The important thing, I think, is not to be bitter. You know, if it turns out that there is a God, I don’t think that he’s evil. I think that the worst thing you could say about him is that basically he’s an underachiever. After all, you know, there are worse things in life than death.
—Woody Allen, 1975
Archive
Quotes
Law makes long spokes of the short stakes of men.
—William Empson, 1928Revolutions are celebrated when they are no longer dangerous.
—Pierre Boulez, 1989Never greet a stranger in the night, for he may be a demon.
—Babylonian Talmud, c. 600Grow your tree of falsehood from a small grain of truth.
—Czeslaw Milosz, 1946The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced.
—Victor Hugo, 1862I proclaim night more truthful than the day.
—Léopold Sédar Senghor, 1956Nothing so fortifies a friendship as a belief on the part of one friend that he is superior to the other.
—Honoré de Balzac, 1847There are twelve hours in the day, and above fifty in the night.
—Madame de Sévigné, 1671A man who exposes himself when he is intoxicated has not the art of getting drunk.
—Samuel Johnson, 1779One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.
—Iris Murdoch, 1978The only equals are those who are equally rich.
—Burundian proverbTo live for a time close to great minds is the best kind of education.
—John Buchan, 1940