U.S. Supreme Court rationale for sterilizing the "unfit." Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200, 207 (1927) (endorsing Virginia's eugenics program).
1920s
Context: We have seen more than once that the public welfare may call upon the best citizens for their lives. It would be strange if it could not call upon those who already sap the strength of the State for these lesser sacrifices, often not felt to be such by those concerned, in order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence. It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.... Three generations of imbeciles are enough.
Patrick O'Brian book Master and Commander
Source: Master and Commander (1970)
Context: “But you know as well as I, patriotism is a word; and one that generally comes to mean either my country, right or wrong, which is infamous, or my country is always right, which is imbecile.”
“Three generations from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) American businessman and philanthropist
Quoted in: George J. Borjas (2001) Heaven's Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy. p. 132
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) Duce and President of the Council of Ministers of Italy. Leader of the National Fascist Party and subsequen…
Popolo d'Italia (Feb. 1, 1921), quoted in The Menace of Fascism, John Strachey (1933) p. 65
1920s
Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) American writer
As quoted in An Apple for the Teacher: Fundamentals for Instructional Computing (1983) by George H. Culp and Herbert N. Nickles, p. 190; also in Youth Quake: A Manifesto (2002) by Cousin Sam, p. 31
“Rich People plan for three generations
Poor people plan for Saturday night”
Gloria Steinem (1934) American feminist and journalist
“Curiously enough, the Sublime is generally achieved through want of proportion.”
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) French painter
25 January 1857 (p. 345)
1831 - 1863, Delacroix' 'Journal' (1847 – 1863)
“Chanel, General De Gaulle and Picasso are the three most important figures of our time.”
André Malraux (1901–1976) French novelist, art theorist and politician
As quoted in Paris, Paris : Journey Into the City of Light (2005) by David Downie, p. 87
