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Science tells us how to heal and how to kill; it reduces the death rate in retail and then kills us wholesale in war; but only wisdom — desire coordinated in the light of all experience — can tell us when to heal and when to kill.

— Will Durant The Story of Philosophy (1926)

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More quotes by Will Durant

It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment.

The Gentle Philosopher (2006)

Power dements even more than it corrupts, lowering the guard of foresight and raising the haste of action.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

Caesar and Christ had met in the arena, and Christ had won.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

I felt more keenly than before the need of a philosophy that would do justice to the infinite vitality of nature.

Transition (1927)

There is nothing in Greek civilization that does not illuminate our own.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

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Attribution

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