A Quote by Irving Babbitt

Commercialism is laying its great greasy paw upon everything including the irresponsible quest of thrills; so that, whatever democracy may be theoretically, one is sometimes tempted to define it practically as standardized and commercialized melodrama.

Irving Babbitt

Quote Topics

Commercialism Define Democracy Everything Great Including Irresponsible Laying May Melodrama Practically Quest Sometimes Standardized Tempted Thrills Whatever

Quote Author

Irving Babbitt
American - Critic
August 2, 1865 - July 15, 1933

If a man went simply by what he saw, he might be tempted to affirm that the essence of democracy is melodrama.

Irving Babbitt

Every sentence in order to have definite scientific meaning must be practically or at least theoretically verifiable as either true or false upon the basis of experimental measurements either practically or theoretically obtainable by carrying out a definite and previously specified operation in the future. The meaning of such a sentence is the method of its verification.

Walter A. Shewhart

Television hangs on the questionable theory that whatever happens anywhere should be sensed everywhere. If everyone is going to be able to see everything, in the long run all sights may lose whatever rarity value they once possessed, and it may well turn out that people, being able to see and hear practically everything, will be specially interested in almost nothing.

E. B. White

I have a great family, great kids. I have practically everything, you know? Sometimes I have to pinch myself. It's really true: Life starts at 50.

Bjorn Borg

A spurious democracy has influenced both our research methods (I am sometimes tempted to define "validity" as part of the context of an experiment demanding so little in the way of esoteric gift that any number can play at it, provided they have taken a certain number of courses) and our research subjects (it would be deemed snobbish to investigate only the best people).

David Riesman

There are people all over the world who like to write fan letters in the voice of their pet: 'Hello, my name is Fifi and I'm a labrador and I think you're great. Paw paw!'

Rebecca Hall

I feel anxious for the fate of our monarchy, or democracy, or whatever is to take place. I soon get lost in a labyrinth of perplexities; but, whatever occurs, may justice and righteousness be the stability of our times, and order arise out of confusion. Great difficulties may be surmounted by patience and perseverance.

Abigail Adams

I define melodrama as truth uninhibited. It's the kind of truth we dream about. Rather than melodrama being exaggerated, it's actually uninhibited. And it's a big difference - people look down on exaggerations, but I think they should look up to the un-inhibitions.

Guy Maddin

A managed democracy is a wonderful thing... for the managers... and its greatest strength is a 'free press' when 'free' is defined as 'responsible' and the managers define what is 'irresponsible'.

Robert A. Heinlein

Liberalism is probably the root of most of the problems they face in life, including raising their kids, including educating their kids, practically every walk of life, because everything today's political.

Rush Limbaugh

Sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.

Diane Ravitch

Democracy may mean something more than a theoretically absolute popular government, but it assuredly cannot mean anything less.

Herbert Croly

Jesus' birthday is commercialized, so of course, Black History Month is commercialized.

Jidenna

To be a philosopher... is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.

Henry David Thoreau

Sometimes my life has been Odyssean - landing on strange islands of consciousness and reality and meeting very curious monsters who turn out to be very great teachers. Sometimes my life has been a quest for a grail of knowledge and education. Like Parsifal, my life has been a quest to pierce the veil, stumbling along but eventually finding it.