My definition [of a philosopher] is of a man up in a balloon, with his family and friends holding the ropes which confine him to earth and trying to haul him down. – Louisa May Alcott, in Life, Letters, and Journals, ed. E.D. Cheney, 1889
Philosophy cannot raise the commonalty up to her level: so, if she is to become popular, she must sink to theirs. – Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers
There are many persons pretending to have a refined literary taste, who seldom read any books but those which are fashionable… – Charles Lanman, “Thoughts on Literature,” 1840
I made a commitment… both to myself and to some supporters to carefully consider a run for the Liberal leadership for the Liberal Party of Canada. – Dalton McGuinty
