Few sons are equal to their fathers; most fall short, all too few surpass them.
—Homer, c. 750 BC
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Quotes
However harmless a thing is, if the law forbids it, most people will think it wrong.
—W. Somerset Maugham, 1896Seamen are the nearest to death and the furthest from God.
—Thomas Fuller, 1732Dreams have always been my friend, full of information, full of warnings.
—Doris Lessing, 1994What harm is there in getting knowledge and learning, were it from a sot, a pot, a fool, a winter mitten, or an old slipper?
—François Rabelais, 1533In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards.
—Mark Twain, 1897Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently.
—Rosa Luxemburg, 1918Television is democracy at its ugliest.
—Paddy Chayefsky, 1976I don’t believe in total freedom for the artist. Left on his own, free to do anything he likes, the artist ends up doing nothing at all. If there’s one thing that’s dangerous for an artist, it’s precisely this question of total freedom, waiting for inspiration and all the rest of it.
—Federico Fellini, c. 1950Most men employ the first years of their life in making the last miserable.
—Jean de La Bruyère, 1688Make human nature your study wherever you reside—whatever the religion or the complexion, study their hearts.
—Ignatius Sancho, 1778Most vegetarians I ever saw looked enough like their food to be classed as cannibals.
—Finley Peter Dunne, 1900I am no courtesan, nor moderator, nor tribune, nor defender of the people: I am myself the people.
—Maximilien Robespierre, 1792