1950s

Explore 388 quotes from the 1950s

All ideas having even the slightest redeeming social importance—unorthodox ideas, controversial ideas, even ideas hateful to the prevailing climate of opinion—have the full protection of the guaranties... But implicit in the history of the First Amendment is the rejection of obscenity as utterly without redeeming social importance... We hold that obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press.

William J. Brennan, Jr.

More information about this quote

Topic

Obscenity Freedom of speech and expression First Amendment

Author

William J. Brennan, Jr.

Medium

Supreme Court opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1957 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Brennan, William J, Jr. United States, Supreme Court. Roth v. United States. United States Reports, vol. 354, 24 June 1957, pp. 476-514. supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/354/476/.

There is no doubt that, if there were a super-Supreme Court, a substantial proportion of our reversals of state courts would also be reversed. We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.

Robert H. Jackson

Brown v. Allen

Read this opinion at supreme.justia.com.

More information about this quote

Topic

Judicial supremacy Constitutional theory

Author

Robert H. Jackson

Source

Brown v. Allen

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1953 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Jackson, Robert H. United States, Supreme Court. Brown v. Allen. United States Reports, vol. 344, 9 Feb. 1953, pp. 443. Justia, https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/344/443/.

Habit and custom may be the wisdom of unlettered men, but they come from the sound ancient heart of humanity.

Russell Kirk

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot

Buy The Conservative Mind Buy The Conservative Mind

More information about this quote

Topic

Custom and convention

Author

Russell Kirk

Source

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1953 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Mind. Henry Regnery Company, 1953, ch. 2, sect. 4.

We will all go together when we go,
All suffused with an incandescent glow.

Tom Lehrer

We Will All Go Together When We Go

Listen to We Will All Go Together When We Go at Amazon Listen to We Will All Go Together When We Go at Amazon
Read the lyrics to We Will All Go Together When We Go at genius.com

More information about this quote

Topic

Nuclear holocaust Cold War

Speaker

Tom Lehrer

Source

We Will All Go Together When We Go

Medium

Song

Genre

Protest music Folk music

Language

English

Time

1959 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lehrer, Tom. "We Will All Go Together When We Go." An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer. Lehrer Records/Reprise Records/Warner Records, 1959.

We have two lives...The life we learn with and the life we live with after that.

Bernard Malamud

The Natural

Buy The Natural at Amazon Buy The Natural at Amazon

More information about this quote

Topic

Life lessons

Speaker

Iris Lemon

Author

Bernard Malamud

Source

The Natural

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1952 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. Harcourt Brace and Company, 1952.

If it were possible to talk to the unborn, one could never explain to them how it feels to be alive, for life is washed in the speechless real.

Jacques Barzun

The House of Intellect

More information about this quote

Topic

Feeling alive Nature of life Life

Author

Jacques Barzun

Source

The House of Intellect

Language

English

Time

1959 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Barzun, Jacques. The House of Intellect. Harper & Brothers, 1959, ch. 6.

As I sit looking out of a window of the building
I wish I did not have to write the instruction manual on the uses of a new metal.
I look down into the street and see people, each walking with an inner peace,
And envy them-they are so far away from me!
Not one of them has to worry about getting out this manual on schedule.

John Ashbery

The Instruction Manual

More information about this quote

Topic

Observing others Work

Author

John Ashbery

Source

The Instruction Manual

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1956 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Ashbery, John. "The Instruction Manual." Some Trees: Yale Series Of Younger Poets. Yale University Press, 1956, I. 1.

Since the measuring device has been constructed by the observer... We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning.

Werner Heisenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Nature of science

Speaker

Werner Heisenberg

Medium

Lecture

Language

English

Time

1956 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Heisenberg, Werner. Lecture about the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory. Gifford Lectures. 1955-1956, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland.

Current Citation

Heisenberg, Werner. "The Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Theory." Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2007.

God has pity on kindergarten children.
He has less pity on school children.
And on grownups he has no pity at all,
he leaves them alone,
and sometimes they must crawl on all fours
in the burning sand
to reach the first-aid station
covered with blood.

Yehuda Amichai

God Has Pity on Kindergarten Children

More information about this quote

Topic

War

Author

Yehuda Amichai

Source

God Has Pity on Kindergarten Children

Medium

Poem

Language

Hebrew

Time

1955 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Amichai, Yehuda. "God Has Pity on Kindergarten Children." Now and in Other Days. 1955.

It is useful to distinguish among four factors which give importance, urgency, and inevitability to the advancement of space technology. The first of these factors is the compelling urge of man to explore and to discover, the thrust of curiosity that leads men to try to go where no one has gone before.

James R. Killian

More information about this quote

Topic

Space travel Curiosity Human nature

Speaker

James R. Killian

Source

Introduction to Outer Space

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1958 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Killian, James R. "Introduction to Outer Space." Project Mercury: Man-in-space Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959. Originally a speech given on 26 Mar. 1958. The White House, Washington, DC, USA.

