Quotes and Sayings about Posterity
"Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn."
- Joseph Addison
(Related: Genius, Books, Mankind, Posterity)
"We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us."
- Joseph Addison
(Related: Posterity)
"After being Turned Down by numerous Publishers, he had decided to write for Posterity."
- George Ade
(Related: Being, Posterity)
"The flattery of posterity is not worth much more than contemporary flattery, which is worth nothing."
- Jorge Luis Borges
(Related: Flattery, Nothing, Posterity, Worth)
"A spirit of innovation is generally the result of a selfish temper and confined views. People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors."
- Edmund Burke
(Related: People, Innovation, Posterity, Result, Spirit, Temper, Will)
"People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors."
- Edmund Burke
(Related: People, Posterity, Will)
"The Constitution of the United States was made not merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity- unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity."
- Henry Clay
(Related: Constitution, Posterity, states, United)
"Into this, for good or ill, is woven every belief of every man who has speech of his fellows. A awful privilege, and an awful responsibility, that we should help to create the world in which posterity will live."
- William Kingdon Clifford
(Related: Belief, Help, Man, Posterity, Privilege, Responsibility, Speech, Will, World)
"The drafts which true genius draws upon posterity, although they may not always be honored so soon as they are due, are sure to be paid with compound interest in the end."
- Charles Caleb Colton
(Related: Genius, End, Interest, May, Posterity)
"Contemporaries appreciate the person rather than their merit, posterity will regard the merit rather than the person."
- Charles Caleb Colton
(Related: Merit, Posterity, Will)
"Since it is not granted to us to live long, let us transmit to posterity some memorial that we have at least lived."
- E. Joseph Cossman
(Related: Posterity)
"I hope that posterity will judge me kindly, not only as to the things which I have explained, but also to those which I have intentionally omitted so as to leave to others the pleasure of discovery."
- Rene Descartes
(Related: Hope, Discovery, Pleasure, Posterity, Will)
"We live in an age when to be young and to be indifferent can be no longer synonymous. We must prepare for the coming hour. The claims of the Future are represented by suffering millions; and the Youth of a Nation are the trustees of Posterity."
- Benjamin Disraeli
(Related: Age, Future, Nation, Posterity, Suffering, Youth)
"The Youth of a Nation are the trustees of posterity."
- Benjamin Disraeli
(Related: Nation, Posterity, Youth)
"The Democratic Party is like a mule. It has neither pride of ancestry nor hope of posterity."
- Ignatius Donnelly
(Related: Hope, Ancestry, Party, Posterity, Pride)
"And perhaps, posterity will thank me for having shown it that the ancients did not know everything."
- Pierre de Fermat
(Related: Posterity, Will)
"Who could look on these monuments without reflecting on the vanity of mortals in thus offering up testimonials of their respect for persons of whose very names posterity is ignorant?"
- Marguerite Gardiner
(Related: Monuments, Names, Posterity, Respect, Vanity)
"What life half gives a man, posterity gives entirely."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(Related: Life, Man, Posterity)
"I would give no thought of what the world might say of me, if I could only transmit to posterity the reputation of an honest man."
- Sam Houston
(Related: Thought, Man, Posterity, Reputation, World)
"The success or failure of a life, as far as posterity goes, seems to lie in the more or less luck of seizing the right moment of escape."
- Alice James
(Related: Success, Life, Lie, Failure, Luck, Posterity, Right)
"Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honored by posterity because he was the last to discover America."
- James Joyce
(Related: America, Columbus, Posterity)
"The writing of the wise are the only riches our posterity cannot squander."
- Walter Savage Landor
(Related: Posterity, Writing)
"I think it better to do right, even if we suffer in so doing, than to incur the reproach of our consciences and posterity."
- Robert E. Lee
(Related: Posterity, Right)
"I suggest that what we want to do is not to leave to posterity a great institution, but to leave behind a great tradition of journalism ably practiced in our time."
- Henry R. Luce
(Related: Time, Journalism, Posterity, Tradition, Want)
"Why should I care about posterity? What's posterity ever done for me?"
- Groucho Marx
(Related: Care, Posterity)
"Never forget posterity when devising a policy. Never think of posterity when making a speech."
- Robert G. Menzies
(Related: Policy, Forget, Posterity, Speech)
"Each generation takes the earth as trustees. We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted and consumed."
- Julius Sterling Morton
(Related: Earth, Posterity)
"And those are the Rich, who transmit what they have to their Posterity; whereby particular Families become rich; and of such are compounded Cities, Countries, Nations, etc."
- Dudley North
(Related: Cities, Countries, Nations, Posterity)
"When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary."
- Thomas Paine
(Related: Virtue, Planning, Posterity)
"The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering galleries, they are clearly heard at the end, and by posterity."
- Jean Paul
(Related: Home, Father, Children, End, Posterity, Privacy, Words, World)
"Why should we put ourselves out of our way to do anything for posterity? For what has posterity ever done for us?"
- Boyle Roche
(Related: Posterity)
"Posterity weaves no garlands for imitators."
- Friedrich Schiller
(Related: Posterity)
"Posterity makes the judgments. There are going to be a lot of surprises in store for everybody."
- Irwin Shaw
(Related: Posterity, Surprises)
"A man doesn't plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity."
- Alexander Smith
(Related: Man, Plants, Posterity)
"If conquest does not bind posterity, so neither can compact bind it."
- Charlotte Smith
(Related: Conquest, Posterity)
"It is not likely that posterity will fall in love with us, but not impossible that it may respect or sympathize; so a man would rather leave behind him the portrait of his spirit than a portrait of his face."
- Robert Louis Stevenson
(Related: Love, Man, May, Posterity, Respect, Spirit, Will)
"Such as have reason, understanding, or common sense, will, and ought to make use of it in those things that concern themselves and their posterity, and suspect the words of such as are interested in deceiving or persuading them not to see with their own eyes."
- Algernon Sydney
(Related: Common sense, Concern, Eyes, Posterity, Reason, Understanding, Will, Words)
"I thought I had to make an impact on history. I had to become the greatest choreographer of my time. That was my mission. Posterity deals with us however it sees fit. But I gave it 20 years of my best shot."
- Twyla Tharp
(Related: History, Time, Thought, Deals, Mission, Posterity, Years)
"The function of posterity is to look after itself."
- Dylan Thomas
(Related: Posterity)
"Leibniz dedicated his life to efforts to educate people to understand that true happiness is found by locating their identity in benefitting mankind and their posterity."
- Robert Trout
(Related: Happiness, Life, People, Identity, Mankind, Posterity)
"As though there were a tie And obligation to posterity. We get them, bear them, breed, and nurse: What has posterity done for us. That we, lest they their rights should lose, Should trust our necks to gripe of noose?"
- John Trumbull
(Related: Trust, Rights, Obligation, Posterity)
"Is it no imputation to be arraigned before this House, in which I have sat forty years, and to have my name transmitted to posterity with disgrace and infamy?"
- Robert Walpole
(Related: Disgrace, Name, Posterity, Years)
"Art is always in the eyes of the beholder. Only posterity has the right to point out our mistakes."
- Len Wein
(Related: Art, Eyes, Mistakes, Posterity, Right)
"I do not suppose I shall be remembered for anything. But I don't think about my work in those terms. It is just as vulgar to work for the sake of posterity as to work for the sake of money."
- Orson Welles
(Related: Money, Work, Posterity)