No human being is innocent, but there is a class of innocent human actions called games.
—W.H. Auden, 1962
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Quotes
Imitate the ass in his love to his master.
—St. John Chrysostom, c. 388Be a good animal, true to your animal instincts.
—D.H. Lawrence, 1911The basis of optimism is sheer terror.
—Oscar Wilde, 1891I was born without knowing why, I have lived without knowing why, and I am dying without either knowing why or how.
—Pierre Gassendi, 1655When one has a famishing thirst for happiness, one is apt to gulp down diversions wherever they are offered.
—Alice Hegan Rice, 1917Whoever gulps down wine as a horse gulps down water is called a Scythian.
—Athenaeus, c. 230Let my epitaph be, “Here lies Joseph, who failed in everything he undertook.”
—Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, 1790The only evidence, so far as I know, about another life is, first, that we have no evidence; and, secondly, that we are rather sorry that we have not, and wish we had.
—Robert G. Ingersoll, 1879Good fortune is light as a feather, but nobody knows how to hold it up. Misfortune is heavy as the earth, but nobody knows how to stay out of its way.
—Zhuangzi, c. 300 BCThe most socially subversive institution of our time is the one-parent family.
—Paul Johnson, 1989In its function, the power to punish is not essentially different from that of curing or educating.
—Michel Foucault, 1975Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury—to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
—Albert Einstein, 1931