What will not attract a man’s stare at sea?—a gull, a turtle, a flying fish!
—Richard Burton, 1883
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Quotes
Without a decisive naval force, we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.
—George Washington, 1781The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.
—LaoziSomeone who knows too much finds it hard not to lie.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1947Death from the bubonic plague is rated, with crucifixion, among the nastiest human experiences of all.
—Guy R. Williams, 1975It has always been my practice to cast a long paragraph in a single mold, to try it by my ear, to deposit it in my memory, but to suspend the action of the pen till I had given the last polish to my work.
—Edward Gibbon, c. 1790It is hard when nature does not respect your intentions, and she never does exactly respect them.
—Wendell Berry, 1985Business? Why, it’s very simple; business is other people’s money.
—Alexandre Dumas, 1857Time, when it is left to itself and no definite demands are made on it, cannot be trusted to move at any recognized pace. Usually it loiters, but just when one has come to count upon its slowness, it may suddenly break into a wild irrational gallop.
—Edith Wharton, 1905He 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, 1732It is not right for a ruler who has the nation in his charge, a man with so much on his mind, to sleep all night.
—Homer, c. 750 BCReal education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing—the rest is mere sheep herding.
—Ezra Pound, 1934That which the sober man keeps in his breast, the drunken man lets out at the lips. Astute people, when they want to ascertain a man’s true character, make him drunk.
—Martin Luther, 1569