Benjamin Franklin on Government
“There is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government.” Benjamin Franklin US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 – 1790)
Robert Service on Success
“Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” Robert Service
Hob Broun on Realism
“Realism… has no more to do with reality than anything else.” Hob Broun
Honoré de Balzac on Love
“A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea.” Honoré de Balzac
Al McGuire on Politics
“I think the world is run by ‘C’ students.” Al McGuire
Marquis de Flers Robert and Arman de Caillavet on Democracy
“Democracy is the name we give the people whenever we need them.” Marquis de Flers Robert and Arman de Caillavet
Thomas A. Edison on Failure
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas A. Edison, (attributed) US inventor (1847 – 1931)
Doug Larson Cynical Quote
“A lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience.” Doug Larson
John F. Kennedy on Forgiveness
“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” John F. Kennedy
Benjamin Disraeli on Expectations
“What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expected generally happens.” Benjamin Disraeli British politician (1804 – 1881)
Rodney Dangerfield on Marriage
“I haven’t spoken to my wife in years. I didn’t want to interrupt her.” Rodney Dangerfield US actor & comedian (1921 – 2004)
Sir Alec Issigonis Funny Quote
“A camel is a horse designed by a committee” Sir Alec Issigonis
Benjamin Franklin on Education
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin
Lucius Annaeus Seneca on Anger
“Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Ronald Reagan on Government
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'” Ronald Reagan 40th president of US (1911 – 2004)
Anatole France on Life
“The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever.” Anatole France French novelist (1844 – 1924)
Edith Sitwell on Truth
“The public will believe anything, so long as it is not founded on truth.” Edith Sitwell English biographer, critic, novelist, & poet (1887 – 1964)
Jean Paul Richter on Courage
“A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward.” Jean Paul Richter German author (1763 – 1825)
Amos Bronson Alcott on Age
“To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent that is to triumph over old age.” Amos Bronson Alcott
Hobart Brown on Money and Happiness
“Money doesn’t always bring happiness. People with ten million dollars are no happier than people with nine million dollars.” Hobart Brown
Albert Einstein on God & Science
“God does not care about our mathematical difficulties. He integrates empirically.” Albert Einstein
Patrick Young on Weather
“The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.” Patrick Young
Dan Rather on Americans
“Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn’t block traffic.” Dan Rather US television newscaster (1931 – )
David Russell on Life
“The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.” David Russell
Galileo Galilei on Science
“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” Galileo Galilei Italian astronomer & physicist (1564 – 1642)
Martin Luther King, Jr. on History
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Oscar Wilde on Society
“The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.” Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist, 1891 Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
John Stuart Mill on Happiness
“Ask yourself whether you are happy and you cease to be so.” John Stuart Mill English economist & philosopher (1806 – 1873)
R. Buckminster Fuller on Science
“Everything you’ve learned in school as ‘obvious’ becomes less and less obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no solids in the universe. There’s not even a suggestion of a solid. There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no straight lines.” R. Buckminster Fuller US architect & engineer (1895 – 1983)
Abigail Van Buren on Society
“The less you talk, the more you’re listened to.” Abigail Van Buren
Plutarch on Wisdom
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” Plutarch
William James on Society
“A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.” William James US Pragmatist philosopher & psychologist (1842 – 1910)
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Thoughts
“In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self Reliance” US essayist & poet (1803 – 1882)
John Andrew Holmes on Self
“It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.” John Andrew Holmes
Winston Churchill on Business
“I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.” Winston Churchill
William S. Burroughs on Politics and Science Fiction
“After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say ‘I want to see the manager.’ “ William S. Burroughs US author (1914 – 1997)
Mohandas Gandhi on Forgiveness
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Mohandas Gandhi
Marcus Aurelius on Anger
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” Marcus Aurelius
King Solomon on Value
“Good people are remembered long after they are gone, but the wicked are soon forgotten.” Solomon a king of Israel and a thinker
Leo Tolstoy on Change
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” Leo Tolstoy Russian mystic & novelist (1828 – 1910)
Albert Einstein on Success
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein
Elbert Hubbard on Friendship
“A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.” Elbert Hubbard
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg on Belief
“First there is a time when we believe everything, then for a little while we believe with discrimination, then we believe nothing whatever, and then we believe everything again – and, moreover, give reasons why we believe.” Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799)
John Kenneth Galbraith Cynical Quote
“If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.” John Kenneth Galbraith US (Canadian-born) administrator & economist (1908 – 2006)
James Carville on Time
“The best time to plant an oak tree was twenty-five years ago. The second best time is today.” James Carville
Robert Frost on Poetry
“A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” Robert Frost
Edgar Allan Poe on Dreams
“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” Edgar Allan Poe, “Eleonora” US short story author, editor, & poet (1809 – 1849)
Randolph Bourne on Society
“Society is one vast conspiracy for carving one into the kind of statue it likes, and then placing it in the most convenient niche it has.” Randolph Bourne
Henry Kissinger on Politics
“Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.” Henry Kissinger US (German-born) diplomat & scholar (1923 – )
Adam Osborne on Computers
“People think computers will keep them from making mistakes. They’re wrong. With computers you make mistakes faster.” Adam Osborne
Marcus Aurelius on Life
“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.” Marcus Aurelius
Norman Vincent Peale on Success
“How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself – so always think positively.” Norman Vincent Peale
Helen Keller on Comfort
“To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.” Helen Keller US blind & deaf educator (1880 – 1968)
Woody Allen on the Universe
“I’m astounded by people who want to ‘know’ the universe when it’s hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.” Woody Allen US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 – )
Dwight D. Eisenhower on War
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
Janet Long on Sanity
“Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy.” Janet Long
Zig Ziglar on Success
“A goal properly set is halfway reached.” Zig Ziglar
Socrates on Marriage
“My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.” Socrates
Tom Stoppard on Art & Imagination
“Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.” Tom Stoppard, “Artist Descending a Staircase” British dramatist & screenwriter (1937 – )
Winston Churchill on Success
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
