“The quickest way to kill the human spirit is to ask someone to do mediocre work.”

Source: Song Growing Up

The Education of Henry Adams (1907)

Excerpt from address given to the National Rifle Association in Dallas, Texas — https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-the-quickest-way-to-stop-a-bad-guy-with-a-gun-is-a-good-guy-with-a-gun-pence-says-at-nra-convention (May 4, 2018)
Vice President of the United States (2017-Present)

Source: Anarcho-Syndicalism (1938), Ch. 4 "The Objectives of Anarcho-syndicalism"
Context: For the state centralisation is the appropriate form of organisation, since it aims at the greatest possible uniformity in social life for the maintenance of political and social equilibrium. But for a movement whose very existence depends on prompt action at any favourable moment and on the independent thought and action of its supporters, centralism could but be a curse by weakening its power of decision and systematically repressing all immediate action … Organisation is, after all, only a means to an end. When it becomes an end in itself, it kills the spirit and the vital initiative of its members and sets up that domination by mediocrity which is the characteristic of all bureaucracies.

Quote magazine (15 June 1958)
1950s
Context: When human beings have been fascinated by the contemplation of their own hearts, the more intricate biological pattern of the female has become a model for the artist, the mystic, and the saint. When mankind turns instead to what can be done, altered, built, invented, in the outer world, all natural properties of men, animals, or metals become handicaps to be altered rather than clues to be followed. Women want mediocre men, and men are working hard to be as mediocre as possible.

Source: Definitely Dead