Sydney J. Harris Quotations

A winner rebukes and forgives; a loser is too timid to rebuke and too petty to forgive.

Intolerance is the most socially acceptable form of egotism, for it permits us to assume superiority without personal boasting.

As WArden Lawes once said of convicts, no man can be called a failure until he has tried something he really likes, and fails at it.

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.

It's odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that English is the only major language in which "I" is capitalized; in many other languages "You" is capitalized and the "i" is lower case." --

The world has always been betrayed by decent men with bad ideals.

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.

Middle Age is that perplexing time of life when we hear two voices calling us, one saying, 'Why not?' and the other, 'Why bother?'

If you cannot endure to be thought in the wrong, you will begin to do terrible things to make the wrong appear right.

The founder of every creed from Jesus Christ to Karl Marx, would be appalled to return to earth and see what has been made of that creed, not by its enemies, but by its most devoted adherents.