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Generalize, Generalizations

To generalize is to be an idiot. To particularize is the alone distinction of merit. General knowledge are those knowledge that idiots possess. – William Blake

An idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think. – G. W. F. Hegel

We are more prone to generalize the bad than the good. We assume that the bad is more potent and contagious. – Eric Hoffer

A sweeping statement is the only statement worth listening to. The critic without faith gives balanced opinions, usually about second-rate writers. – Patrick Kavanagh

Generalization is necessary to the advancement of knowledge; but particularly is indispensable to the creations of the imagination. In proportion as men know more and think more they look less at individuals and more at classes. They therefore make better theories and worse poems. – Thomas Babington Macaulay

Obvious enough that generalities work to protect the mind from the great outdoors; is it possible that this was in fact their first purpose? – Howard Nemerov

Any general statement is like a check drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it. – Ezra Pound