“We are not masters of the truth which is borne in upon us: it overpowers us.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) Catholic bishop
Source: Aphorisms and Reflections (1901), p. 273
As quoted in Abstract Painting, Michel Seuphor, Dell Publishing Co., 1964, p. 9
Posthumous quotes
“We are not masters of the truth which is borne in upon us: it overpowers us.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) Catholic bishop
Source: Aphorisms and Reflections (1901), p. 273
Henri Poincaré book The Value of Science
Le temps et l’espace... Ce n’est pas la nature qui nous les impose, c’est nous qui les imposons à la nature parce que nous les trouvons commodes.
Introduction, p. 13
The Value of Science (1905)
“We are born princes and the civilizing process makes us frogs.”
Eric Berne (1910–1970) Canadian psychiatrist
Roy Jenkins (1920–2003) British politician, historian and writer
Speech to the Pembrokeshire Constituency Labour Party in Haverfordwest (26 July 1974), quoted in The Times (27 July 1974), p. 3
1970s
“What is imposed on us by birth and environment is what we are called upon to overcome.”
Saul Bellow (1915–2005) Canadian-born American writer
Part I, p. 28
A Jewish Writer in America (2011)
Rab Butler (1902–1982) British politician
Speech to the quarterly meeting of the National Production Advisory Council on Industry (28 May 1954), quoted in The Times (29 May 1954), p. 3
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Georgy Zhukov (1896–1974) Marshal of the Soviet Union
Quoted in "Odd World: A Photo-reporter's Story" - Page 299 - by John Phillips - 1959
Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American politician, 30th president of the United States (in office from 1923 to 1929)
As quoted in Sid Meier's Civilization V (2010).