Archive

Quotes

I say violence is necessary. It is as American as cherry pie.

—H. Rap Brown, 1967

You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.

—Mario Cuomo, 1985

Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

—Ambrose Bierce, 1906

To be turned from one’s course by men’s opinions, by blame, and by misrepresentation shows a man unfit to hold office.

—Quintus Fabius Maximus, c. 203 BC

I work for a government I despise for ends I think criminal.

—John Maynard Keynes, 1917

Treaties, you see, are like girls and roses: they last while they last.

—Charles de Gaulle, 1963

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

—George Bernard Shaw, 1944

A real leader is somebody who can help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own.

—David Foster Wallace, 2000

Natural rights is simple nonsense: natural and imprescriptible rights, rhetorical nonsense—nonsense upon stilts.

—Jeremy Bentham, c. 1832

If you must take care that your opinions do not differ in the least from those of the person with whom you are talking, you might just as well be alone.

—Yoshida Kenko, c. 1330

The Revolution is made by man, but man must forge his revolutionary spirit from day to day.

—Che Guevara, 1968

You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.

—Henrik Ibsen, 1882

Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made.

—Immanuel Kant, 1784