Other nations use “force”; we Britons alone use “might.”
—Evelyn Waugh, 1938
Archive
Quotes
The men of today are born to criticize; of Achilles they see only the heel.
—Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, 1880Give us this day our television, and an automobile, but deliver us from freedom.
—Jean-Luc Godard, 1966A dissolute and intemperate youth hands down the body to old age in a worn-out state.
—Cicero, 44 BCThe thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.
—Edward, Duke of Windsor, 1957Under all speech that is good for anything, there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as eternity; speech is shallow as time.
—Thomas Carlyle, 1838Love is so short, forgetting is so long.
—Pablo Neruda, 1924Revolutions are always verbose.
—Leon Trotsky, 1933The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them.
—Denis Diderot, 1777I have often repented speaking, but never of holding my tongue.
—Xenocrates, c. 350 BCWater is the first principle of everything.
—Thales of Miletus, c. 600 BCLike a broken gong be still, be silent. Know the stillness of freedom where there is no more striving.
—Siddhartha Gautama, c. 500 BCWhole nations have melted away like balls of snow before the sun.
—Dragging Canoe, 1775