Whoever gulps down wine as a horse gulps down water is called a Scythian.
—Athenaeus, c. 230
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Quotes
The more corrupt the state, the more numerous its laws.
—Tacitus, c. 110Alongside all swindlers the state now stands there as swindler-in-chief.
—Jacob Burckhardt, c. 1875War to the castles; peace to the cottages.
—Nicolas Chamfort, 1790Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, at a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.
—James Madison, 1794Kings and fools know no law.
—German proverbIt is hell to belong to a suppressed minority.
—Claude McKay, 1937The more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm of conversation.
—Plato, c. 375 BCMan’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.
—Reinhold Niebuhr, 1944I have been ever of the opinion that revolutions are not to be evaded.
—Benjamin Disraeli, 1844Possessions, 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, 1931Art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead.
—W.H. Auden, c. 1940Men have an extraordinarily erroneous opinion of their position in nature; and the error is ineradicable.
—W. Somerset Maugham, 1896