Many people know how to work hard; many others know how to play well; but the rarest talent in the world is the ability to introduce elements of playfulness into work, and to put some constructive labor into our leisure. Sydney J. Harris More Quotes by Sydney J. Harris More Quotes From Sydney J. Harris Those who imagine that the world is against them have generally conspired to make it true. Sydney J. Harris imagineimaginationworld Sometimes the best, and only effective, way to kill an idea is to put it into practice. Sydney J. Harris practicewayideas Western civilization has not yet learned the lesson that the energy we expend in 'getting things done' is less important than the moral strength it takes to decide what is worth doing and what is right to do. Sydney J. Harris prioritiesimportantcivilization Character is something you forge for yourself; temperament is something you are born with and can only slightly modify. Sydney J. Harris temperamentborncharacter What the ordinary person means by a 'miracle' is some gross distortion or suspension of the laws of nature... but life itself strikes him as commonplace, when in truth a blade of grass or a neuron in the brain is a greater miracle. Sydney J. Harris miraclelawmean Many persons of high intelligence have notoriously poor judgement. Sydney J. Harris judgementpoordecision Genealogy: A perverse preoccupation of those who seek to demonstrate that their forebears were better people than they are. Sydney J. Harris genealogypreoccupationpeople The lusts of the flesh can be gratified anywhere; it is not this sort of license that distinguishes New York. It is rather, a lust of the total ego for recognition, even for eminence. More than elsewhere, everybody here wants to be somebody. Sydney J. Harris egolustnew-york Any creed whose basic doctrines do not include respect for the creeds of others, is simply power politics masquerading as philosophy. Sydney J. Harris power-politicsdoctrinephilosophy Marriages we regard as the happiest are those in which each of the partners believes he or she got the best of it. Sydney J. Harris best-lovepartnersbelieve The main discomfort in being a middle-of-the-roader is that you get sideswiped by partisans going in both directions. Sydney J. Harris discomfortpartisansmiddle Nice things are done for our own sake, not for the sake of others. The pleasure must reside in the performance, not in the applause. Good deeds are, in a deeper psychological way, a favor to oneself. If this is not grasped, then our whole sense of personal relationships becomes warped. Sydney J. Harris nicedeedsdone All our efforts to attain immortality-by statesmanship, by conquest, by science or the arts-are equally vain in the long run, because the long run is longer than any of us can imagine. Sydney J. Harris runninglongart People decline invitations when they are "indisposed" physically, and I wish they would do likewise when they feel indisposed emotionally. A person has no more right to attend a party with a head full of venom than with a throat full of virus. Sydney J. Harris partywishpeople If the devil could be persuaded to write a bible, he would title it, "You Only Live Once." Sydney J. Harris devilwritingbible More trouble is caused in this world by indiscreet answers than by indiscreet questions. Sydney J. Harris troubleanswersworld Perseverance is the most overrated of traits, if it is unaccompanied by talent; beating your head against a wall is more likely to produce a concussion in the head than a hole in the wall. Sydney J. Harris perseverancewalltalent Usually, if we hate, it is the shadow of the person that we hate, rather than the substance. We may hate a person because he reminds us of someone we feared and disliked when younger; or because we see in him some gross caricature of what we find repugnant in ourself; or because he symbolizes an attitude that seems to threaten us. Sydney J. Harris shadowhateattitude Just about the only interruption we don't object to is applause. Sydney J. Harris interruptionsapplauseappreciation Much as a teacher may wince at the thought, he is also an entertainer—for unless he can hold his audience, he cannot really instruct or edify them. Sydney J. Harris wincemayteacher
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