The legislator is like the navigator of a ship on the high seas. He can steer the vessel on which he sails, but he cannot alter its construction, raise the wind, or stop the waves from swelling beneath his feet.
—Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835
Archive
Quotes
Most new discoveries are suddenly-seen things that were always there.
—Susanne K. Langer, 1942Nothing is so easy to fake as the inner vision.
—Robertson Davies, 1985Our crime against criminals is that we treat them as villains.
—Friedrich Nietzsche, 1898In politics, what begins in fear usually ends in folly.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1830Many are the wonders of the world, and none so wonderful as man.
—Sophocles, c. 441 BCRevolutions are celebrated when they are no longer dangerous.
—Pierre Boulez, 1989He who would have clear water should go to the fountainhead.
—Italian proverbThose who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.
—Jean de La Bruyère, 1688Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1921Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost.
—Robert Southey, 1809It is strange indeed that the more we learn about how to build health, the less healthy Americans become.
—Adelle Davis, 1951A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.
—Jane Austen, 1814