Man has here two and a half minutes—one to smile, one to sigh, and half a one to love; for in the midst of this minute he dies.
—Jean Paul, 1795
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Quotes
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded.
—The Dhammapada, c. 400 BCMan, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all.
—Aristotle, c. 350 BCOur crime against criminals is that we treat them as villains.
—Friedrich Nietzsche, 1898I used to think that everyone was just being funny. But now I don’t know. I mean, how can you tell?
—Andy Warhol, 1970How can we bear misfortune most easily? If we see our enemies faring worse.
—Thales of Miletus, c. 585 BCMachines seem to sense that I am afraid of them. It makes them hostile.
—Sharyn McCrumb, 1990The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of a gun.
—P.G. Wodehouse, 1929Nature is immovable.
—Euripides, c. 415 BCYou shall judge of a man by his foes as well as by his friends.
—Joseph Conrad, 1900Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.
—Paul Valéry, 1943People who’ve drunk neat wine don’t care a damn.
—Hipponax, c. 550 BCThere never is absolute birth nor complete death, in the strict sense, consisting in the separation of the soul from the body. What we call births are developments and growths, while what we call deaths are envelopments and diminutions.
—Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, 1714