To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a free man.

Alan Paton (1903 - 1988)

He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.

Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), Politics

Society, my dear, is like salt water, good to swim in but hard to swallow.

Arthur Stringer, "The Silver Poppy"

A society of sheep must in time beget¹ a government of wolves.

Bertrand de Jouvenal

We live in a society exquisitely² dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)

A nation is a society united by a delusion³ about its ancestry⁴ and by common hatred⁵ of its neighbors.

Dean William R. Inge

The nature of society is largely determined⁶ by the direction in which talent and ambition flow-by the tilt⁷ of the social landscape.

Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983), The Temper of Our Time, 1967

Be very circumspect⁸ in the choice of thy company. In the society of thine equals thou shalt enjoy more pleasure; in the society of thy superiors thou shalt find more profit. To be the best in the company is the way to grow worse.

Francis Quarles (1592 - 1644)

What can you say about a society that says that God is dead and Elvis is alive?

Irv Kupcinet

But society has now fairly got the better of individuality; and the danger which threatens human nature is not the excess, but the deficiency, of personal impulses and preferences.

John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873), On Liberty,chapter 3, 1859

Everyone who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit.

John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873), On Liberty

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

Krishnamurti

The needs of society determine its ethics⁹.

Maya Angelou (1928 - )

Do not speak ill of society, Algie. Only people who can't get in do that.

Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Importance of Being Earnest

I'm against a homogenized society, because I want the cream to rise.

Robert Frost (1874 - 1963)

There is no nonsense so gross that society will not, at some time, make a doctrine¹⁰ of it and defend it with every weapon of communal¹¹ stupidity.

Robertson Davies

Man seeketh in society comfort, use and protection.

Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626), The Advancement¹² of Learning, 1605

We must beware of trying to build a society in which nobody counts for anything except a politician or an official, a society where enterprise gains no reward and thrift¹³ no privileges.

Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965), Radio broadcast, London, March 21, 1943