Quotes from Margaret Mead

The pains of childbirth were altogether different from the enveloping effects of other kinds of pain. These were pains one could follow with one's mind.

Man's most human characteristic is not his ability to learn, which he shares with many other species, but his ability to teach and store what others have developed and taught him.

Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.

If man has not found ways to deal with environmental problems such as water and air pollution by 1998, it will be too late. The future is not determined and it lies in our own hands.

Envy of the male role can come as much from an undervaluation of the role of wife and mother as from an overvaluation of the public aspects of achievement that have been reserved for men.

Human nature is potentially aggressive and destructive and potentially orderly and constructive.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.

Never depend upon institutions or government to solve any problem. All social movements are founded by, guided by, motivated and seen through by the passion of individuals.

Don't depend on governments or corporations to fix problems. Social revolutions are led by passionate individuals and that's what makes the difference.

Never ever depend on governments or institutions to solve any major problems. All social change comes from the passion of individuals.

Home, I learned, can be anywhere you make it. Home is also the place to which you come back again and again.

I have a respect for manners as such, they are a way of dealing with people you don't agree with or like.

There is no greater power in the world than the zest of a postmenopausal woman.

Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

Prayer does not use up artificial energy, doesn't burn up any fossil fuel, doesn't pollute. Neither does song, neither does love, neither does the dance.

Between friends there is no bribery. ... the relationship of friends is intrinsically fair and equal. Neither feels stronger or more clever or more beautiful than the other.

You can never have a relationship with someone whose smell you don't like.

It is easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet.

Somehow, we have to get older people back close to growing children if we are to restore a sense of community, acquire knowledge of the past, and provide a sense of the future.

My grandmother wanted me to get a good education, so she kept me as far away from schools as possible.

Children not only have to learn what their parents learned in school, but also have to learn how to learn. This has to be recognized as a new problem which is only partly solved.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

It is not until science has become a discipline to which the research ability of any mind from any class in society can be attracted that it can become rigorously scientific.