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)
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)
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)
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)
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 – )
Robert Benchley on Quotations
“The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.” Robert Benchley US actor, author, & humorist (1889 – 1945)
Erma Bombeck on Dreams
“Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely.” Erma Bombeck
Don Marquis on Progress
“The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race.” Don Marquis US humorist (1878 – 1937)
H. L. Mencken on Money
“The chief value of money lies in the fact that one lives in a world in which it is overestimated.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
A. A. Milne on Disorder
“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” A. A. Milne English juvenile author (1882 – 1956)
L. M. Boyd Cynical Quote
“There are 350 varieties of shark, not counting loan and pool.” L. M. Boyd
Stanislaw J. Lec on Patience
“You must first have a lot of patience to learn to have patience.” Stanislaw J. Lec, “Unkempt Thoughts” Polish writer (1909 – 1966)
Edward Abbey on Tyranny
“No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets.” Edward Abbey US radical environmentalist (1927 – 1989)
Albert Einstein on Wisdom at Solving Problems
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Albert Einstein
Jeff Marder Cynical Quote
“We live in an age when pizza gets to your home before the police.” Jeff Marder
Danny Kaye on Life
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” Danny Kaye
Peter Ustinov on Money
“The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill.” Peter Ustinov English actor & author (1921 – 2004)
Saint Thomas Aquinas on Faith
“Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.” Saint Thomas Aquinas
Maya Angelou on Change
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” Maya Angelou
Gertrude Stein on Information
“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” Gertrude Stein US author in France (1874 – 1946)
Ambrose Bierce on Absurdity
“Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one’s own opinion.” Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary US author & satirist (1842 – 1914)
Marshall McLuhan’s Funny Quote
“I don’t necessarily agree with everything I say.” Marshall McLuhan Canadian author, educator, & philosopher (1911 – 1980)
Napoleon Bonaparte on Peace
“If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.” Napoleon Bonaparte
Gilbert K. Chesterton on Journalism
“Journalism largely consists of saying ‘Lord Jones is Dead’ to people who never knew that Lord Jones was alive.” Gilbert K. Chesterton English author & mystery novelist (1874 – 1936)
Frank Gifford on Sports
“Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors.” Frank Gifford
Albert Einstein on Science
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein, (attributed) US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)
Jerry Seinfeld on Society
“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.” Jerry Seinfeld US comedian & television actor (1954 – )
Jay Leno Cynical Quote
“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.” Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 – )
J. Bartlett Brebner on Politics
“Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States.” J. Bartlett Brebner
Otto von Bismarck Cynical Quote
“When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn’t the slightest intention of putting it into practice.” Otto von Bismarck German Prussian politician (1815 – 1898)
Hannah Arendt on Forgiveness
“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” Hannah Arendt
Oscar Wilde on Truth
“If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Benjamin Franklin on Politics
“All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse.” Benjamin Franklin US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 – 1790)
Maurice Chevalier on Age
“A comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth. Instead of its bringing sad and melancholy prospects of decay, it would give us hopes of eternal youth in a better world.” Maurice Chevalier