To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man.
Alan Paton (1903 - 1988)
He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), Politics
Society, my dear, is like salt water, good to swim in but hard to swallow.
Arthur Stringer, "The Silver Poppy"
A society of sheep must in time beget1 a government of wolves.
Bertrand de Jouvenal
We live in a society exquisitely2 dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.
Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)
A nation is a society united by a delusion3 about its ancestry4 and by common hatred5 of its neighbors.
Dean William R. Inge
The nature of society is largely determined6 by the direction in which talent and ambition flow-by the tilt7 of the social landscape.
Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983), The Temper of Our Time, 1967
Be very circumspect8 in the choice of thy company. In the society of thine equals thou shalt enjoy more pleasure; in the society of thy superiors thou shalt find more profit. To be the best in the company is the way to grow worse.
Francis Quarles (1592 - 1644)
What can you say about a society that says that God is dead and Elvis is alive?
Irv Kupcinet
But society has now fairly got the better of individuality; and the danger which threatens human nature is not the excess, but the deficiency, of personal impulses and preferences.
John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873), On Liberty,chapter 3, 1859
Everyone who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit.
John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873), On Liberty
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Krishnamurti
The needs of society determine its ethics9.
Maya Angelou (1928 - )
Do not speak ill of society, Algie. Only people who can't get in do that.
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Importance of Being Earnest
I'm against a homogenized society, because I want the cream to rise.
Robert Frost (1874 - 1963)
There is no nonsense so gross that society will not, at some time, make a doctrine10 of it and defend it with every weapon of communal11 stupidity.
Robertson Davies
Man seeketh in society comfort, use and protection.
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626), The Advancement12 of Learning, 1605
We must beware of trying to build a society in which nobody counts for anything except a politician or an official, a society where enterprise gains no reward and thrift13 no privileges.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965), Radio broadcast, London, March 21, 1943
