Imitate the ass in his love to his master.
—St. John Chrysostom, c. 388
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Quotes
He makes his cook his merit, and the world visits his dinners and not him.
—Molière, 1666Man is always a wizard to man, and the social world is at first magical.
—Jean-Paul Sartre, 1939We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.
—Aesop, c. 600 BCNo real friendship without absolute liberty.
—George Sand, 1866Memories are like corks left out of bottles. They swell. They no longer fit.
—Harriet Doerr, 1978The past is always tense and the future, perfect.
—Zadie Smith, 2000I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?”
—Book of Ecclesiastes, 225 BCA passion for horses, players, and gladiators seems to be the epidemic folly of the times. The child receives it in his mother’s womb; he brings it with him into the world, and in a mind so possessed, what room for science, or any generous purpose?
—Tacitus, c. 100The Mughal’s nature is such that they demand miracles, but if a miracle were to be performed by some upright follower of our religion, they would say that it had been brought about by magic and sorcery. They would strike him down with spears or would stone him to death.
—Fr. Antonio Monserrate, 1590I have often been convinced that a democracy is incapable of empire.
—Thucydides, c. 404 BCI am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas and land on barbarous coasts.
—Herman Melville, 1853One great reason why many children abandon themselves wholly to silly sports and trifle away all their time insipidly is because they have found their curiosity baulked and their inquiries neglected.
—John Locke, 1693