Nothing from nothing ever yet was born.
—Lucretius, c. 58 BC
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Quotes
Spies are of no use nowadays. Their profession is over. The newspapers do their work instead.
—Oscar Wilde, 1895Profit is profit even in Mecca.
—Nigerian proverbLet him who desires peace prepare for war.
—Vegetius, c. 385A traveler’s chief aim should be to make men wiser and better, and to improve their minds by the bad—as well as good—example of what they deliver concerning foreign places.
—Jonathan Swift, 1726Do not ask me to be kind; just ask me to act as though I were.
—Jules Renard, 1898You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.
—Henrik Ibsen, 1882Revolutions are celebrated when they are no longer dangerous.
—Pierre Boulez, 1989A person who sees only fashion in fashion is a fool.
—Honoré de Balzac, 1830A fair complexion is unbecoming to a sailor: he ought to be swarthy from the waters of the sea and the rays of the sun.
—Ovid, c. 1 BCThe affairs of the world are no more than so much trickery, and a man who toils for money or honor or whatever else in deference to the wishes of others, rather than because his own desire or needs lead him to do so, will always be a fool.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1774One great reason why many children abandon themselves wholly to silly sports and trifle away all their time insipidly is because they have found their curiosity baulked and their inquiries neglected.
—John Locke, 1693When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
—Chinese proverb