“They believe in the miracles of the past, and deny the demonstrations of the present”

— Robert G. Ingersoll

The Truth (1896)
Context: These men are the enemies of science—of intellectual progress. They ridicule and calumniate the great thinkers. They deny everything that conflicts with the “sacred Scriptures.” They still believe in the astronomy of Joshua and the geology of Moses. They believe in the miracles of the past, and deny the demonstrations of the present. They are the foes of facts—the enemies of knowledge. A desire to be happy here, they regard as wicked and worldly—but a desire to be happy in another world, as virtuous and spiritual.

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Robert G. Ingersoll 439

Union United States Army officer 1833–1899

Ellen Goodman (1941) American journalist and writer

Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/02/09/no_change_in_political_climate/, Op-Ed, February 9, 2007

“Constantinople has no past; only a noisy present and a splendid future, if the auguries are to be believed.”

Gore Vidal (1925–2012) American writer

Source: 1960s, Julian (1964), Chapter 2

“Best not to mix the past with the present. The present paints the past with gold. The past paints the present with lead.”

Henry Rollins (1961) American singer-songwriter

“It might be plausibly maintained, that in almost every one of the leading controversies, past or present, in social philosophy, both sides were in the right in what they affirmed, though wrong in what they denied.”

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) British philosopher and political economist

J. S. Mill, Dissertations and discussions: political, philosophical, and historical, Volume 2 http://books.google.gr/books?id=FyfPAAAAMAAJ&dq=, H. Holt, 1864, p. 11.

“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

Touching Peace (1992), p. 1. Parallax Press ISBN 0-938077-57-0
Variant: The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.
Source: Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living