“Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else—unless it is an enemy.”

—  Albert Einstein

Ideas and Opinions
1950s, Essay to Leo Baeck (1953)

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 "Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else—unless it is an enemy." by Albert Einstein?
Albert Einstein photo
Albert Einstein 702
German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativi… 1879–1955

Related quotes

Israel Zangwill photo

“No Jew was ever fool enough to turn Christian unless he was a clever man.”

Israel Zangwill (1864–1926) British writer

Children of the Ghetto (1892), bk. 1, ch. 7.

Thomas Szasz photo

“Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.”

Thomas Szasz (1920–2012) Hungarian psychiatrist

"Emotions", p. 36.
The Second Sin (1973)

Muammar Gaddafi photo

“Man’s freedom is lacking if somebody else controls what he needs, for need may result in man’s enslavement of man.”

Muammar Gaddafi book The Green Book

The Green Book (1975)
The Green Book (1975)

Ozzy Osbourne photo

“Somebody said to me this morning, 'To what do you attribute your longevity?”

Ozzy Osbourne (1948) English heavy metal vocalist and songwriter

I don't know. I mean, I couldn't have planned my life out better. By all accounts I should be dead! The abuse I put my body through: the drugs, the alcohol, the lifestyle I've lived the last 30 years! Now, some rare fly will fly over me, crap on my shoulder, and I'll drop dead, you know? My life story is a real-life story.
Launch.com, October 30, 1998

Lev Grossman photo

“By now he had learned enough to know that when he was getting annoyed at somebody else, it was usually because there was something that he himself should be doing, and he wasn't doing it.”

Lev Grossman The Magician King

Source: The Magician King

Milton Friedman photo

“Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government. And that’s close to 40% of our national income.”

Milton Friedman (1912–2006) American economist, statistician, and writer

Fox News interview (May 2004)
Context: There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else’s money on myself. And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I’m sure going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government. And that’s close to 40% of our national income.

John Burroughs photo

“A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.”

John Burroughs (1837–1921) American naturalist and essayist

Variant: You can get discouraged many times, but you are not a failure until you begin to blame somebody else and stop trying.

Robert A. Heinlein photo

“Precedent is merely the assumption that somebody else, in the past with less information, nevertheless knows better than the man on the spot.”

Robert A. Heinlein book Space Cadet

Source: Space Cadet (1948), Chapter 15 “Pie With a Fork”, p. 180

François de La Rochefoucauld photo

“Passion often renders the most clever man a fool, and even sometimes renders the most foolish man clever.”

François de La Rochefoucauld book Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims

La passion fait souvent un fou du plus habile homme, et rend souvent les plus sots habiles.
Variant translation: Passion often makes a fool of the cleverest man and often makes the most foolish men clever.
Maxim 6.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

Related topics