Sydney J. Harris Quotes

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• The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Country, Attitude, War

  Sydney J. Harris (1953). “Strictly personal”

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• The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Graduation, Education, Wall

  Sydney J. Harris (1985). “Pieces of Eight Pa”, Mariner Books

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• History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the damage is done.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Damage Is Done, History Repeats Itself, Cunning

  Sydney J. Harris (1986). “Clearing the ground”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• 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'.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Love, Inspirational, Life

  Sydney J. Harris (1985). “Pieces of Eight Pa”, Mariner Books

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• There are always too many Democratic congressmen, too many Republican congressmen, and never enough U.S. congressmen.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Voting, Democracy, Republican

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• Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Love, Funny, Change

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• A winner knows how much he still has to learn, even when he is considered an expert by others; a loser wants to be considered an expert by others before he has learned enough to know how little he knows.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Growth, Experts, Want

  Sydney J. Harris (1964). “Leaving the Surface”

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• "Terrorism" is what we call the violence of the weak, and we condemn it; "war" is what we call the violence of the strong, and we glorify it.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Strong, War, Violence

  Sydney J. Harris (1986). “Clearing the ground”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• A famously wise old man in a village was once asked how he came by his wisdom. "I got it from my good judgment," he answered. And where did his good judgment come from? "I got it from my bad judgment."

  Sydney J. Harris

  Wise, Wisdom, Men

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• Happiness is a direction, not a place.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Happiness, Happy

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• The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Real, Math, Technology

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• Ninety per cent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves - so how can we know anyone else?

  Sydney J. Harris

  Real, Knowing, People

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• The two words 'information' and 'communication' are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Communication, Two, Giving

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• Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Love, Inspirational, Motivational

  Sydney J. Harris (1953). “Strictly personal”

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• Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times; few are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Education, Dark, Mirrors

  Sydney J. Harris (1985). “Pieces of Eight Pa”, Mariner Books

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• As we grow older, we should learn that these are two quite different things. Character is something you forge for yourself; temperament is something you are born with and can only slightly modify. Some people have easy temperaments and weak characters; others have difficult temperaments and strong characters. We are all prone to confuse the two in assessing people we associate with. Those with easy temperaments and weak characters are more likable than admirable; those with difficult temperaments and strong characters are more admirable than likable.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Strong, Character, Two

  Sydney J. Harris (1986). “Clearing the ground”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• Men make counterfeit money; in many more cases, money makes counterfeit men.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Money, Men, Cases

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• A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, his is also one who is permanently disappointed in the future.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Fear, Past, Lessons

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• There's no point in burying a hatchet if you're going to put up a marker on the site.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Forgiveness, Heartbroken, Site

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• When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'

  Sydney J. Harris

  Inspirational, Funny, Life

  Sydney J. Harris (1953). “Strictly personal”

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• 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

  Relationship, Confidence, Self Esteem

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• Ancient boundaries are meaningless, except for political purposes; old divisions of clan and tribe are sentimental remnants of the pre-atomic age; neither creed nor color nor place of origin is relevant to the realities of modern power to utterly seek and destroy.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Reality, Color, Political

  Sydney J. Harris (1976). “Best of Sydney J. Harris”

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• When you run into someone who is disagreeable to others, you may be sure he is uncomfortable with himself; the amount of pain we inflict upon others is directly proportional to the amount we feel within us.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Running, Pain, May

  Sydney J. Harris (1976). “Best of Sydney J. Harris”

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• The acceptance of ambiguity implies more than the commonplace understanding that some good things and some bad things happen to us. It means that we know that good and evil are inextricably intermixed in human affairs; that they contain, and sometimes embrace, their opposites; that success may involve failure of a different kind, and failure may be a kind of triumph.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Failure, Mean, Acceptance

  Sydney J. Harris (1986). “Clearing the ground”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.

  Sydney J. Harris

  Funny, Witty, Time

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