Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It’s what separates us from the animals—except the weasel.
—The Simpsons, 1993
Archive
Quotes
One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
—André Gide, 1926Is it only the mouth and belly which are injured by hunger and thirst? Men’s minds are also injured by them.
—Mencius, 300 BCIf the heavens were all parchment, and the trees of the forest all pens, and every human being were a scribe, it would still be impossible to record all that I have learned from my teachers.
—Jochanan ben Zakkai, c. 75The state dictates and coerces; religion teaches and persuades. The state enacts laws; religion gives commandments. The state is armed with physical force and makes use of it if need be; the force of religion is love and benevolence.
—Moses Mendelssohn, 1783Someone who knows too much finds it hard not to lie.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1947People living deeply have no fear of death.
—Anaïs Nin, 1935What are men anyway but balloons on legs, a lot of blown-up bladders?
—Gaius Petronius Arbiter, c. 64History does not merely touch on language, but takes place in it.
—Theodor Adorno, c. 1946In most cases men willingly believe what they wish.
—Julius Caesar, 52 BCHowever harmless a thing is, if the law forbids it, most people will think it wrong.
—W. Somerset Maugham, 1896We don’t have the option of turning away from the future. No one gets to vote on whether technology is going to change our lives.
—Bill Gates, 1995Don’t try to make a profit on a bad trade; just try to find the best place to get out.
—Linda Bradford Raschke, 1992