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Those who look forward to a period of continuous and, so to speak, inevitable progress, are bound to assign some more solid reason for their convictions than a merely empirical survey of the surface lessons of history. ...Humanity, civilisation, progress itself, must have a tendency to mitigate the harsh methods by which Nature has wrought out the variety and the perfection of organic life.

— Arthur Balfour A Fragment on Progress (1891)

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Progress

More quotes by Arthur Balfour

Most terrible of all the terrible Turks.

The General Strike has taught the working classes more in four days than years of talking could have done.

It is unfortunate, considering that enthusiasm moves the world, that so few enthusiasts can be trusted to speak the truth.

Biography should be written by an acute enemy.

Science preceded the theory of science, and is independent of it. Science preceded naturalism, and will survive it.

The Foundations of Belief (1895)

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Change based on principle is progress. Constant change without principle becomes chaos.

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The History of Electricity is a field full of pleasing objects, according to all the genuine and universal principles of taste, deduced from a knowledge of human nature.

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Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance, and facing your fears.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Arthur Balfour (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.