Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Russel Shorto

Quote by Russel Shorto

“But such is the nature of the concept of tolerance. It evolves. Every generation puts its own limitations on it, and the clashes that define a given generation seem in many respects to be over the question of who and what that generation tolerates.”

Quote by Russel Shorto

Create image

Author

Russel Shorto

Browse famous quotes and profile details for Russel Shorto. more

You May Also Like

“The evolution of Polak's ideas had a great deal to do with the fact that he was a Jew. Like Jews elsewhere, those in Amsterdam kept a low profile; they were predominantly workers, and so they were attracted to the socialist program of fairness and decency. But they were deeply repelled by the idea of revolution. They knew from centuries of experience which group would become the scapegoat if things turned out badly. Polak read widely and while in England was influenced by the Fabian Society, which promoted a moderate path between socialism and capitalism. He cofounded the Dutch diamond worker's union (whose members were overwhelmingly Jewish) and became its chairman. From that perch he was able to put his ideas into practice. He wanted not only decent housing for workers but something more: beauty, a genuinely good life.”

AmsterdamTrade UnionsHenri Polak
Author:Russel Shorto
Create image

“the smell of canals and cigarette smoke, all the people sitting outside the cafés drinking beer, saying their r's and g's in a way I'd never learn. I missed the future. Obviously I knew even before this recurrence that I'd never grow old with Augustus Waters. But thinking about Lidewij and her boyfriend, I felt robbed. I would probably never again see the ocean from thirty thousand feet above, so far up you can't make out the waves or any boats, so that the ocean is a great and endless monolith. I could imagine it. I could remember it. But I couldn't see it again, and it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better and again. That is probably true even if you live to be ninety.”

LoveFutureAmsterdamThe Fault In Our StarsUnsated
Book:The Fault in Our Stars
Create image

“Opinions differ on the question of whether a golden age is something you can experience while it's happening or whether it only comes into focus on reflection...no matter how grand and prosperous and momentous the time in which you are living may be, its grandeur is inevitably stained by the incessant drabness of the present.”

HollandAmsterdamNetherlandsDutch History
Book:Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City
Create image

“The work was mind numbing yet somehow important. I was a tiny contributor to a large thing, bringing my offering under the watchful gaze of Almighty God. Chasing dust motes wasn’t as poetic as the gift of the little drummer boy, but it was the gift I had at the moment. I’m not sure what the elders would think of my musings. Daddy had always said the people were the church, but with it all empty and lemon-fresh scented, it felt more holy than it did on the usual Sunday, when it was full of powdery-cheeked ladies and men wearing suits. The quietness soothed me more than any choir. The stillness let me focus and actually see the play of light on stained glass windows. Without light, the windows would be as blank and lifeless as plain old regular, unsanctified panes.”

FaithChurchWorship
Book:When the Wildflowers Bloom Again
Create image