One of the little-celebrated powers of Presidents (and other high government officials) is to listen to their critics with just enough sympathy to ensure their silence.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
A bad book is the worse that it cannot repent. It has not been the devil's policy to keep the masses of mankind in ignorance; but finding that they will read, he is doing all in his power to poison their books.
Interpretation
The quote warns that bad literature can lead to ignorance and corruption of thought, emphasizing the importance of critical reading.
John Kenneth Galbraith's quote reflects the concern that poor-quality books can lead readers astray, suggesting that even though evil forces may not prevent people from reading, they can influence the content that readers engage with. The statement highlights the critical responsibility individuals have in discerning what to read, as literature can significantly shape thoughts, beliefs, and societal values.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of literature in education classes.
One of the little-celebrated powers of Presidents (and other high government officials) is to listen to their critics with just enough sympathy to ensure their silence.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
All successful revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door.
Money differs from an automobile or mistress in being equally important to those who have it and those who do not.
People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage.
When I talk to students - and I still think of myself more than anything as a kind of professor on leave - they say, 'Well, how do I get to do what you do?'... And I say, 'Well, you have to start out by being a failed piano major.' And my point to them is don't try to have a 10-year plan. Find the next thing that interests you and follow that.
That best academy, a mother's knee.
I do have a blurred memory of sitting on the stairs and trying over and over again to tie one of my shoelaces, but that is all that comes back to me of school itself.
....Man's struggle to be rational about himself, about his relationship to his own society and to other peoples and nations involves a constant search for understanding among all peoples and all cultures-a search that can only be effective when learning is pursued on a worldwide basis.
As more people become more intelligent they care less for preachers and more for teachers.
I do think imagination is enormously valuable, and that children should be encouraged in their imagination. That's very true.
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