Fame is but the empty noise of madmen.
—Epictetus, c. 100
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Quotes
Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury—to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
—Albert Einstein, 1931Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.
—Tom Robbins, 1976How sickness enlarges the dimension of a man’s self to himself! He is his own exclusive object.
—Charles Lamb, 1833To live outside the law you must be honest.
—Bob Dylan, 1966Give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with the necessities.
—John Lothrop Motley, 1858The self is like an infant: given free rein, it craves to suckle.
—al-Busiri, c. 1250Childhood has no forebodings—but then, it is soothed by no memories of outlived sorrow.
—George Eliot, 1860One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.
—G.K. Chesterton, 1911The ingrained idea that, because there is no king and they despise titles, the Americans are a free people is pathetically untrue.
—Margot Asquith, 1922Don’t talk to me about naval tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.
—Winston Churchill, 1939No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money.
—Samuel Johnson, 1776The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity.
—James Fenimore Cooper, 1838