The almost insoluble task is to let neither the power of others, nor our own powerlessness, stupefy us.
—Theodor Adorno, 1951
Archive
Quotes
One must love people a good deal whom one takes pains to convince or instruct.
—Mary de la Riviere Manley, 1720When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
—Chinese proverbIf you are truly serious about preparing your child for the future, don’t teach him to subtract—teach him to deduct.
—Fran Lebowitz, 1981Love lasteth as long as the money endureth.
—William Caxton, 1476No real friendship without absolute liberty.
—George Sand, 1866With the dead there is no rivalry.
—Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1839Spies are of no use nowadays. Their profession is over. The newspapers do their work instead.
—Oscar Wilde, 1895Honesty, for me, is usually the worst policy imaginable.
—Patricia Highsmith, 1960There is no crime without precedent.
—Seneca the Younger, c. 60I hate the sight of monkeys; they remind me so of poor relations.
—Henry Luttrell, 1820Let my epitaph be, “Here lies Joseph, who failed in everything he undertook.”
—Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, 1790Colonialism has meant selling our ore and being left with the holes.
—Samora Moisés Machel, c. 1976