Not much longer shall we have time for reading lessons of the past. An inexorable present calls us to the defense of a great future.
Henry R. LuceRead
The world of the 20th century, if it is to come to life in any viability of health and vigor, must be to a significant degree an American century.
Interpretation
The 20th century's vitality relies heavily on American influence and culture.
Henry R. Luce suggests that for the 20th century to thrive and be meaningful, it must largely reflect American ideals, values, and contributions. This quote implies that the United States has a central role in shaping the future and vitality of global society during this era, highlighting the extent of its cultural, political, and economic impact.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of American contributions to global culture.
Not much longer shall we have time for reading lessons of the past. An inexorable present calls us to the defense of a great future.
I became a journalist to come as close as possible to the heart of the world.
There are men who can write poetry, and there are men who can read balance sheets. The men who can read balance sheets cannot write.
Show me a man who claims he is objective and I'll show you a man with illusions.
Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.
He that buildeth his nest upon a Divine promise shall find it abide and remain until he shall fly away to the land where promises are lost in fulfillments.
Of my conception I know only what you know of yours. It occurred in darkness and I was unconsenting... By some bleak alchemy what had been mere unbeing becomes death when life is mingled with it.
Why should not every individual man have existed more than once upon this world? Why should I not come back as often as I am capable of acquiring fresh knowledge? Is this hypothesis so laughable merely because it is the oldest? Because the human understanding, before the sophistries of the schools had dissipated and debilitated it, lighted upon it at once?
Evelyn Waugh: How do you get your main pleasure in life, Sir William? Sir William Beveridge: I get mine trying to leave the world a better place than I found it. Waugh: I get mine spreading alarm and despondency and I get more satisfaction than you do.
"The true essence of humankind is kindness. There are other qualities which come from education or knowledge, but it is essential, if one wishes to be a genuine human being and impart satisfying meaning to one's existence, to have a good heart."
A city is where you can sign a petition, boo the chief justice, fish off a pier, gaze at a hippopotamus, buy a flower at the corner, or get a good hamburger or a bad girl at 4 A.M. A city is where sirens make white streaks of sound in the sky and foghorns speak in dark grays. San Francisco is such a city.
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