The first duty of a good inquisitor is to suspect especially those who seem sincere to him.
—Umberto Eco, 1980
Archive
Quotes
A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.
—Ralph Nader, 2000They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.
—Francis Bacon, 1605What is death? A scary mask. Take it off—see, it doesn’t bite.
—Epictetus, c. 110The true mission of American sports is to prepare young men for war.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower, c. 1952Water its living strength first shows, / When obstacles its course oppose.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1815Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 150 BCFriend! It is a common word, often lightly used. Like other good and beautiful things, it may be tarnished by careless handling.
—Harriet Jacobs, 1861Someone will remember us
I say
even in another time.
The only evidence, so far as I know, about another life is, first, that we have no evidence; and, secondly, that we are rather sorry that we have not, and wish we had.
—Robert G. Ingersoll, 1879Everyone complains about his memory, and no one complains about his judgment.
—La Rochefoucauld, 1666I have yet, I believe, some years in store, for I have a good state of health and a happy mind, and I take care of both by nourishing the first with temperance and the latter with abundance. This, I believe, you will allow to be the true philosophy of life.
—Thomas Paine, 1803History does not merely touch on language, but takes place in it.
—Theodor Adorno, c. 1946