“America was born modern; it did not have to achieve modernity, nor did it have modernity thrust upon it.”

— Ernest Gellner , book Anthropology and Politics

Anthropology and Politics (1995)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "America was born modern; it did not have to achieve modernity, nor did it have modernity thrust upon it." by Ernest Gellner?

Ernest Gellner 32

Czech anthropologist, philosopher and sociologist 1925–1995

Dick Francis (1920–2010) English jockey and crime writer

Source: To the Hilt (1996)

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.”

William Shakespeare Twelfth Night

Malvolio, Act II, scene v.
Variant: Some are born great, others achieve greatness.
Source: Twelfth Night (1601)

“Some men are born sodomites, some achieve sodomy, and some have sodomy thrust upon them…”

Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) poet, mountaineer, occultist

Source: The Scented Garden Of Abdullah The Satirist Of Shiraz

“The harmony of the lines and folds of modern dress works upon our sensitiveness with the same emotional and symbolical power as did the nude upon the sensitiveness of the old masters.”

Umberto Boccioni (1882–1916) Italian painter and sculptor

as quoted in Futurism, ed. Didier Ottinger; Centre Pompidou / 5 Continents Editions, Milan, 2008, p. 154.
1914 - 1916

“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English playwright and poet

“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.”

Joseph Heller book Catch-22

Variant: Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity trust upon them.
Source: Catch-22 (1961)
Context: Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three.

“Rutherford was a historian, after all, and secretly enjoyed it when the truth did injury to modern sensibilities.”

Kage Baker book The Life of the World to Come

Source: The Life of the World to Come (2004), Chapter 11, “Christmas Meeting” (p. 181)

“… invisibility was one of Bengali modernity’s prerequisites and cardinal achievements.”

Amit Chaudhuri (1962) contemporary Indian-English novelist

citation needed
On Modernity

“In point of fact, Western philosophy has never set itself free of Christianity: wherever Christianity did not have a hand in the construction of modern philosophy it served instead as a stumbling block.”

Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) French philosopher

An Essay on Christian Philosophy (1955), p. 51.

“For me, life would be worthless if there was not modern art and if I did not had the opportunity to express myself in it anyhow, now that I have gradually found the way I can express myself.”

Hendrik Werkman (1882–1945) Dutch artist

version in original Dutch (origineel citaat van Hendrik Werkman, in het Nederlands): Voor mij zou het leven waardeloos zijn als er niet de moderne kunst was en als ik niet de mogelijkheid had om me daarin te uiten op welke manier dan ook, nu ik de wijze waarop ik mij kan uiten langzamerhand heb gevonden.
Quote of Werkman in his letter to August Henkels, June 1942, as cited by Doeke Sijens in H. N. Werkman - Leven & Werk - 1882-1945, ed. A. de Vries, J. van der Spek, D. Sijens, M. Jansen; WBooks, Groninger Museum / Stichting Werkman, 2015 (transl: Fons Heijnsbroek), p. 64
1940's

“America was born modern; it did not have to achieve modernity, nor did it have modernity thrust upon it.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Ernest Gellner 32

Related quotes

Related topics