By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
—Confucius, c. 500 BCQuotes
Africa has her mysteries, and even a wise man cannot understand them. But a wise man respects them.
—Miriam Makeba, 1988Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1903Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
—Hebrews, c. 60The almost insoluble task is to let neither the power of others, nor our own powerlessness, stupefy us.
—Theodor Adorno, 1951A criminal may improve and become a decent member of society. A foreigner cannot improve. Once a foreigner, always a foreigner. There is no way out for him.
—George Mikes, 1946I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.
—Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1940Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.
—Denis Diderot, 1774France has neither winter, summer, nor morals—apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country.
—Mark Twain, 1879No man has any natural authority over his fellow man.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762In settling an island, the first building erected by a Spaniard will be a church, by a Frenchman a fort, by a Dutchman a warehouse, and by an Englishman an alehouse.
—Francis Grose, 1787One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.
—E.B. White, 1958