1917-, American Journalist
A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past; he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future.
Sidney J. Harris – [Cynics and Cynicism]
A winner rebukes and forgives; a loser is too timid to rebuke and too petty to forgive
Sidney J. Harris – [Forgiveness]
An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.
Sidney J. Harris – [Ideals and Idealism]
Good teaching must be slow enough so that it is not confusing, and fast enough so that it is not boring.
Sidney J. Harris – [Teachers and Teaching]
If a small thing has the power to make you angry, does that not indicate something about your size?
Sidney J. Harris – [Anger]
If the devil could be persuaded to write a bible, he would title it, ''You Only Live Once.''
Sidney J. Harris – [Devil]
Intolerance is the most socially acceptable form of egotism, for it permits us to assume superiority without personal boasting.
Sidney J. Harris – [Tolerance]
It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves, and if you're not comfortable within yourself, you can't be comfortable with others.
Sidney J. Harris – [Self-conflict]
Middle Age is that perplexing time of life when we hear two voices calling us, one saying, ''Why not?'' and the other, ''Why bother?''
Sidney J. Harris – [Age and Aging]
Ninety per cent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves — so how can we know anyone else?
Sidney J. Harris – [Self-discovery]
People who think they're generous to a fault usually think that's their only fault.
Sidney J. Harris – [Generosity]
Perseverance is the most overrated of traits, if it is unaccompanied by talent; beating your head against a wall is more likely to produce a concussion in the head than a hole in the wall.
Sidney J. Harris – [Perseverance]
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
Sidney J. Harris – [Regret]
Sometimes the best, and only effective, way to kill an idea is to put it into practice.
Sidney J. Harris – [Ideas]
The greatest enemy of progress is not stagnation, but false progress.
Sidney J. Harris – [Progress]
The most important thing in an argument, next to being right, is to leave an escape hatch for your opponent, so that he can gracefully swing over to your side without too much apparent loss of face.
Sidney J. Harris – [Argument]
The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers.
Sidney J. Harris – [Computers]
The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.
Sidney J. Harris – [Relaxation]
We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice — that is, until we have stopped saying ''It got lost,'' and say, ''I lost it.''
Sidney J. Harris – [Adulthood]
When I hear somebody sigh that ''Life is hard,'' I am always tempted to ask, ''Compared to what?''
Sidney J. Harris – [Life and Living]