Home / Authors / Bergen Evans

Bergen Evans Quotes

Author

Bergen Evans, an enigmatic figure active in the 20th century, whose specific profession and achievements remain unclear. His life was shrouded in mystery, and despite limited information, his influence and contributions within his field are not to be underestimated.

Filter quotes by topic

All Civilized Leadership Men Wisdom Writing Ability Atheism Claims Facts Following

Famous Bergen Evans Quotes

“Leadership is more likely to be assumed by the aggressive than by the able, and those who scramble to the top are more often motivated by their own inner torments.”

Able Leadership Motivated Aggressive Torment

Book:The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense

Source: The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense

“Stoicism is the wisdom of madness and cynicism the madness of wisdom.”

Wisdom Madness Cynicism Stoicism

Author:Bergen Evans

“We see what we want to see, and observation conforms to hypothesis.”

Want Observation Conform Hypothesis

Author:Bergen Evans

“Wisdom is meaningless until your own experience has given it meaning, and there is wisdom in the selection of wisdom.”

Wisdom Given Meaningless Selection

Author:Bergen Evans

“Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.”

Thinking Action Fear Freedom Doubt Atheism Speech Rage Meaningless Freedom Of Speech Memorial Freedom Of Thought Memorial Day Memorial Day Poems Memorial Day Remembrance Doubt Me Memorial Weekend

Author:Bergen Evans

“The civilized man has a moral obligation to be skeptical. . . . Any man who for one moment abandons or suspends the questioning spirit has for that moment betrayed humanity.”

Men Moments Spirit Religion Humanity Moral Atheism Obligation Abandon That Moment Civilized Questioning Betrayed Skeptical Moral Obligation

Author:Bergen Evans

“The civilized man has a moral obligation to be skeptical, to demand the credentials of all statements that claim to be facts.”

Men Facts Wisdom Moral Trust Demand Claims Statements Obligation Civilized Skeptical Moral Obligation Credentials

Author:Bergen Evans

“Speech is highly elliptical. It would scarcely be endurable otherwise. Ellipsis is indispensable to the writer or speaker who wants to be brief and pithy, but it can easily cause confusion and obscurity and must be used with skill.”

Want Writing Used Causes Skills Speech Confusion Speakers Indispensable Obscurity Pithy

Author:Bergen Evans

“It (the dash ) is a comfortable punctuation mark since even the most rigorous critic can seldom claim that any particular example of it is a misuse. Its overuse is its greatest danger, and the writer who can't resist dashes may be suspected of uncoordinated thinking.”

Thinking Writing May Danger Example Particular Comfortable Claims Mark Critics Misuse Punctuation Punctuation Marks

Author:Bergen Evans

“Legislators who are of even average intelligence stand out among their colleagues. . . . A cultured college president has become as much a rarity as a literate newspaper publisher. A financier interested in economics is as exceptional as a labor leader interested in the labor movement. For the most part our leaders are merely following out in front; they [only] marshal us in the way that we are going.”

Source: The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense

“Most civilized lives are measured out with coffee spoons.”

Coffee Civilized Spoons

Author:Bergen Evans

“Authors are magpies, echoing each other's words and seizing avidly on anything that glitters.”

Writing Glitter Seizing Magpies

Author:Bergen Evans

“We may be through with the past, but the past is not through with us.”

Author:Bergen Evans

“For the most part our leaders are merely following out in front; they do but marshal us the way that we are going.”

Way Leader Fronts Following

Book:The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense

Source: The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense

“That is the essence of a witch-hunt, that any questioning of the evidence or the procedures in itself constitutes proof of complicity.”

Evidence Essence Proof Witch Questioning Hunts Procedures Complicity Witch Hunt

Author:Bergen Evans

“The mere abhorrence of vice is not a virtue at all.”

Virtue Mere Vices Abhorrence

Author:Bergen Evans

“Words are one of our chief means of adjusting to all the situations of life. The better control we have over words, the more successful our adjustment is likely to be.”

Mean Situation Successful Chiefs Adjustment Adjusting

Book:The word-a-day vocabulary builder

Source: The word-a-day vocabulary builder

“There is wisdom in the selection of wisdom.”

Author:Bergen Evans

“Lying is an indispensable part of making life tolerable.”

Lying Liars Indispensable Tolerable

Author:Bergen Evans

“Many studies have established the fact that there is a high correlation between vocabulary and intelligence and that the ability to increase one's vocabulary throughout life is a sure reflection of intellectual progress.”

Facts Life Is Ability Study Progress Intellectual Reflection Increase Vocabulary Correlation

Book:The word-a-day vocabulary builder

Source: The word-a-day vocabulary builder

“An honorable man will not be bullied by a hypothesis.”

Men Honorable Hypothesis Bullied Honorable Man

Author:Bergen Evans

“There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the ability to lead somewhere that will be to the advantage of the led.”

Inspirational Desire Leadership Ability Advantage Connections

Book:The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense

Source: The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense

About the Author

Born: September 19, 1904
Died: February 4, 1978
Known for: Author
Quotes: 22

Related Topics

Civilized Leadership Men Wisdom Writing Ability Atheism Claims Facts Following

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Spoor of Spooks: And Other NonsenseRelated source material

The word-a-day vocabulary builderRelated source material

Similar Authors

Schuyler ColfaxBrowse related quotes
Peter CosgroveBrowse related quotes
Bradford WintersBrowse related quotes
John R. ThompsonBrowse related quotes
Charles SangsterBrowse related quotes
James C HumesBrowse related quotes
Johnny HuntBrowse related quotes
John C. MaxwellBrowse related quotes
Catherine DeVryeBrowse related quotes
Bill ByrdBrowse related quotes