The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.

—Ashley Montagu

happiness surrender surprise

About Ashley Montagu

Portrait of Ashley Montagu

Montague Francis Ashley-Montagu (born Israel Ehrenberg; June 28, 1905 – November 26, 1999) was a British-American anthropologist who popularized the study of topics such as race and gender and their relation to politics and development. He was the rapporteur, in 1950, for the UNESCO "statement on race".

More quotations from Ashley Montagu

The cultured man is an artist, an artist in humanity.

—Ashley Montagu

humanity art culture

The idea is to die young as late as possible.

—Ashley Montagu

time death delay

More quotations tagged with “surprise”

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

action right surprise

I'm not saying it's going to be easy. Nothing in life is easy. But that's no reason to give up. You'll be surprised what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it. After all, you only have one life, so you should try to make the most of it.

—Louis Sachar in Holes

life easy accomplishment effort surprise giving up

It is not the conscious changes made in their lives by men and women—a new job, a new town, a divorce—which really shape them, like the chapter headings in a biography, but a long, slow mutation of emotion, hidden, all-penetrative; something by which they may be so taken up that the practical outward changes of their lives in the world, noted with surprise, scandal, or envy by others, pass almost unnoticed by themselves.

—Nadine Gordimer

attention progress aging change emotion surprise distraction

When science finally locates the center of the universe, some people will be surprised to learn they're not it.

—Bernard Bailey

science self-centeredness conceit surprise

Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man.

—Leon Trotsky

aging age surprise expectation

History

15 Jun 2015 Added