Lewis Mumford Quotes

"Humor is our way of defending ourselves from life's absurdities by thinking absurdly about them."
-Lewis Mumford in Humor quotes.

"The city is a fact in nature, like a cave, a run of mackerel or an ant-heap. But it is also a conscious work of art, and it holds within its communal framework many simpler and more personal forms of art. Mind takes form in the city; and in turn, urban forms condition mind."
-Lewis Mumford

"The artist does not illustrate science (but) he frequently responds to the same interests that a scientist does."
-Lewis Mumford in Art quotes.

"New York is the perfect model of a city, not the model of a perfect city."
-Lewis Mumford in Cities quotes.

"A man of courage never needs weapons, but he may need bail."
-Lewis Mumford in Courage quotes.

"Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers."
-Lewis Mumford in Family quotes.

"Traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past."
-Lewis Mumford in Traditions quotes.

"Modern Man is the victim of the very instruments he values most. Every gain in power, every mastery of natural forces, every scientific addition to knowledge, has proved potentially dangerous, because it has not been accompanied by equal gains in self-understanding and self-discipline."
-Lewis Mumford

"However far modern science and techniques have fallen short of their inherent possibilities, they have taught mankind at least one lesson: Nothing is impossible."
-Lewis Mumford