The worship of opinion is, at this day, the established religion of the United States.
—Harriet Martineau, 1839
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Quotes
Seaward ho! Hang the treasure! It’s the glory of the sea that has turned my head.
—Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883To be too conscious is an illness—a real thoroughgoing illness.
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1864Families, I hate you! Shut-in homes, closed doors, jealous possessions of happiness.
—André Gide, 1897Art imitates nature as well as it can, as a pupil follows his master; thus it is a sort of grandchild of God.
—Dante, c. 1315Doctors don’t know everything really. They understand matter, not spirit. And you and I live in spirit.
—William Saroyan, 1943How sickness enlarges the dimension of a man’s self to himself! He is his own exclusive object.
—Charles Lamb, 1833He that serves God for money will serve the Devil for better wages.
—Roger L’Estrange, 1692If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
—Voltaire, 1764Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.
—W.H. Auden, 1957The period is not very remote when the benefits of a liberal and free commerce will, pretty generally, succeed to the devastations and horrors of war.
—George Washington, 1786From a man’s face, I can read his character. If I can see him walk, I know his thoughts.
—Gaius Petronius Arbiter, c. 60Fashion, n. A despot whom the wise ridicule and obey.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1911