There are truths that prove their discoverers witless.
—Karl Kraus, 1909Quotes
There is no art without Eros.
—Max Frisch, 1983The more men are massed together, the more corrupt they become. Disease and vice are the sure results of overcrowded cities.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
—Oscar Wilde, 1890Life is no way to treat an animal.
—Kurt Vonnegut, 2005He who laugheth too much, hath the nature of a fool; he that laugheth not at all, hath the nature of an old cat.
—Thomas Fuller, 1732Enemies to me are the sauce piquant to my dish of life.
—Elsa Maxwell, 1955I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do—that was one of my favorite things about it—and when I first did it, I felt perverse.
—Diane Arbus, c. 1950Most men employ the first years of their life in making the last miserable.
—Jean de La Bruyère, 1688Fear is the foundation of most governments.
—John Adams, 1776I never even saw the use of the sea. Many a sad heart has it caused, and many a sick stomach has it occasioned! The boldest sailor climbs on board with a heavy soul and leaps on land with a light spirit.
—Benjamin Disraeli, 1827How can we bear misfortune most easily? If we see our enemies faring worse.
—Thales of Miletus, c. 585 BCIn the country gossip is a pastime; in the city it is a warfare.
—W.M.L. Jay, 1870