“Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. The grave will supply plenty of time for silence.”

— Christopher Hitchens

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Christopher Hitchens 305

British American author and journalist 1949–2011

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“Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence”

Christopher Hitchens Letters to a Young Contrarian

Source: 2000s, 2001, Letters to a Young Contrarian (2001)
Context: Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you.

“At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality.”

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2 Corinthians 8:14 NIV
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“Laughing at mankind is rather weary rot, I think. We shall never meet with anyone nicer. Nature, whom I used to be keen on, is too unfair. She evokes plenty of high & exhausting feelings, and offers nothing in return.”

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“In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity.”

Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) German statesman, Federal Chancellor of Germany, politician (CDU)

As quoted in A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House (1965) by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., p. 291 books.google https://books.google.de/books?id=uFhNxX5lrNEC&pg=PA291&dq=stupidity

“When men can hate without risk, their stupidity is easily convinced, the motives supply themselves.”

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Source: Journey to the End of the Night

“There is a silence where hath been no sound,
There is a silence where no sound may be,—
In the cold grave, under the deep, deep sea,
Or in the wide desert where no life is found.”

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) British writer

Sonnet, Silence; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
20th century

“Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead.”

Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet

“Aiyyo, the brother's "Stillmatic"
I crawled up out of that grave, wipin the dirt, cleanin my shirt. They thought I'd make another "Illmatic"
But it's always forward I'm movin
Never backwards stupid here's another classic”

Nas (1973) American rapper, record producer and entrepreneur

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“Voltaire remarked that it is possible to kill a flock of sheep by witchcraft if you give them plenty of arsenic at the same time. The sheep, in this figure, may well stand for the complacent apologists of capitalism; Marx's penetrating insight and bitter hatred of oppression supply the arsenic, while the labour theory of value provides the incantations.”

Joan Robinson book An Essay on Marxian Economics

Source: An Essay on Marxian Economics (Second Edition) (1966), Chapter III, The Labour Theory Of Value, p. 22

“There is plenty of time to win this game, and to thrash the Spaniards too.”

Francis Drake (1540–1596) English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era

Reputedly while playing Bowls at Plymouth Hoe, upon being informed that the Spanish Armada had been sighted approaching England. ([29 July, 1588, 19 July]); This attribution is not known to have appeared in writing until 1736, so its authenticity remains uncertain.
Disputed
Variant: There's time to finish the game and beat the Spaniards too.

“Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. The grave will supply plenty of time for silence.”

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Christopher Hitchens 305

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