Sydney J. Harris Quotes

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Sydney J. Harris

Profession : Journalist

Birth : September 14, 1917

Intolerance is the most socially acceptable form of egotism, for it permits us to assume superiority without personal boasting.

Sydney J. Harris

Middle Age is that perplexing time of life when we hear two voices calling us, one saying, 'Why not?' and the other, 'Why bother?'

Sydney J. Harris

Sometimes the best, and only effective, way to kill an idea is to put it into practice.

Sydney J. Harris

When you run into someone who is disagreeable to others, you may be sure he is uncomfortable with himself; the amount of pain we inflict upon others is directly proportional to the amount we feel within us.

Sydney J. Harris

Ninety per cent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves - so how can we know anyone else?

Sydney J. Harris

Enemies, as well as lovers, come to resemble each other over a period of time.

Sydney J. Harris

The art of living consists in knowing which impulses to obey and which must be made to obey.

Sydney J. Harris

The beauty of 'spacing' children many years apart lies in the fact that parents have time to learn the mistakes that were made with the older ones - which permits them to make exactly the opposite mistakes with the younger ones.

Sydney J. Harris

There's no point in burying a hatchet if you're going to put up a marker on the site.

Sydney J. Harris

Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do something next summer; this is how commencement speakers are caught.

Sydney J. Harris

The most important thing in an argument, next to being right, is to leave an escape hatch for your opponent, so that he can gracefully swing over to your side without too much apparent loss of face.

Sydney J. Harris

When we have 'second thoughts' about something, our first thoughts don't seem like thoughts at all - just feelings.

Sydney J. Harris

Somebody who never got over the embarrassing fact that he was born in bed with a lady.

Sydney J. Harris

Many a secret that cannot be pried out by curiosity can be drawn out by indifference.

Sydney J. Harris

People who think they're generous to a fault usually think that's their only fault.

Sydney J. Harris