Quote

A nation is a society united by a delusion about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbours.

William Ralph Inge

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

William Ralph Inge
Nation
Neighbours
Politics
Ancestry
Nations
Neighbour
Society
Nationalism
Common
Patriotism
United
Delusion
Neighbor
Hatred

More quotes by William Ralph Inge

Image
In imperialism nothing fails like success. If the conqueror oppresses his subjects, they will become fanatical patriots, and sooner or later have their revenge if he treats them well, and governs them for their good, they will multiply faster than their rulers, till they claim their independence.
William Ralph Inge
Image
If the universe is running down like a clock, the clock must have been wound up at a date which we could name if we knew it. The world, if it is to have an end in time, must have had a beginning in time.
William Ralph Inge
Image
The wisdom of the wise is an uncommon degree of common sense.
William Ralph Inge
Image
Take away fear, and the battle of Freedom is half won.
William Ralph Inge
Image
Prayer gives a man the opportunity of getting to know a gentleman he hardly ever meets. I do not mean his maker, but himself.
William Ralph Inge
Image
A cat can be trusted to purr when she is pleased, which is more than can be said for human beings.
William Ralph Inge
Image
God does not always punish a nation by sending it adversity. More often He gives the oppressors their hearts' desire, and sends leanness withal into their soul.
William Ralph Inge
Image
Every institution not only carries within it the seeds of its own dissolution, but prepares the way for its most hated rival.
William Ralph Inge
Image
No word in our language - not even Socialism - has been employed more loosely than Mysticism. The history of the word begins in close connexion with the Greek mysteries. A mystic is one who has been, or is being, initiated into some esoteric knowledge of Divine things, about which he must keep his mouth shut.
William Ralph Inge
Image
The right use of leisure is no doubt a harder problem than the right use of our working hours. The soul is dyed the color of its leisure thoughts.
William Ralph Inge
Image
There is no limit to the noble aspirations which the words my country may evoke.
William Ralph Inge
Image
The modern world belongs to the half-educated, a rather difficult class, because they do not realize how little they know.
William Ralph Inge
Image
The Devil deserves zero tolerance.
William Ralph Inge
Image
This is old, therefore it is good the other says, This is new, therefore it is better.
William Ralph Inge
Image
The proper time to influence the character of a child is about a hundred years before he is born.
William Ralph Inge
Image
Civilization is being poisoned by its own waste products.
William Ralph Inge
Image
Our test is infallible. Whatever view of reality deepens our sense of the tremendous issues of life in the world wherein we move, is for us nearer the truth than any view which diminishes that sense.
William Ralph Inge
Image
The jealous man is so preoccupied with what he hasn't got that he fails to appreciate the value of what he has got. He loses the ability to feel glad because the sun is shining. He doesn't see the wonder and the newness of the beginning of spring.
William Ralph Inge
Image
The object of studying philosophy is to know one's own mind, not other peoples.
William Ralph Inge
Image
Joy is the triumph of life it is the sign that we are living our true life as spiritual beings.
William Ralph Inge