For the educated, the authority of science rested on the strictness of its methods; for the mass, it rested on the powers of explanation.
Jacques BarzunOut of man's mind in free play comes the creation Science. It renews itself, like the generations, thanks to an activity which is the best game of homo ludens: science is in the strictest and best sense a glorious entertainment.
Jacques BarzunI have always been - I think any student of history almost inevitably is - a cheerful pessimist.
Jacques BarzunDemocracy, to maintain itself, must repeatedly conquer every cell and corner of the nation. How many of our public institutions and private businesses, our schools, hospitals, and domestic hearths are in reality little fascist states where freedom of speech is more rigorously excluded than vermin?
Jacques Barzun