Quotes for All
Baroque civilization believed in two truths, which for a post-18th-century mindset are exclusive truths – we have to eliminate one to believe the other. They believed in the rational exploration of the universe, and they also believed that there was a hidden spiritual truth. Baroque thinkers were able to live the two at the same … Read more
The most consequential change in man’s view of the world, of living nature and of himself came with the introduction, over a period of some 100 years beginning only in the 18th century, of the idea of change itself, of change over periods of time: in a word, of evolution. Ernst Mayr
We don’t have a clear path forward, and that’s been the case for feminism since the 18th century, when the idea of the rights of women actually began. Erica Jong
You need some reason why Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn in the 18th century all flocked to Vienna. What was it about Vienna? They must have known on some level that that is where they would flourish. It’s what biologists call selective migration. Eric Weiner
I believe that justices must recognize that our Constitution is an 18th-century document that needs to be applied in the context of the 21st century. Frank Lautenberg
I was like, Oh yeah, that’s kind of like me. I’m always living in the past. When I was really young, I thought I was from the 18th century and I was trapped in this life, and I was so miserable and figuring how I could get back. Maybe I was just picking up on … Read more
Compare the scale and magnifcence of Versailles with St James’s – the brick-built hovel in which the 18th-century kings of England lived. What was then the most powerful monarchy in the world housed its sovereigns in a converted leper hospital, yet, at the same time, parliament provided the magnificent palaces of Chelsea and Greenwich as … Read more
I think the Electoral College is an absurd 18th-century construct. But that is the law. David Remnick
Housetops were covered with ‘gazers’; all wharves that offered a view were jammed with people … As British officers happily reminded one another, it was the largest fleet ever seen in American waters. In fact it was the largest expeditionary force of the 18th century, the largest, most powerful force ever sent forth by Britain … Read more
In fact, it was the largest expeditionary force of the 18th century. The largest, most powerful force ever set forth from Britain or any nation. David McCullough