"The world consists almost exclusively of two (...) kinds of people (...); first, from those who think they are smarter than they are, and therefore judge hastily, and do not have enough patience to think regularly; these, if it once occurred to them to doubt the accepted principles and deviate from the ordinary path, could never remain on the path on which we can move forward more directly, and would wander lost throughout their lives; then of those who have sense and modesty enough to see that they are less capable of distinguishing truth from error than others from whom they may learn; even then they have to accept that they follow the opinions of these others rather than looking for better ones themselves.
"
Author
Rene DescartesAll Translations
All Translations
"
The world consists almost exclusively of two (...) kinds of people (...); first, from those who think they are smarter than they are, and therefore judge hastily, and do not have enough patience to think regularly; these, if it once occurred to them to doubt the accepted principles and deviate from the ordinary path, could never remain on the path on which we can move forward more directly, and would wander lost throughout their lives; then of those who have sense and modesty enough to see that they are less capable of distinguishing truth from error than others from whom they may learn; even then they have to accept that they follow the opinions of these others rather than looking for better ones themselves.
""A világ majdnem kizárólag két (...) fajta emberből áll (...); először olyanokból, kik okosabbaknak tartják magukat, mint amilyenek, s azért elhamarkodva ítélnek, s nem bírnak elég türelemmel, hogy rendszeresen gondolkodhassanak; ezek, ha egyszer eszükbe jutna kételkedéssel illetni az elfogadott alapelveket, s letérni a közönséges útról, sohasem maradhatnának azon az ösvényen, melyen egyenesebben juthatunk előre, s egész életükön át eltévedve bolyonganának; azután olyanokból, kikben elég ész és szerénység van, hogy átlássák, hogy ők kevésbé képesek az igazságnak a tévedéstől való megkülönböztetésére, mint mások, kiktől tanulhatnak; ezeknek azután be is kell érniök avval, hogy inkább e mások véleményeit követik, mintsem hogy maguk jobbakat keressenek."