John Jay Chapman Quotes

A collection of quotes by John Jay Chapman.

John Jay Chapman was an American writer, essayist, and poet, born on March 2, 1862, in New York City. He came from a prestigious family, with his grandfather being the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Chapman graduated from Harvard University, where he studied law and became a successful lawyer.

However, his true passion lay in literature and social activism. Chapman used his writing to advocate for social justice and political reform. He believed in the power of literature to stimulate thought and challenge societal norms. His essays covered a wide range of topics, including art, politics, religion, and literature.

Chapman was known for his strong views and willingness to speak out against injustice. He was a vocal critic of imperialism, especially during the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. He expressed his opposition to the death penalty, racism, and advocated for women's suffrage.

Aside from his writing, Chapman was actively involved in various organizations promoting social and political change. He was a founding member of the liberal Heterodoxy Club, which aimed to challenge traditional beliefs and encourage free thought.

John Jay Chapman's contributions to literature and social activism made him a prominent figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works continue to be studied and appreciated for their insightful perspectives on important societal issues. Chapman passed away on November 4, 1933, leaving behind a legacy of thought-provoking writing and progressive ideals.

Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure f

Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same -- hardihood. Give them raw truth.

John Jay Chapman

A vision of truth which does not call upon us to get out of

A vision of truth which does not call upon us to get out of our armchair - why, this is the desideratum of mankind.

John Jay Chapman

Our goodness comes solely from thinking on goodness; our wic

Our goodness comes solely from thinking on goodness; our wickedness from thinking on wickedness. We too are the victims of our own contemplation.

John Jay Chapman

Is there something in trade that desiccates and flattens out

Is there something in trade that desiccates and flattens out, that turns men into dried leaves at the age of forty? Certainly there is. It is not due to trade but to intensity of self-seeking, combined with narrowness of occupation. Business has destroyed the very knowledge in us of all other natural forces except business.

John Jay Chapman

Trade (import / Export)

Try to raise a voice that shall be heard from here to Albany

Try to raise a voice that shall be heard from here to Albany and watch what it is that comes forward to shut off the sound. It is not a German sergeant, nor a Russian officer of the precinct. It is a note from a friend of your fathers offering you a place in his office. This is your warning from the secret police. Why, if any of you young gentlemen have a mind to get heard a mile off, you must make a bonfire of your reputation, and a close enemy of most men who wish you well. And what will you get in return? Well, if I must for the benefit of the economists, charge you up with some selfish gain, I will say that you get the satisfaction of having been heard, and that this is the whole possible scope of human ambition.

John Jay Chapman

The fact that a man is to vote forces him to think. You may

The fact that a man is to vote forces him to think. You may preach to a congregation by the year and not affect its thought because it is not called upon for definite action. But throw your subject into a campaign and it becomes a challenge.

John Jay Chapman

Wherever you see a man who gives someone else's corruption,

Wherever you see a man who gives someone else's corruption, someone else's prejudice as a reason for not taking action himself, you see a cog in The Machine that governs us.

John Jay Chapman

There are lots of people who cannot think seriously without

There are lots of people who cannot think seriously without injuring their minds.

John Jay Chapman

If you are to reach masses of people in this world, you must

If you are to reach masses of people in this world, you must do it by a sign language. Whether your vehicle be commerce, literature, or politics, you can do nothing but raise signals, and make motions to the people.

John Jay Chapman

The reason for the slow progress of the world seems to lie i

The reason for the slow progress of the world seems to lie in a single fact. Every man is born under the yoke, and grows up beneath the oppressions of his age. He can only get a vision of the unselfish forces in the world by appealing to them, and every appeal is a call to arms. If he fights he must fight, not one man, but a conspiracy. He is always at war with a civilization. On his side is proverbial philosophy, a galaxy of invisible saints and sages, and the half-developed consciousness and professions of everybody. Against him is the world, and every selfish passion in his own heart.

John Jay Chapman

Politics is organized hatred, that is unity.

Politics is organized hatred, that is unity.

John Jay Chapman

It is just as impossible to help reform by conciliating prej

It is just as impossible to help reform by conciliating prejudice as it is by buying votes. Prejudice is the enemy. Whoever is not for you is against you.

John Jay Chapman

All progress is experimental.

All progress is experimental.

John Jay Chapman

If American politics does not look to you like a joke, a tra

If American politics does not look to you like a joke, a tragic dance; if you have enough blindness left in you, on any plea, on any excuse, to vote for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party (for at present machine and party are one), or for any candidate who does not stand for a new era, -- then you yourself pass into the slide of the magic-lantern; you are an exhibit, a quaint product, a curiosity of the American soil. You are part of the problem.

John Jay Chapman

People who love soft methods and hate iniquity forget this,

People who love soft methods and hate iniquity forget this, -- that reform consists in taking a bone from a dog. Philosophy will not do it.

John Jay Chapman

Reform Correction

The average educated man in America has about as much knowle

The average educated man in America has about as much knowledge of what a political idea is as he has of the principles of counterpoint. Each is a thing used in politics or music which those fellows who practice politics or music manipulate somehow. Show him one and he will deny that it is politics at all. It must be corrupt or he will not recognize it. He has only seen dried figs. He has only thought dried thoughts. A live thought or a real idea is against the rules of his mind.

John Jay Chapman

A political organization is a transferable commodity. You co

A political organization is a transferable commodity. You could not find a better way of killing virtue than by packing it into one of these contraptions which some gang of thieves is sure to find useful.

John Jay Chapman

I want to find someone on the earth so intelligent that he w

I want to find someone on the earth so intelligent that he welcomes opinions which he condemns.

John Jay Chapman

Good government is the outcome of private virtue.

Good government is the outcome of private virtue.

John Jay Chapman

The men and woman who make the best boon companions seem to

The men and woman who make the best boon companions seem to have given up hope of doing something else...some defect of talent or opportunity has cut them off from their pet ambition and has thus left them with leisure to take an interest in their lives of others. Your ambition may be, it makes him keep his thoughts at home. But the heartbroken people -- if I may use the word in a mild, benevolent sense -- the people whose wills are subdued to fate, give us consolation, recognition, and welcome.

John Jay Chapman