Georg Forster

“A man wholly destitute of philanthropy is a monster, justly detested by all mankind; but another, entirely incapable of anger, is a sheepish wretch, liable to be insulted by every mean-spirited villain.”

“It is the natural fault of young people to think too well of mankind [...].”

“[...] each vulgar opinion, proved to be erroneous, is an approximation to truth [...].”

“When we saw the most beautiful fishes of the sea, the dolphin and bonito, in pursuit of the flying fish, and when these forsook their native element to seek for shelter in air, the application to human nature was obvious. What empire is not like a tumultuous ocean, where the great in all the magnificence and pomp of power, continually persecute and contrive the destruction of the defenceless? - Sometimes we saw this picture continued still farther, when the poor fugitives met with another set of enemies in the air, and became the prey of birds, by endeavouring to escape the jaws of fishes.”

“It is very natural to overlook that which is near home, and as it were within our reach, especially when the mind looks forward, on discoveries which it reckons more important, in proportion as they are more remote.”

“The degree of pleasure which may result from the perusal of a work, depends not only upon the variety of the subject, but likewise upon the purity and graces of style. We must resign all pretensions to taste and sentiment, if we did not prefer a well-told tale to a lame and tedious narration. Of late, however, the just esteem in which an elegant diction is held, has been so far abused, that authors, relying on the fluency of their language, have paid no attention to the matter which they proposed, but deceived the public with a dry and uninstructive performance.”