Theodore Zeldin

People in this world of superficial communication find themselves isolated and lonely and have difficult in talking about personal things that really…

— Theodore Zeldin

The institution of marriage, if you look at it over many centuries, has come and gone.

— Theodore Zeldin

We should abolish 'work.' By that I mean abolishing the distinction between work and leisure, one of the greatest mistakes of the…

— Theodore Zeldin

When two people talk with mutual respect and listen with a real interest in understanding another point of view, when they try…

— Theodore Zeldin

Everything I am going to say to you is the child of a conversation. [...] That is the aspect of conversation that…

— Theodore Zeldin

The more education you do, the less you are capable of doing.

— Theodore Zeldin

In every life there is an element of victory over fear, which needs to be searched for, though it may be a…

— Theodore Zeldin

What does it mean to dance? What does it mean to commit a crime? What does it mean to be anxious? What…

— Theodore Zeldin

The tendency of experts is to fiddle around with their expertise rather than trying to find new solutions.

— Theodore Zeldin

The British have turned their sense of humour into a national virtue. It is odd, because through much of history, humour has…

— Theodore Zeldin

Change the way you think, and you are already halfway to changing the world.

— Theodore Zeldin

We think of speaking as something we do naturally, without any effort. But like playing music, it requires attention and knowledge and…

— Theodore Zeldin

We are already seeing the creation of a new kind of network based on friendships: Startups, which are often founded by friends,…

— Theodore Zeldin

Art is, nowadays, our new religion and museums are our cathedrals.

— Theodore Zeldin

I think the hero in our generation is not the individual but the pair, two people who together add up to more…

— Theodore Zeldin

I'm constantly astounded by the way people talk so openly to someone they don't know. They clarify in their own minds what…

— Theodore Zeldin

I think one of the most important changes of our time has been our attitude to fear. Every civilisation defends itself by…

— Theodore Zeldin

So much of what passes for conversation today is degraded. It's either about one-upmanship, or dreary trivia. Even the cut and thrust…

— Theodore Zeldin

However fascinating you may think you are, there is a limit to what you can know about yourself.

— Theodore Zeldin

The English reputation for humour is a way by which people avoid revealing themselves and have superficial relationships, so that you can…

— Theodore Zeldin

The main purpose of engaging in conversation can no longer be personal advancement or respectability. Instead, I'd like for us to use…

— Theodore Zeldin

No history of the world can be complete which does not mention Mary Helen Keller... whose overcoming of her blindness and deafness…

— Theodore Zeldin

Gastronomy has done more to bring together people of the world than any guns ever could.

— Theodore Zeldin

Breaking accepted rules does bring people together.

— Theodore Zeldin

To idolise a person means you don't get to know them, and the idea that you can become one is a myth,…

— Theodore Zeldin