Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
You must be in tune with the times and prepared to break with tradition.
—James Agee (1909–55) American Journalist, Poet, Screenwriter, Film Critic
What greater reassurance can the weak have than that they are like anyone else?
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.
—Jacques Barzun (b.1907) American Cultural Historian, Philosopher
The dead govern the living.
—Auguste Comte (1798–1857) French Philosopher, Social Theorist
A love for tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
All tradition is merely the past.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian Philosopher
In America nothing dies easier than tradition.
—Russell Baker (1925–2019) American Journalist, Humorist, Television Host
People should think things out fresh and not just accept conventional terms and the conventional way of doing things.
—Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) American Inventor, Philosopher
A tradition without intelligence is not worth having.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
Conventional people are roused to fury by departures from convention, largely because they regard such departures as a criticism of themselves.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
There is nothing in the world more stubborn than a corpse: you can hit it, you can knock it to pieces, but you cannot convince it.
—Alexander Herzen (1812–70) Russian Revolutionary, Writer
Tradition does not mean that the living are dead, it means that the dead are living.
—Harold Macmillan (1894–1986) British Head of State
It takes an endless amount of history to make even a little tradition.
—Henry James (1843–1916) American-born British Novelist, Writer
Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian Philosopher
I am well satisfied that if you let in but one little finger of tradition, you will have in the whole monster—horns and tail and all.
—Thomas Arnold (1795–1842) English Educationalist
Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Tradition is an important help to history, but its statements should be carefully scrutinized before we rely on them.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
To follow imperfect, uncertain, or corrupted traditions, in order to avoid erring in our own judgment, is but to exchange one danger for another.
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
Tradition may be defined as an extension of the franchise. Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
He who would be a man must therefore be a non-conformist.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
It cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labor.
—T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) American-British Poet, Dramatist, Literary Critic
Tradition! We scarcely know the word anymore. We are afraid to be either proud of our ancestors or ashamed of them. We scorn nobility in name and in fact. We cling to a bourgeois mediocrity which would make it appear we are all Americans, made in the image and likeness of George Washington.
—Dorothy Day (1897–1980) American Journalist, Christian Activist
The bird that would soar above the plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings.
—Kate Chopin (1850–1904) American Novelist, Short-Story Writer
Tradition, long conditioned thinking, can bring about a fixation, a concept that one readily accepts, perhaps not with a great deal of thought.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian Philosopher
A precedent embalms a principle.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
Tradition is the illusion of permanence.
—Woody Allen (b.1935) American Film Actor, Director
Tradition, as held by the Romanists, is subordinate to Scripture and dependent on it, about as some parasite plants are on the tree that supports them. The former cling to the latter, and rest upon it; then gradually overspread it with their own foliage, till, by little and little, they weaken, and then smother it.
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes—our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking around.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
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