Quotes by Adam Ferguson

Adam Ferguson

Scottish philosopher and historian

Lived from: 1723 - 1816

Category: History and sociology | Philosophers

Born: 1 july 1723 Died: 22 february 1816

Quotes 1 till 10 of 10.

  • Every step and every movement of the multitude, even in what are termed enlightened ages, are made with equal blindness to the future; and nations stumble upon establishments, which are indeed the result of human action, but not the execution of any human design.
    An Essay on the History of Civil Society
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • In every commercial state, notwithstanding any pretension to equal rights, the exaltation of a few must depress the many.
    An Essay on the History of Civil Society
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • Like the winds that we come we know not whence and blow whither soever they list, the forces of society are derived from an obscure and distant origin. They arise before the date of philosophy, from the instincts, not the speculations of men.
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • Man, in his animal capacity, is qualified to subsist in every climate.
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • Mankind have always wandered or settled, agreed or quarrelled, in troops and companies.
    An Essay on the History of Civil Society I, III
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • The artist finds, that the more he can confine his attention to a particular part of any work, his productions are the more perfect, and grow under his hands in the greater quantities.
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • The attainments of the parent do not descend in the blood of his children, nor is the progress of man to be considered as a physical mutation of the species.
    An Essay on the History of Civil Society I,I
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • The cunning man uses deceit, but the more cunning man shuns deception.
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • The history of mankind is confined within a limited period, and from every quarter brings an intimation that human affairs have had a beginning.
    An Essay on the History of Civil Society
    ― Adam Ferguson
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  • We are fond of distinctions; we place ourselves in opposition, and quarrel under the denominations of faction and party, without any material subject of controversy.
    An Essay on the History of Civil Society
    ― Adam Ferguson
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What are the most famous quotes from Adam Ferguson?

The two most famous quotes from Adam Ferguson are:

  • "Every step and every movement of the multitude, even in what are termed enlightened ages, are made with equal blindness to the future; and nations stumble upon establishments, which are indeed the result of human action, but not the execution of any human design."
  • "In every commercial state, notwithstanding any pretension to equal rights, the exaltation of a few must depress the many."

When did Adam Ferguson live?

Adam Ferguson was born in 1723 and died in the year 1816.