Some things are privileged from jest—namely, religion, matters of state, great persons, all men’s present business of importance, and any case that deserves pity.
—Francis Bacon, 1597
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Quotes
There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate: when he can’t afford it, and when he can.
—Mark Twain, 1897The ingrained idea that, because there is no king and they despise titles, the Americans are a free people is pathetically untrue.
—Margot Asquith, 1922Celibacy goes deeper than the flesh.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1920You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.
—Aristophanes, c. 424 BCMan is a noble animal, splendid in ashes and pompous in the grave.
—Thomas Browne, 1658I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.
—Galileo Galilei, 1615Drunkenness is the very sepulcher / Of man’s wit and his discretion.
—Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1390Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of voluntary spies.
—Jane Austen, 1818In dealing with the dead, if we treat them as if they were entirely dead, that would show a want of affection and should not be done; or, if we treat them as if they were entirely alive, that would show a want of wisdom and should not be done.
—Confucius, c. 500 BCMan is the one name belonging to every nation upon earth: there is one soul and many tongues, one spirit and various sounds; every country has its own speech, but the subjects of speech are common to all.
—Tertullian, c. 217Fire destroys that which feeds it.
—Simone Weil, c. 1940Rewards and punishment are the lowest form of education.
—Zhuangzi, c. 286 BC