The clock, not the steam-engine, is the key-machine of the modern industrial age.
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
Technics and Civilization (1934)
Quotations by:
Mumford, Lewis
For even the humblest person, a day spent without the sight or sound of beauty, the contemplation of mystery, or the search for truth and perfection is a poverty-stricken day; and a succession of such days is fatal to human life.
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
The Condition of Man (1944)
(Source)
What is any established institution but a Society for the Prevention of Change?
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
The Conduct of Life, 4.3 (1951)
Men become susceptible to ideas, not by discussion and argument, but by seeing them personified and by loving the person who so embodies them.
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
The Conduct of Life, 4.3 (1951)
A courageous effort consecrates an unhappy end.
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
The Conduct of Life, 9.10 (1951)
Life is a score we play at sight, not merely before we have divined the intentions of the composer, but even before we have mastered our own instruments; even worse, a large part of the score has been only roughly indicated, and we must improvise the music for our particular instrument, over long passages. On these terms the whole operation seems one of endless difficulty and frustration; and indeed, were it not for the fact that some of the passages have been played so often by our predecessors that, when we come to them, we seem to recall some of the score and can anticipate the natural sequence of the notes, we might often give up in sheer despair. The wonder is not that so much cacophony appears in our actual individual lives, but that there is any appearance of harmony and progression.
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
The Conduct of Life, 9.5 (1951)
One of the functions of intelligence is to take account of the dangers that come from trusting solely to intelligence.
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
The Transformations of Man, 7.1 (1956)
I’m a pessimist about probabilities; I’m an optimist about possibilities.
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
In Carey Winfrey, “Lewis Mumford Remembers,” New York Times (6 Jul 1977)
The way people in democracies think of the government as something different from themselves is a real handicap. And, of course, sometimes the government confirms their opinion, unfortunately.
Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect
Quoted in Anne Chisholm, Philosophers of the Earth: Conversations with Ecologists (1972)
(Source)
The last word is usually left off in most Internet collections.