Perhaps The Most Striking Feature Of The

America's Greatness Has Been The Greatness Of A Free People Who Shared Certain Moral Commitments. Freedom Without Moral Commitment Is Aimless And Promptly Self-destructive.

The Society Which Scorns Excellence In Plumbing As A Humble Activity And Tolerates Shoddiness In Philosophy Because It Is An Exalted Activity Will Have Neither Good Plumbing Nor Good Philosophy: Neither Its Pipes Nor Its Theories Will Hold Water.

An Excellent Plumber Is Infinitely More Admirable Than An Incompetent Philosopher.

The Ultimate Goal Of The Educational System Is To Shift To The Individual The Burden Of Pursing His Own Education. This Will Not Be A Widely Shared Pursuit Until We Get Over Our Odd Conviction That Education Is What Goes On In School Buildings And Nowhere Else.

Some People May Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them. Very Few Have Excellence Thrust Upon Them. They Achieve It. They Do Not Achieve It Unwittingly, By “doin' What Comes Naturally”; And They Don't Stumble Into It In The Course Of Amusing Themselves. All Excellence Involves Discipline And Tenacity Of Purpose.