Lewis Thomas Quotes

One reason the human race has such a low opinion of itself is that it gets so much of its wisdom from writers.

It's obviously a characteristic of human beings that we like to feel superior to others, but our problem is we are not superior

Man, when he is merely what he seems to be, is almost nothing.

The worst of faces still is human.

Progress is The law of life: man is not Man as yet.

I always have been optimistic about humanity's future. Always. Even at the most dismaying of times.

Don't attempt to reform man. An adequately organized environment will permit humanity's original, innate capabilities to become successful.

Mankind thinks either too much or too little of sin.

The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. If we could just free ourselves from our perceived limitations and tap into our internal fire, the possibilities are endless.

He was onto something. Something huge. It wasn't just how to run; it was how to live, the essence of who we are as a species and what we're meant to be.

I've been as consistent as human beings can be.

There never was a time when we were created perfect and fell into sin and needed to be rescued. We are evolving people; we are not fallen people. We are not a little lower than the angels. We're a little higher than the apes. It's a very different perspective.

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.

Then again, Solomon was human. And that meant he was flawed (Go on, take a look at yourself in the mirror. A good long look, if you can bear it. See? Flawed's putting it mildly, isn't it?)

Idealists are people who believe in the potential of human nature for transformation. . . . The most essential attribute of human nature is its mutability and freedom from instinct . . . it is always within our power to change our nature. So it is actually the idealists who are on the mark and the realists who are off base.

The man-worshipers, in my sense of the term, are those who see man's highest potential and strive to actualize it. The man-haters are those who regard man as a helpless, depraved, contemptible creature-and struggle never to let him discover otherwise.

The assumption of being merely individuals is our greatest limitation.

Life is an ever-flowing process and somewhere on the path some unpleasant things will pop up - it might leave a scar, but then life is flowing, and like running water, when it stops it grows stale. Go bravely on, my friend, because each experience teaches us a lesson. Keep blasting because life is such that sometimes it is nice and sometimes it is not.

Man is a marvelous curiosity. When he is at his very very best he is a sort of low grade nickel-plated angel; at his worst he is unspeakable, unimaginable; and first and last and all the time he is a sarcasm. Yet he blandly and in all sincerity calls himself the 'noblest work of God.'

humans are born in truth, but we grow up believing in lies. one of the biggest lies in the story of humanity is the lie of our imperfection.

Man is an evasive beast, given to cultivating strange notions about himself.

I consider how little man is, yet, in his own mind, how great. He is lord and master of all things, yet scarce can command anything.

The sons of Adam are formed from dust; if not humble as the dust, they fall short of being men.

Baseball is a lot like the ivy-covered wall of Wrigley Field--it gives off a great appearance, but when you run into it, you discover the bricks underneath. At times, it seems that we're dealing with a group of men who aren't much different than others we've all run into over the years, except they wear neckties instead of robes and hoods.

I see tragedy and comedy and pain and irony and all that stuff. But in the end I think life is fascinating, and I think people are more good than bad, and I think that the possibilities of prog­ress are real.