How gloriously legible are the constellations of the heavens!
—Anthony Trollope, 1859
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Quotes
As to the sea itself, love it you cannot. Why should you? I will never believe again the sea was ever loved by anyone whose life was married to it. It is the creation of omnipotence, which is not of humankind and understandable, and so the springs of its behavior are hidden.
—H.M. Tomlinson, 1912The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy.
—Yves Saint Laurent, 1978A sick child is always the mother’s property; her own feelings generally make it so.
—Jane Austen, 1816Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
—Arthur C. Clarke, 1973Death and vulgarity are the only two facts in the nineteenth century that one cannot explain away.
—Oscar Wilde, 1891Every man has a lurking wish to appear considerable in his native place.
—Samuel Johnson, 1771Until you’ve lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.
—Margaret Mitchell, 1936The Church says that the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in the shadow than in the Church.
—Ferdinand Magellan, c. 1510Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.
—Jane Austen, 1811To blow and to swallow at the same time is not easy; I cannot at the same time be here and also there.
—Plautus, c. 200 BCI wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way.
—John Paul Jones, 1778It is far, far better and much safer to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought.
—John Kenneth Galbraith, 1958