“He irritably suspected himself of a tendency to make enemies unnecessarily.”
Source: The Pirates of Zan (1959), Chapter 3
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Murray Leinster38
Novelist, short story writer 1896–1975Related quotes
Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French
Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) English biologist and comparative anatomist
1860s, Criticisms on "The Origin of the Species" (1864)
Karl Popper (1902–1994) Austrian-British philosopher of science
"The Importance of Critical Discussion" in On the Barricades: Religion and Free Inquiry in Conflict (1989) by Robert Basil
Context: There is an almost universal tendency, perhaps an inborn tendency, to suspect the good faith of a man who holds opinions that differ from our own opinions. … It obviously endangers the freedom and the objectivity of our discussion if we attack a person instead of attacking an opinion or, more precisely, a theory.
Thomas Paine (1737–1809) English and American political activist
1790s, First Principles of Government (1795)
Context: An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
“You ought not to cross your children unnecessarily, for it makes them ill-natured.”
Ann Lee (1736–1784) English Shaker leader
The Communistic Societies of the United States (1875)
Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) American novelist, short story writer
Source: The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor