Cynical
Esther Dyson on Internet
“The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.” Esther Dyson, Interview in Time Magazine, October 2005
M. C. Escher on Work
“My work is a game, a very serious game.” M. C. Escher Dutch artist (1898 – 1972)
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)
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
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
H. L. Mencken on Imagination
“Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
Cullen Hightower on Wisdom
“Wisdom is what’s left after we’ve run out of personal opinions.” Cullen Hightower
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)
Jef Mallett on Opinion
“An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.” Jef Mallett Frazz, 04-04-07
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)
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 – )
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)
Howard Scott on Business
“Criminal: A person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.” Howard Scott (1926 – )
Mignon McLaughlin on Society
“Society honors its living conformists and its dead troublemakers.” Mignon McLaughlin
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
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
Robert W. Sarnoff on Finance
“Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears.” Robert W. Sarnoff
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)
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)
Jay Leno on Politics
“If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.” Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 – )
Edgar Bergen on Work
“Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?” Edgar Bergen, (Charlie McCarthy) US comedian & ventriloquist (1903 – 1978)
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
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)
Margaret Thatcher on Politics
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money.” Margaret Thatcher
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)
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)
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
Christopher Lasch on Success
“Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.” Christopher Lasch
Benjamin Disraeli on Strategy
“The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps.” Benjamin Disraeli British politician (1804 – 1881)
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)
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)
Ludwig Wittgenstein on Philosophy
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.” Ludwig Wittgenstein Austrian philosopher (1889 – 1951)
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)
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)
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)
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 – )
Winston Churchill on Strategy and Results
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Winston Churchill
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
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)
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)
Ernest Hemingway Cynical Quote
“Never confuse movement with action.” Ernest Hemingway US author & journalist (1899 – 1961)
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)
Honoré de Balzac on Marriage
“A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband.” Honoré de Balzac
Henry Ford on Reputation
“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” Henry Ford US automobile industrialist (1863 – 1947)
George Bernard Shaw on Life
“There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it.” George Bernard Shaw, “Man and Superman” (1903), act 4 Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Will Rogers Cynical Quote
“Everything is funny as long as it is happening to Somebody Else.” Will Rogers, Illiterate Digest (1924), “Warning to Jokers: lay off the prince” US humorist & showman (1879 – 1935)
Marquis de la Grange on Advice
“When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.” Marquis de la Grange (1639 – 1692)
Antoine de Saint-Exupery on Language
“Language is the source of misunderstandings.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery French writer (1900 – 1944)
Lynda Barry on Love
“Love is an exploding cigar we willingly smoke.” Lynda Barry