Frank Lloyd Wright on Truth
“The truth is more important than the facts.” Frank Lloyd Wright US architect (1869 – 1959)
Isaac Asimov on Science
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny… ‘ Isaac Asimov
Bertrand Russell on Books
“There are two motives for reading a book: one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Martin Luther King Jr. on Science
“Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.” Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963 US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 – 1968)
Ellen Glasgow on Change
“All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” Ellen Glasgow
Josh Billings on Experience
“There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply.” Josh Billings
The Bible on Anger
“The start of an argument is like a water leak – so stop it before real trouble breaks out.” The Bible, Proverbs 17:14
Jimmy Carter on Nature
“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” Jimmy Carter
Pierre Beaumarchais Cynical Quote
“It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them.” Pierre Beaumarchais French businessman & comic dramatist (1732 – 1799)
Iris Murdoch on Nature
“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” Iris Murdoch
Plato on Poetry
“Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.” Plato
Esther Dyson on Internet
“The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.” Esther Dyson, Interview in Time Magazine, October 2005
Carl Sagan on Science
“I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true.” Carl Sagan US astronomer & popularizer of astronomy (1934 – 1996)
William Blake on Forgiveness
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” William Blake English engraver, illustrator, & poet (1757 – 1827)
Baltasar Gracian on Wisdom
“A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.” Baltasar Gracian
Thomas Jefferson on Liberty
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” Thomas Jefferson, to Archibald Stuart, 1791 3rd president of US (1743 – 1826)
Alan Turing on Technology
“Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.” Alan Turing English logician & mathematician (1912 – 1954)
Samuel Butler on Trouble
“Genius might be described as a supreme capacity for getting its possessors into trouble of all kinds.” Samuel Butler English composer, novelist, & satiric author (1835 – 1902)
Josh Billings on Marriage
“Marrying for love may be a bit risky, but it is so honest that God can’t help but smile on it.” Josh Billings
Virgil Thomson on Music
“The way to write American music is simple. All you have to do is be an American and then write any kind of music you wish.” Virgil Thomson US composer, conductor, & music critic (1896 – 1989)
A. H. Weiler on Power
“Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn’t have to do it himself.” A. H. Weiler (1909 – 2002)
Yoda Wisdom Quote
“Do or do not… there is no try.” Jedi Master Yoda – Star Wars (created by George Lucas)
Chester Bowles on Politics
“Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.” Chester Bowles US diplomat & economist (1901 – 1986)
Aristotle on Love
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” Aristotle
Emile Chartier on Ideas
“There are only two kinds of scholars; those who love ideas and those who hate them.” Emile Chartier
Ronald Reagan Cynical Quote
“The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away.” Ronald Reagan 40th president of US (1911 – 2004)
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg on Intelligence
“Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.” Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799)
Louis Pasteur on Education
“Fortune favors the prepared mind.” Louis Pasteur
Mark Twain Cynical Quote on Politics
“Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Gilbert K. Chesterton on Adventure
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.” Gilbert K. Chesterton English author & mystery novelist (1874 – 1936)
Thomas A. Edison on Opportunity
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A. Edison US inventor (1847 – 1931)
Alice Roosevelt Longworth on Youth
“The secret of eternal youth is arrested development.” Alice Roosevelt Longworth US author & wit (1884 – 1980)
John F. Kennedy on History
“History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.” John F. Kennedy
Michael E. Gerber on Life
“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.” Michael E. Gerber
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on Truth
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (Sherlock Holmes) British mystery author & physician (1859 – 1930)
Saint Augustine on Wisdom
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Saint Augustine
Walter Winchell on Friendship
“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” Walter Winchell
W. Somerset Maugham Cynical Quote
“I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don’t.” W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil, 1925 English dramatist & novelist (1874 – 1965)
Oscar Wilde on Business
“My own business always bores me to death; I prefer other people’s.” Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan, 1892 Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Clive James on Technology
“It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are.” Clive James
Mark Twain Wisdom Quote
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Jean Giraudoux on Mediocrity
“Only the mediocre are always at their best.” Jean Giraudoux French diplomat, dramatist, & novelist (1882 – 1944)
Henry David Thoreau on Success
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” Henry David Thoreau US Transcendentalist author (1817 – 1862)
Don Marquis on Work
“When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: ‘Whose?'” Don Marquis US humorist (1878 – 1937)
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Greatness
“To be great is to be misunderstood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, An Essay on Self-Reliance US essayist & poet (1803 – 1882)
David Broder on Politics
“Anybody who wants the presidency so much that he’ll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office.” David Broder
Thomas A. Edison
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” Thomas A. Edison US inventor (1847 – 1931)
Francis Bacon on Certainties
“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.” Sir Francis Bacon English author, courtier, & philosopher (1561 – 1626)
Bill Watterson on Intelligent Life
“Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.” Bill Watterson, cartoonist, Calvin and Hobbes US cartoonist (1958 – )
Dave Barry on Argument
“I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don’t even invite me.” Dave Barry US columnist & humorist (1947 – )