It is almost impossible to bear the torch of truth…

It is almost impossible to bear the torch of truth through a crowd without singeing somebody’s beard.

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As quoted in Lives of the Mind: The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse (2002) by by Roger Kimball, p. 329. Variant translations: It is almost impossible to carry the torch of wisdom through a crowd without singeing someone’s beard. It is virtually impossible to carry the torch of truth through a crowd, without singeing someone’s beard

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