When you love someone you leave every possibility open to them, and in spite of all the memories of the past you are ready to be surprised, again and again-surprised, at how different they are, how various, not a finished image.

Max Frisch

I'm Not Stiller

More information about this quote

Topic

Nature of love Love

Speaker

Julika Stiller-Tschudy

Author

Max Frisch

Source

I'm Not Stiller

Medium

Novel

Language

German

Time

1954 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Frisch, Max. Stiller [I'm Not Stiller]. Suhrkamp, 1954, bk. 2.

Every revolutionary ends by becoming either an oppressor or a heretic.

Albert Camus

The Rebel

Buy The Rebel at Amazon Buy The Rebel at Amazon

More information about this quote

Topic

Revolutionaries Revolution Political theory Politics

Author

Albert Camus

Source

The Rebel

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature Political literature

Language

French

Time

1951 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Camus, Albert. L'Homme Revolte [The Rebel]. Gallimard, 1951.

The human body is the best picture of the human soul.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Philosophical Investigations

Buy Philosophical Investigations at Amazon Buy Philosophical Investigations at Amazon

More information about this quote

Topic

Human body Body and soul

Author

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Source

Philosophical Investigations

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

German

Time

1953 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophische Untersuchungen [Philosophical Investigations]. Suhrkamp, 1953, pt. 2.

Current Citation

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophical Investigations, translated by G. E. M. Anscombe, et. al., edited by P. M. S. Hacker and Joachim Schulte. Wiley Blackwell, 2009, pt. 2.

You know what charm is: a way of getting the answer yes without having asked any clear question.

Albert Camus

The Fall

Buy The Fall at Amazon Buy The Fall at Amazon

More information about this quote

Topic

Charm Persuasion

Author

Albert Camus

Source

The Fall

Medium

Novel

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Definition

Language

French

Time

1956 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Camus, Albert. La Chute [The Fall]. Editions Gallimard, 1956.

The best part of married life is the fights. The rest is merely so-so.

Thornton Wilder

More information about this quote

Topic

Conflict in marriage Marriage

Speaker

Mrs. Molloy

Author

Thornton Wilder

Source

The Matchmaker

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1954 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Wilder, Thornton. The Matchmaker. 4 Nov. 1954, Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, act 2.

Current Citation

Wilder, Thornton. "The Matchmaker." Three Plays: Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth, and The Matchmaker. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2020, act 2.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.

Dale Evans

More information about this quote

Author

Dale Evans

Statement Type

Goodbye

Language

English

Time

1952 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Evans, Dale. “Happy Trails.” Performed by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. RCA Victor, 1952.

Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.

Allen Saunders

More information about this quote

Topic

Being present Nature of life Life

Author

Allen Saunders

Statement Type

Definition

Language

English

Time

1957 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Saunders, Allen. Quoted in Reader's Digest. Jan. 1957.

The world began without the human race and it will end without it... Man has never-save only when he reproduces himself-done other than cheerfully dismantle millions upon millions of structures and reduce their elements to a state in which they can no longer be reintegrated.

Claude Levi-Strauss

Tristes Tropiques

Buy Tristes Tropiques at Amazon Buy Tristes Tropiques at Amazon

More information about this quote

Topic

Human destructiveness

Author

Claude Levi-Strauss

Source

Tristes Tropiques

Genre

Autobiography and memoir

Language

French

Time

1955 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Levi-Strauss, Claude. Tristes Tropiques [Sad Tropics]. Librairie Plon, 1955, pt. 9, ch. 36.

Current Citation

Levi-Strauss, Claude. Tristes Tropiques, translated by John and Doreen Weightman. Penguin Classics, 2012, pt. 9, ch. 36.

We're all of us sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life.

Tennessee Williams

More information about this quote

Topic

Existential solitude

Speaker

Valentine Xavier

Author

Tennessee Williams

Source

Orpheus Descending

Medium

Play

Language

English

Time

1957 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Williams, Tennessee. Orpheus Descending. Directed by Harold Clurman. Performed by Elizabeth Eustis and Jane Rose and Warren Kemmerling. 17 Mar. 1957, Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, New York, USA, act 2, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Williams, Tennessee. "Orpheus Descending." Orpheus Descending and Suddenly Last Summer. New Directions, 2012, act 2, sc. 1.

The day that this country ceases to be free for irreligion, it will cease to be free for religion—except for the sect that can win political power.

Robert H. Jackson

Zorach v. Clauson

Read this opinion at supreme.justia.com.

More information about this quote

Topic

Freedom of religion

Author

Robert H. Jackson

Source

Zorach v. Clauson

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1952 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Jackson, Robert H. Dissenting Opinion. Zorach v. Clauson. United States Reports, vol. 343, 28 Apr. 1952, pp. 323-325. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/343/306/.