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)
Benjamin Franklin on Money
“Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.” Benjamin Franklin US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 – 1790)
Isaac Asimov on Computers
“Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.” Isaac Asimov US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 – 1992)
Victor Hugo on Music
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” Victor Hugo
Annie Dillard on Life
“There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by.” Annie Dillard, The Writing Life
George Orwell on Language
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.” George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, 1946 English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 – 1950)
Robertson Davies on Future
“The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealised past.” Robertson Davies, “A Voice from the Attic”, 1960
Joseph Conrad on Evil
“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes, 1911 English (Polish-born) novelist (1857 – 1924)
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)
Japanese Proverb about Reading
“If you believe everything you read, better not read.” Japanese Proverb
E. B. White on Planning
“I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.” E. B. White US author & humorist (1899 – 1985)
Victor Hugo on Thought
“A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.” Victor Hugo French dramatist, novelist, & poet (1802 – 1885)
Henri Matisse on Art
“A picture must possess a real power to generate light and for a long time now I’ve been conscious of expressing myself through light or rather in light.” Henri Matisse
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
Denis Diderot on Morality
“There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.” Denis Diderot French author, encyclopedist, & philosopher (1713 – 1784)
John Wanamaker on Advertising
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” John Wanamaker US department store merchant (1838 – 1922)
Lester J. Pourciau on Politics
“There is no monument dedicated to the memory of a committee.” Lester J. Pourciau
Franklin Pierce Adams on Politics
“Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody.” Franklin Pierce Adams US journalist (1881 – 1960)
Bertrand Russell on Happiness
“If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Somerset Maugham on Love
“The love that lasts longest is the love that is never returned.” Somerset Maugham
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)
Elbert Hubbard on Journalism
“Editor: a person employed by a newspaper, whose business it is to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to see that the chaff is printed.” Elbert Hubbard US author (1856 – 1915)
Erma Bombeck on Success
“Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.” Erma Bombeck
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)
Douglas Adams on Society
“Nothing travels faster than light, with the possible exception of bad news, which follows its own rules” Douglas Adams
Anonymous on Power
“All power corrupts, but we need the electricity.” Unknown
Neil Armstrong on Mystery
“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) Apollo 11 astronaut, first man on the Moon.
Charles Peters on Politics
“Bureaucrats write memoranda both because they appear to be busy when they are writing and because the memos, once written, immediately become proof that they were busy.” Charles Peters
Blore’s Razor
“Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is funnier.” Blore’s Razor
Marshall McLuhan on Life
“There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening.” Marshall McLuhan Canadian author, educator, & philosopher (1911 – 1980)
Elon Musk on Business
“Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product.” Elon Musk
Aldous Huxley on Happiness
“Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.” Aldous Huxley, Vedanta for the Western World, 1945 English critic & novelist (1894 – 1963)
Jake Roberts on Experience
“Every moment is an experience.” Jake Roberts
Samuel Johnson on Integrity & Knowledge
“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” Samuel Johnson English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 – 1784)
E. V. Lucas on Tardiness
“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.” E. V. Lucas
Douglas Adams on Space
“Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy English humorist & science fiction novelist (1952 – 2001)
Margaret Millar Cynical Quote
“Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses.” Margaret Millar
Thomas Carlyle on Conceit
“The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.” Thomas Carlyle Scottish author, essayist, & historian (1795 – 1881)
Thomas A. Edison on Work
“Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.” Thomas A. Edison
John Russell on Sanity
“Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting.” John Russell
Danny Kaye on Life
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” Danny Kaye
Philip Johnson on Architecture
“Architecture is the art of how to waste space.” Philip Johnson US architect (1906 – 2005)
Tim Berners-Lee on Computers
“Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.” Tim Berners-Lee
Paul Valery on Politics
“Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.” Paul Valery, Tel Quel 2 (1943) French critic & poet (1871 – 1945)
Helen Rowland on Marriage
“One man’s folly is another man’s wife.” Helen Rowland (1876 – 1950)
Robert E. Lee on War
“It is well that war is so terrible – otherwise we would grow too fond of it.” Robert E. Lee, Statement at the Battle of Fredericksburg (13th December 1862) US-Confederate general (1807 – 1870)
Socrates on Nature
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” Socrates
Aldous Huxley on Improvement
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” Aldous Huxley
Mark Twain on Life
“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author (1835 – 1910)
Benjamin Franklin on Time
“You may delay, but time will not.” Benjamin Franklin
Albert Einstein on Education
“I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” Albert Einstein US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)
Aristotle on Love
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” Aristotle
Franklin Pierce Adams Cynical Quote
“Seeing ourselves as others see us would probably confirm our worst suspicions about them.” Franklin Pierce Adams US journalist (1881 – 1960)
Aeschylus on Wisdom
“It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.” Aeschylus Greek tragic dramatist (525 BC – 456 BC)
Friedrich Nietzsche’s Cynical Quote
“Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.” Friedrich Nietzsche German philosopher (1844 – 1900)
R. Buckminster Fuller on Technology
“Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.” R. Buckminster Fuller US architect & engineer (1895 – 1983)
Doctor Who on Maturity
“There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes.” Doctor Who
Laurence J. Peter on Clutter
“If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?” Laurence J. Peter US educator & writer (1919 – 1988)
Ronald Reagan on Politics
“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.” Ronald Reagan 40th president of US (1911 – 2004)
Ambrose Bierce on Science
“There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know.” Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary US author & satirist (1842 – 1914)
