Henry Adams Quotes

I often begin a thought with spirit and finish it with nonsense. The chain of my argument often escapes me, and when lost can seldom be retrieved. These faults are so overpowering that I should sink into perpetual silence were it not that sometimes in ardor of debate, when my feelings are wound up to a high tone, elocution pours itself along with unusual rapidity, and I have passages which would not shame a good speaker; this is the only thing that makes me tolerable to others or to myself.

Eloquence, when in its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection.

Argument is conclusive … but … it does not remove doubt.

The truth is always the strongest argument.

So long as opinion is strongly rooted in the feelings, it gains rather than loses instability by having a preponderating weight of argument against it.

Anger is seldom without argument but seldom with a good one.

Arguing with a man doesn't work.

Violence in the voice is often only the death rattle of reason in the throat.

The irrationality of a thing is no argument against its existence, rather a condition of it.

Quarrel? Nonsense; we have not quarreled. If one is not to get into a rage sometimes, what is the good of being friends?

People will dig their heels in and fight for the things they love and against the things they hate.

Positiveness is a good quality for preachers and speakers because, whoever shares his thoughts with the public will convince them as he himself appears convinced.

It is impossible to persuade a man who does not disagree, but smiles.

Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right.

In Israel we tend to be carried away by our emotions.

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.

Hatred is blind, as well as love.

There is a holy mistaken zeal in politics as religion. By persuading others, we convince ourselves.

Gesturing with his body and head rather than with his arms, he grew very impassioned and seemed transfigured. Then the inspiration that possessed him took possession of his hearers also. His speaking went to the heart because it came from the heart. I have heard celebrated orators who could start thunders of applause without changing any man’s opinion. Mr. Lincoln’s eloquence was of the higher type, which produced conviction in others because of the conviction in others because of the conviction of the speaker himself.

Soft words and hard arguments.

Lower your voice and strengthen your argument.

Every man in it is a great man—an orator, a critic, a statesman, and therefore every man upon every question must show his oratory, his criticism, and his political abilities. The consequence is that business is drawn and spun out to immeasurable length.

A majority is always the best repartee.

You cannot possibly persuade people that what they have firmly in mind is not so.

I never heard either of them speak ten minutes at a time, nor to any but the main point which was to decide the question. They laid their shoulders to the great points, knowing that the little ones would follow of themselves.