departure and far from the goal. Sydney J. Harris departurewhere-you-arebeing-yourself Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a "necessary evil", it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil. Sydney J. Harris evilintegritylooks American parents, on the whole, do not want their sons to be artisans or craftsmen, but business or professional people. As a result, millions of youngsters are being prepared for careers they have little aptitude for - and little interest in except for dubious prestige. Sydney J. Harris careerspeopleson Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest," but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. Sydney J. Harris pridehumilitycountry If you want to know what a man's character is really like... ask him to tell you the living person he most admires - for hero worship is the truest index of a man's private nature. Sydney J. Harris herocharactermen We truly possess only what we are able to renounce; otherwise, we are simply possessed by our possessions. Sydney J. Harris renouncepossessionable The difference between faith and superstition is that the first uses reason to go as far as it can, and then makes the jump; the second shuns reason entirely — which is why superstition is not the ally, but the enemy, of true religion. Sydney J. Harris alliesdifferencesenemy Real loneliness consists not in being alone, but in being with the wrong person, in the suffocating darkness of a room in which no deep communication is possible. Sydney J. Harris communicationlonelinessreal The reason that truth is stranger than fiction is that fiction has to have a rational thread running through it in order to be believable, whereas reality may be totally irrational. Sydney J. Harris honestytruthrunning The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes them a mother - which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician. Sydney J. Harris motherbelievechildren The most important thing in an argument, next to being right, is to leave an escape hatch for your opponent, so that he can gracefully swing over to your side without too much apparent loss of face. Sydney J. Harris swingslossappreciation This is a lesson mankind has not yet learned. We identify, and stratify, and treat persons largely on the basis of their accidental (physical) characteristics, which have no deeper meaning. Sydney J. Harris characteristicstreatslessons The real heretic is not the atheist or agnostic (who are often decent people) but those who murmur "it doesn't matter what you believe, as long as it makes you feel good." This turns religion into a subjective matter, like taste in furnishings, and robs theology of its claim to ultimate truth. Sydney J. Harris atheistrealbelieve
