After each night we are emptier: our mysteries and our griefs have leaked away into our dreams.
—E.M. Cioran, 1949
Archive
Quotes
I would much rather have men ask why I have no statue than why I have one.
—Cato the Elder, c. 184 BCHe that commands the sea is at great liberty and may take as much and as little of the war as he will.
—Francis Bacon, c. 1600I take it as a prime cause of the present confusion of society that it is too sickly and too doubtful to use pleasure frankly as a test of value.
—Rebecca West, 1939That 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, 1569Memory is the only
afterlife I can understand.
I have given up considering happiness as relevant.
—Edward Gorey, 1974One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.
—G.K. Chesterton, 1911Business? Why, it’s very simple; business is other people’s money.
—Alexandre Dumas, 1857People living deeply have no fear of death.
—Anaïs Nin, 1935I 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, 1827Brains are the only things worth having in this world.
—L. Frank Baum, 1899One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.
—E.B. White, 1958