A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization.
--
1770, p. 182.Samuel Johnson
» Samuel Johnson - all quotes »
The true test of civilization is, not the census, nor the size of the cities, nor the crops - no, but the kind of man the country turns out.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Respectable means rich, and decent means poor. I should die if I heard my family called decent.
Thomas Love Peacock
Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many things which perhaps are of no importance, that it cannot but see something feeble in a civilization which smiles as it refuses to make the battlefield the test of excellence.
James Joyce
Rocky is a poor Italian boy from a poor Italian family, and he appreciates the buck more than almost anybody. He's only got two halfway decent purses so far, and it was like a tiger tasting blood
Rocky Marciano
I'm for the poor man — all poor men, black and white, they all gotta have a chance. They gotta have a home, a job, and a decent education for their children. 'Every man a king' — that's my slogan."
Huey Long
Johnson, Samuel
Johnson, Susan (Australian)
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