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Quotes

From a man’s face, I can read his character. If I can see him walk, I know his thoughts.

—Gaius Petronius Arbiter, c. 60

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.

—Samuel Butler, c. 1890

As far as I can see, the history of experimental art in the twentieth century is intimately bound up with the experience of intoxification.

—Will Self, 1994

And, after all, what is a lie? ’Tis but the truth in masquerade.

—Lord Byron, 1822

We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.

—Anna Sewell, 1877

A good dog, sir, deserves a good bone.

—Ben Jonson, 1633

People react to fear, not love—they don’t teach that in Sunday school, but it’s true.

—Richard Nixon, 1975

A jest breaks no bones.

—Samuel Johnson, 1781

One who is frivolous all day will never establish a household.

—Ptahhotep, c. 2400 BC

Every gift has a personality—that of its giver.

—Nuruddin Farah, 1992

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

—Aristotle, c. 330 BC

Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve and from which he cannot escape.

—Erich Fromm, 1947

Luck takes the step that no one sees.

—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BC