Nowadays three witty turns of phrase and a lie make a writer.
—G.C. Lichtenberg, c. 1780
Archive
Quotes
Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.
—Marcus Tullius Cicero, 63 BCReal generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.
—Albert Camus, 1951Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1939I have yet, I believe, some years in store, for I have a good state of health and a happy mind, and I take care of both by nourishing the first with temperance and the latter with abundance. This, I believe, you will allow to be the true philosophy of life.
—Thomas Paine, 1803Anyone who doesn’t know foreign languages knows nothing of his own.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1821Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque caricatures of himself.
—H.L. Mencken, 1919Pushing someone toward liberty does not set her free; taking the chains off a prisoner does not give him freedom.
—Ken Bugul, 1982Spit not in the well; you may have to drink its water.
—French proverbRebellion is no less a sin than divination.
—Book of Samuel, c. 550 BCThe mind that is not baffled is not employed.
—Wendell Berry, 1983Good fortune turns aside destruction by a great god.
—Instructions of Ankhsheshonqy, c. 100 BCRivalry is the whetstone of talent.
—Roman proverb