It is surely a matter of common observation that a man who knows no one thing intimately has no views worth hearing on things in g...eneral. The farmer philosophizes in terms of crops, soils, markets, and implements, the mechanic generalizes his experiences of wood and iron, the seaman reaches similar conclusions by his own special road; and if the scholar keeps pace with these it must be by an equally virile productivity.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Heads of state are notoriously ill prepared for their mature careers; think of Adolf Hitler (landscape painter), Ho Chi Minh (seam...an), and our own Ronald Reagan.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
I've never seen a better seaman, but as a man he's a snake. He doesn't punish for discipline, he likes to see men crawl. Sometimes... I'd like to push his poison down his own throat.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
From what I have said of the natives of New Holland they may appear to some to be the most wretched people upon earth; but in real...ity they are far happier than we Europeans, being wholly unacquainted not only with the superfluous, but with the necessary conveniences so much sought after in Europe; they are happy in not knowing the use of them.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »