Nothing is done. Everything in the world remains to be done or done over. The greatest picture is not yet painted, the greatest play isn't written, the greatest poem is unsung. There isn't in all the world a perfect railroad, nor a good government, nor a sound law. Physics, mathematics, and especially the most advanced and exact of the sciences are being fundamentally revised. . . Psychology, economics, and sociology are awaiting a Darwin, whose work in turn is awaiting an Einstein.
Lincoln SteffensIt is our knowledge - the things we are sure of - that makes the world go wrong and keeps us from seeing and learning.
Lincoln SteffensSo youve been over into Russia? said Bernard Baruch, and I answered very literally, I have been over into the future and it works.
Lincoln SteffensMy father required me to honor my father and my mother too much to put up games on them. I did on occasion.
Lincoln SteffensThe best picture has not yet been painted; the greatest poem is still unsung; the mightiest novel remains to be written; the divinest music has not been conceived, even by Bach. In science, probably ninety-nine percent of the knowable has not yet been discovered.
Lincoln SteffensOne improvement I have learned from my childhood experience with my father: I do not threaten punishment in the morning. That was awful. Late into the night I would lie awake tossing and wondering what he was going to do to me. Usually he did nothing. A quiet, impressive 'talking to' was all I got.
Lincoln Steffens