Cynical
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)
Otto von Bismarck on Law
“Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.” Otto von Bismarck German Prussian politician (1815 – 1898)
Arthur C. Clarke on Science Fiction
“Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.” Arthur C. Clarke English physicist & science fiction author (1917 – 2008)
Cullen Hightower on Wisdom
“Wisdom is what’s left after we’ve run out of personal opinions.” Cullen Hightower
Charles Kuralt on Travel
“Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.” Charles Kuralt
Jef Mallett on Opinion
“An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.” Jef Mallett Frazz, 04-04-07
Bertrand Russell on Controversies
“The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Andy Rooney on Computers
“Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don’t need to be done.” Andy Rooney US news commentator (1919 – )
Charles de Gaulle on Politics
“In politics it is necessary either to betray one’s country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate.” Charles de Gaulle
Howard Scott on Business
“Criminal: A person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.” Howard Scott (1926 – )
De La Lastra’s Law
“After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been removed.” De La Lastra’s Law
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)
Mignon McLaughlin on Society
“Society honors its living conformists and its dead troublemakers.” Mignon McLaughlin
Alice Roosevelt Longworth on Youth
“The secret of eternal youth is arrested development.” Alice Roosevelt Longworth US author & wit (1884 – 1980)
Henry Fielding on Criticism
“Now, in reality, the world have paid too great a compliment to critics, and have imagined them to be men of much greater profundity than they really are.” Henry Fielding English dramatist & novelist (1707 – 1754)
Henry David Thoreau on Flying
“Thank God men cannot as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!” Henry David Thoreau US Transcendentalist author (1817 – 1862)
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)
Thomas Pickering on Archaeology vs. Diplomacy
“In archaeology you uncover the unknown. In diplomacy you cover the known.” Thomas Pickering US diplomat (1931 – )
John Wilmot on Children
“Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories.” John Wilmot
Orson Welles on Art and Time
“I passionately hate the idea of being with it, I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time.” Orson Welles US actor & director (1915 – 1985)
Robert W. Sarnoff on Finance
“Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears.” Robert W. Sarnoff
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on Talent
“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (Sherlock Holmes) Valley of Fear, 1915 British mystery author & physician (1859 – 1930)
Edgar Bergen on Work
“Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?” Edgar Bergen, (Charlie McCarthy) US comedian & ventriloquist (1903 – 1978)
Jay Leno on Politics
“If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.” Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 – )
Don Juan Manuel on Praise
“He who praises you for what you lack wishes to take from you what you have.” Don Juan Manuel Spanish author & nobleman (1282 – 1349)
Thomas Neill Cynical Quote
“Of those who say nothing, few are silent.” Thomas Neill
Margaret Thatcher on Politics
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money.” Margaret Thatcher
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)
James Thurber on Questions
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” James Thurber US author, cartoonist, humorist, & satirist (1894 – 1961)
Ronald Reagan on Politics
“I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.” Ronald Reagan 40th president of US (1911 – 2004)
Herb Caen on the Past
“I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there.” Herb Caen
Benjamin Disraeli on Strategy
“The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps.” Benjamin Disraeli British politician (1804 – 1881)
Gilbert K. Chesterton on Imagination
“It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.” Gilbert K. Chesterton English author & mystery novelist (1874 – 1936)
Chester Bowles on Politics
“Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.” Chester Bowles US diplomat & economist (1901 – 1986)
Fred Allen on Hollywood
“You can take all the sincerity in Hollywood, place it in the navel of a firefly and still have room enough for three caraway seeds and a producer’s heart.” Fred Allen US radio comedian (1894 – 1956)
Christopher Lasch on Success
“Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.” Christopher Lasch
Ludwig Wittgenstein on Philosophy
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.” Ludwig Wittgenstein Austrian philosopher (1889 – 1951)
Albert Einstein on War
“The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.” Albert Einstein US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)
Edward R. Murrow on TV
“When the politicians complain that TV turns the proceedings into a circus, it should be made clear that the circus was already there, and that TV has merely demonstrated that not all the performers are well trained.” Edward R. Murrow US broadcast journalist & newscaster (1908 – 1965)
Abraham Lincoln on Tact
“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.” Abraham Lincoln 16th president of US (1809 – 1865)
John Kenneth Galbraith on Politics
“Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it’s just the opposite.” John Kenneth Galbraith US (Canadian-born) administrator & economist (1908 – 2006)
Francis Bacon on Beauty
“There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.” Sir Francis Bacon, “Of Beauty” English author, courtier, & philosopher (1561 – 1626)
Anatole France on Law
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” Anatole France, The Red Lily, 1894, chapter 7 French novelist (1844 – 1924)
Winston Churchill on Strategy and Results
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Winston Churchill
Harlan Ellison’s Funny Quote
“The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity.” Harlan Ellison US science fiction author & screenwriter (1934 – )
Kin Hubbard on Success
“There’s no secret about success. Did you ever know a successful man who didn’t tell you about it?” Kin Hubbard (1868 – 1930)
An English Professor on Writing
“I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.” An English Professor, Ohio University
Ernest Hemingway Cynical Quote
“Never confuse movement with action.” Ernest Hemingway US author & journalist (1899 – 1961)
Oscar Wilde on Selfishness
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Abraham Lincoln’s Cynical Quote
“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” Abraham Lincoln 16th president of US (1809 – 1865)