Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.
—Joseph Stalin, 1934
Archive
Quotes
The believer in magic and miracles reflects on how to impose a law on nature—and, in brief, the religious cult is the outcome of this reflection.
—Friedrich Nietzsche, 1878Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury—to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
—Albert Einstein, 1931They are trying to make me into a fixed star. I am an irregular planet.
—Martin Luther, c. 1530Civilization, as we know it, is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.
—Arnold Toynbee, 1948To put one’s trust in God is only a longer way of saying that one will chance it.
—Samuel Butler, c. 1890From the cradle to the coffin, underwear comes first.
—Bertolt Brecht, 1928One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.
—Oscar Wilde, 1894Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.
—Roald Dahl, 1990I shall embrace my rival—until I suffocate him.
—Jean Racine, 1669A human being must have occupation, if he or she is not to become a nuisance to the world.
—Dorothy L. Sayers, 1947Nothing so fortifies a friendship as a belief on the part of one friend that he is superior to the other.
—Honoré de Balzac, 1847A miracle entails a degree of irrationality—not because it shocks reason, but because it makes no appeal to it.
—Emmanuel Lévinas, 1952