Books
Seneca on Literature
“I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good.” Seneca Roman dramatist, philosopher, & politician (5 BC – 65 AD)
Samuel Johnson on Writing
“Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.” Samuel Johnson, (attributed) English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 – 1784)
Groucho Marx on TV and Books
“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” Groucho Marx US comedian with Marx Brothers (1890 – 1977)
Isadora Duncan on Experience
“What one has not experienced, one will never understand in print.” Isadora Duncan
Arnold Lobel on Books
“Books to the ceiling, Books to the sky, My pile of books is a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.” Arnold Lobel
Samuel Goldwyn on Writing
“I don’t think anyone should write their autobiography until after they’re dead.” Samuel Goldwyn US (Polish-born) movie producer (1882 – 1974)
Thomas Carlyle on Education
“What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books.” Thomas Carlyle Scottish author, essayist, & historian (1795 – 1881)
Robertson Davies on Books
“A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight.” Robertson Davies
Leonard Bernstein on Inspiration
“Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time… The wait is simply too long.” Leonard Bernstein US composer & conductor (1918 – 1990)
George Bernard Shaw on Reading
“Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read made him mad.” George Bernard Shaw Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Samuel Johnson on Literature
“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.” Samuel Johnson English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 – 1784)
J. W. Eagan on Books and Movies
“Never judge a book by its movie.” J. W. Eagan
Jules Renard on Literature
“Literature is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none.” Jules Renard (1864 – 1910)
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)
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 – )
Japanese Proverb about Reading
“If you believe everything you read, better not read.” Japanese Proverb
Paul Valery on Books
“Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, and their own content.” Paul Valery French critic & poet (1871 – 1945)
Sir Richard Steele on Reading
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Sir Richard Steele
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)
Philip G. Hamerton on Quotations
“Have you ever observed that we pay much more attention to a wise passage when it is quoted than when we read it in the original author?” Philip G. Hamerton, “The Intellectual Life”
Christopher Morley on Imagination
“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.” Christopher Morley US author & journalist (1890 – 1957)
Groucho Marx on Books
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” Groucho Marx US comedian with Marx Brothers (1890 – 1977)