The man who has the courage of his platitudes is always a successful man. Van Wyck Brooks on courage
Magnanimous people have no vanity, they have no jealousy, and they feed on the true and the solid wherever they find it. And, what is more, they find it everywhere. Van Wyck Brooks on jealousy
People of small caliber are always carping. They are bent on showing their own superiority, their knowledge or prowess or good breeding. Van Wyck Brooks on knowledge
There is no stopping the world's tendency to throw off imposed restraints, the religious authority that is based on the ignorance of the many, the political authority that is based on the knowledge of the few. Van Wyck Brooks on knowledge