Language is the archives of history.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844
Archive
Quotes
Without doubt God is the universal moving force, but each being is moved according to the nature that God has given it. He directs angels, man, animals, brute matter, in sum all created things—but each according to its nature—and man having been created free, he is freely led. This rule is truly the eternal law and in it we must believe.
—Joseph de Maistre, 1821I shall soon be six-and-twenty. Is there anything in the future that can possibly console us for not being always twenty-five?
—Lord Byron, 1813When poets don’t know what to say and have completely given up on the play, just like a finger, they lift the machine and the spectators are satisfied.
—Antiphanes, c. 350 BCNo man ever distinguished himself who could not bear to be laughed at.
—Maria Edgeworth, 1809An appeal to the reason of the people has never been known to fail in the long run.
—James Russell Lowell, c. 1865If one hears bad music, it is one’s duty to drown it by conversation.
—Oscar Wilde, 1890Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.
—Pericles, c. 431 BCBig head, little wit.
—French proverbAnyone who in discussion quotes authority uses his memory rather than his intellect.
—Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1500The spirit of revolution, the spirit of insurrection, is a spirit radically opposed to liberty.
—François Guizot, 1830Had Cleopatra’s nose been shorter, the whole face of the world would have changed.
—Blaise Pascal, 1658Revenge may be wicked, but it’s natural.
—William Makepeace Thackeray, 1847