Quotes Library

May 17, 2026

[This was said about Franklin Roosevelt] A second-class intellect. But a first-class temperament.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935), American supreme court justice, 8 March 1933, Jay p.181

MEDITATION: How does your intellect compare to your temperament? Is the former “better” than the latter? Or is vice versa the case? Does that matter?

COMMENTARY: Politics rewards temperament more than intellect. In fact, intellectuals are soon dismissed as “eggheads”.

Holmes saw in Franklin Roosevelt the truth that charm, endurance, and timing often outweigh brilliance. Clever and intelligent people can win arguments; calm people win elections.

Human Nature

More Quotes

April 12, 2026
01:53
April 12, 2026
Freedom & Justice
Few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their shareholders as possible. Put another way, making dividends for shareholders is the sole task of corporate management. Forcing any social responsibility on corporations would undermine our free society.
July 12, 2025
July 12, 2025
Human Nature
Do not let the ingratitude of many men deter you from doing good to others.
May 30, 2025
00:48
May 30, 2025
Human Nature
No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have searched the record for years
1…3637383940
Page 38 of 40