Mental Floss

12 Thought-Provoking Quotes from H.G. Wells

Stacy Conradt|
Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain | Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

As one of the founding fathers of science fiction, Herbert George Wells certainly had a lot to say about the human race. From mankind's fondness for war to our place in the universe, Wells certainly didn't shy away from sharing his opinions. In honor of what would have been his 150th birthday, here are a few of H.G. Wells's greatest hits.

1. ON WAR

"If we don’t end war, war will end us."

—From Things to Come (1936)

John F. Kennedy's speechwriters later adapted the phrase for his 1961 address to the United Nations: "The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us."

2. ON GLOBALIZATION

"Our true nationality is mankind."

—From The Outline of History (1920)

3. ON WRITING

"I write as straight as I can, just as I walk as straight as I can, because that is the best way to get there."

—From Experiment in Autobiography (1934)

4. ON GOLF

"The uglier a man’s legs are, the better he plays at golf. It’s almost a law."

—From Bealby: A Holiday (1915)

5. ON THE FUTURE

"We were making the future, and hardly any of us troubled to think what future we were making."

—From When The Sleeper Wakes (1899)

6. ON EDUCATION

"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."

—From The Outline of History (1920)

7. ON REALITY

"The past is but the beginning of a beginning, and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn."

—From The Discovery of the Future (1902)

8. ON JEALOUSY

"Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo."

—From The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914)

9. ON HUMAN CHARACTER

"Man is an imperfect animal and never quite trustworthy in the dark."

—From The Open Conspiracy: What Are We to Do With Our Lives? (1928)

10. ON CYNICISM

"Cynicism is humor in ill health."

—From Boon, The Mind of the Race, The Wild Asses of the Devil, and The Last Trump (1915)

11. ON ART

"An artist who theorizes about his work is no longer artist but critic."

—From The Temptation of Harringay (1895)

12. ON BICYCLES

"To ride a bicycle properly is very like a love affair; chiefly it is a matter of faith. Believe you do it, and the thing is done; doubt, and for the life of you, you cannot."

—From The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll (1896)

A more whimsical quote about bicycles is often attributed to Wells, but has never been proven: "Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race."