Lewis Mumford Quotes
I'm a pessimist about probabilities, I'm an optimist about possibilities.
Mumford, Lewis. My Works and Days: A Personal Chronicle. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979, p. 524.
1st Earl of Beaconsfield. He describes this as “the National Motto of England.” Many people associate the phrase with Charles Dicken’s (David Copperfield) character Mr. Micawber, but this was written 22 years after Disraeli.
Lewis Mumford was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a writer. Mumford made signal contributions to social philosophy, American literary and cultural history and the history of technology. Mumford was influenced by the work of Scottish theorist Sir Patrick Geddes and worked closely with his associate the British sociologist Victor Branford.
