Tradition is the democracy of the dead; it gives voice to ac... - Philip Rieff

"Tradition is the democracy of the dead; it gives voice to accumulated wisdom."

Philip Rieff Wisdom

Sociologist Critic American 1922–2006

More from Philip Rieff

"The pleasure of the text is not the pleasure of the person who consumes culture."

"Culture is the effort to hold back the aggressive and pathological forces of human nature."

"Every culture is a religion, whether or not its members know it."

"The highest achievements of consciousness are in withdrawal from the world."

"I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed."

"The best things in life are free."

"You can't have everything in life, but you can have what matters most."

"A woman's intuition is rarely wrong."