Can we not live without pleasure, who cannot but with pleasure die?
—Tertullian, c. 215
Archive
Quotes
Water is the first principle of everything.
—Thales of Miletus, c. 600 BCThe art of invention grows young with the things invented.
—Francis Bacon, 1605Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
I even gave up, for a while, stopping by the window of the room to look out at the lights and deep, illuminated streets. That’s a form of dying, that losing contact with the city like that.
—Philip K. Dick, 1972Put national causes first and personal grudges last.
—Sima Qian, c. 91 BCReal friends offer both hard truths and soft landings.
—Anna Quindlen, 2012Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.
—E.B. White, 1944There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
—Oscar Wilde, 1891From the cradle to the coffin, underwear comes first.
—Bertolt Brecht, 1928Happiness is a warm puppy.
—Charles Schulz, 1971After each night we are emptier: our mysteries and our griefs have leaked away into our dreams.
—E.M. Cioran, 1949The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right.
—Judge Learned Hand, 1944