Life
Ambrose Bierce on Politeness
“Politeness, n. The most acceptable hypocrisy.” Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary US author & satirist (1842 – 1914)
Agatha Christie on Age
“I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find – at the age of fifty, say – that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about… It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you.” Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, 1977 English mystery author (1890 – 1976)
Horace Walpole on Life
“Life is a comedy for those who think… and a tragedy for those who feel.” Horace Walpole
Zig Ziglar on Success
“I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.” Zig Ziglar
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)
Henry Van Dyke on Death
“Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.” Henry Van Dyke
Louis L’Amour on Contentment
“Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content.” Louis L’Amour US novelist of westerns (1908 – 1988)
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
Matthew Arnold on Society
“This strange disease of modern life, with its sick hurry, its divided aims.” Matthew Arnold
Stephen Hawking on Science
“If human life were long enough to find the ultimate theory, everything would have been solved by previous generations. Nothing would be left to be discovered.” Stephen Hawking, Interview with The Guardian (UK) September 27, 2005 English cosmologist and physicist (1942 – )
Anonymous Quote
“Write a wise saying and your name will live forever.” Anonymous
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)
Antoine de Saint-Exupery on Life
“Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Barry LePatner on Experience
“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” Barry LePatner
John Ruskin Wisdom Quote
“What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” John Ruskin English critic, essayist, & reformer (1819 – 1900)
William James on Life
“The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” William James US Pragmatist philosopher & psychologist (1842 – 1910)
Robert Louis Stevenson on Life
“Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.” Robert Louis Stevenson Scottish author (1850 – 1894)
John F. Kennedy on Power
“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.” John F. Kennedy
Cullen Hightower on Mistakes
“Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.” Cullen Hightower
Leo Rosten on Happiness
“Money can’t buy happiness, but neither can poverty.” Leo Rosten US (Polish-born) author (1908 – 1997)
Thomas Szasz on Life
“The proverb warns that ‘You should not bite the hand that feeds you.’ But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself.” Thomas Szasz
Woody Allen on Life
“You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.” Woody Allen US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 – )
Arthur C. Clarke on Intelligence
“It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.” Arthur C. Clarke English physicist & science fiction author (1917 – 2008)
Michael E. Gerber on Life
“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.” Michael E. Gerber
Jay Leno Cynical Quote
“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.” Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 – )
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)
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
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)
Jake Roberts on Experience
“Every moment is an experience.” Jake Roberts
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
Danny Kaye on Life
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” Danny Kaye
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)
Charles M. Crowe on Easter
“Easter tells us that life is to be interpreted not simply in terms of things but in terms of ideals.” Charles M. Crowe