Archive

Quotes

Jazz is the result of the energy stored up in America.

—George Gershwin, 1933

Commerce tends to wear off those prejudices which maintain distinction and animosity between nations.

—William Robertson, 1769

The more enlightened our houses are, the more their walls ooze ghosts.

—Italo Calvino, 1967

To make laws that man cannot and will not obey serves to bring all law into contempt.

—Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1860

When a coward sees a man he can beat, he becomes hungry for a fight.

—Chinua Achebe, 1960

Revolutionaries are greater sticklers for formality than conservatives.

—Italo Calvino, 1957

Life is a farce, and should not end with a mourning scene.

—Horace Walpole, 1784

Everyone complains about his memory, and no one complains about his judgment.

—La Rochefoucauld, 1666

To know all is not to forgive all. It is to despise everybody.

—Quentin Crisp, 1968

There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.

—Sylvia Plath, 1963

I went [to war] because I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want the glory or the pay; I wanted the right thing done.

—Louisa May Alcott, 1863

I have never felt salvation in nature. I love cities above all.

—Michelangelo Antonioni, 1967

One of the things men should most strive to do is win a good reputation and see that no one questions it.

—Juan Manuel, 1335