William De Witt Hyde Quotes

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The world we live in is a world of mingled good and evil. Whether it is chiefly good or chiefly bad depends on how we take it. To look at the world in such a way as to emphasize the evil is the art of pessimism. To look at it in such a way as to bring out the good, and throw the evil into the background, is the art of optimism. The facts are the same in either case. It is simply a question of perspective and emphasis.

William De Witt Hyde

Unsatisfied desire is the characteristic feature of human life. That is the common fact out of which both pessimism and optimism are constructed. Dwell on the impossibility of ever getting a state of complete and permanent satisfaction with what you have, and you become a pessimist. Dwell on the opportunity for endless growth and conquest which this same fact makes possible, and you become an optimist.

William De Witt Hyde

William De Witt Hyde

William De Witt Hyde

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Born: September 23, 1858

Died: June 29, 1917 (aged 58)

Bio: William De Witt Hyde was an American college president, born at Winchendon, Mass.

Known for:

Practical idealism (1897)
Practical Ethics (1892)
Outlines of Social Theology (1895)

William De Witt Hyde on Wikipedia

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