Cynical
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)
Robert Frost on Life
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” Robert Frost US poet (1874 – 1963)
T. S. Eliot on Humanity
“Humankind cannot stand very much reality.” T. S. Eliot British (US-born) critic, dramatist & poet (1888 – 1965)
Sir William Preece on the Telephone
“The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.” Sir William Preece Chief engineer of the British Post Office, 1876
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)
Mark Twain’s Cynical Quote
“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Fred Hoyle Cynical Quote
“There is a coherent plan in the universe, though I don’t know what it’s a plan for.” Fred Hoyle English astronomer, mathematician, & popularizer of science (1915 – 2001)
Charles Caleb Colton Cynical Quote
“If you would be known, and not know, vegetate in a village; If you would know, and not be known, live in a city.” Charles Caleb Colton (1780 – 1832)
Dave Barry on Sports
“Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face.” Dave Barry
Ernest Rutherford on Science
“All science is either physics or stamp collecting.” Ernest Rutherford, in J. B. Birks “Rutherford at Manchester” (1962) British chemist & physicist (1871 – 1937)
Eugene McCarthy on Bureaucracy
“The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty.” Eugene McCarthy, Time magazine, Feb. 12, 1979 US politician (1916 – 2005)
Peter Drucker on Management
“So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.” Peter Drucker American (Austrian-born) management writer (1909 – 2005)
Lyndon B. Johnson on Politics
“If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read ‘President Can’t Swim’.” Lyndon B. Johnson 36th president of US (1908 – 1973)
George Bernard Shaw on Education
“A fool’s brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education.” George Bernard Shaw Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Ogden Nash on Dogs
“A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of.” Ogden Nash US humorist & poet (1902 – 1971)
Lillian Hellman on Cynicism
“Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth.” Lillian Hellman, The Little Foxes, 1939 US dramatist (1905 – 1984)
George Harrison on Direction
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” George Harrison, “Any Road”, Brainwashed, 2002 English singer & songwriter (1943 – 2001)
J. W. Eagan on Books and Movies
“Never judge a book by its movie.” J. W. Eagan
Charles Caleb Colton on Hate
“We hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them.” Charles Caleb Colton (1780 – 1832)
Nancy Astor on Success
“The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.” Nancy Astor British politician (1879 – 1964)
Barry LePatner on Experience
“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” Barry LePatner
George Bernard Shaw on England and America
“England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” George Bernard Shaw Irish dramatist (1856 – 1950)
Francois de La Rochefoucauld Cynical Quote
“We always like those who admire us; we do not always like those whom we admire.” Francois de La Rochefoucauld French author & moralist (1613 – 1680)
Elbert Hubbard on Vacations
“No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.” Elbert Hubbard US author (1856 – 1915)
George Orwell on Writing
“In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking in meaning.” George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, 1946 English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 – 1950)
Henry J. Tillman’s Cynical Quote
“If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.” Henry J. Tillman
Georges Clemenceau on Experience
“All that I know I learned after I was thirty.” Georges Clemenceau
Nancy Astor on Money
“The only thing I like about rich people is their money.” Nancy Astor British politician (1879 – 1964)
Oscar Wilde on Seriousness
“Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Mark Twain on Temptation
“There are several good protections against temptations, but the surest is cowardice.” Mark Twain, Following the Equator (1897) US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Bernard Baruch on Politics
“Vote for the man who promises least; he’ll be the least disappointing.” Bernard Baruch
William Shakespeare on Honesty
“Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance.” William Shakespeare Greatest English dramatist & poet (1564 – 1616)
Mark Twain on Truth
“Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Robert Heinlein on Progress
“Progress isn’t made by early risers. It’s made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.” Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love US science fiction author (1907 – 1988)
Robert Copeland on Committees
“To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three men, two of whom are absent.” Robert Copeland
Will Rogers on Doctors
“The best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter-he’s got to just know.” Will Rogers US humorist & showman (1879 – 1935)
George Carlin on Freedom
“Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight? They never mention that part to us, do they?” George Carlin US comedian and actor (1937 – 2008)
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)
Benjamin Franklin on Secrets
“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” Benjamin Franklin US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 – 1790)
William Feather on Business
“A budget tells us what we can’t afford, but it doesn’t keep us from buying it.” William Feather
George Bernard Shaw on Politics
“Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” George Bernard Shaw Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Robert Bakker on Taxes
“I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator and name it after the IRS.” Robert Bakker, paleontologist
John Sladek on the Future
“The future, according to some scientists, will be exactly like the past, only far more expensive.” John Sladek
Alfred Hitchcock on Media
“Seeing a murder on television… can help work off one’s antagonisms. And if you haven’t any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.” Alfred Hitchcock British movie director (1899 – 1980)
Thomas Sowell on Truth
“There are only two ways of telling the complete truth–anonymously and posthumously.” Thomas Sowell (1930 – )
Bertrand Russell on Politics
“There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Mark Twain on Procrastination
“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Alfred North Whitehead on Dogs and Cats
“If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer.” Alfred North Whitehead English mathematician & philosopher (1861 – 1947)
Heywood Broun on Atheism
“Nobody talks so constantly about God as those who insist that there is no God.” Heywood Broun US journalist (1888 – 1939)
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)