Salvador Dali on Sanity
“There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.” Salvador Dali Spanish Catalan Surrealist painter (1904 – 1989)
John F. Kennedy on Patriotism
“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy
Mark Twain on Truth
“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Lord Acton on Power
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton
Al Franken on Mistakes
“Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.” Al Franken, “Oh, the Things I Know”, 2002
Iris Murdoch on Nature
“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” Iris Murdoch
W. C. Fields on Gambling
“Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.” W. C. Fields US actor (1880 – 1946)
Thomas H. Huxley on Truth
“Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.” Thomas H. Huxley English biologist (1825 – 1895)
George Burns on Politics
“Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.” George Burns US actor & comedian (1896 – 1996)
Cecil Baxter Cynical Quote
“You don’t get anything clean without getting something else dirty.” Cecil Baxter
George Lucas on Success
“A lot of people like to do certain things, but they’re not that good at it. Keep going through the things that you like to do, until you find something that you actually seem to be extremely good at. It can be anything.” George Lucas
Erma Bombeck on Dreams
“Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely.” Erma Bombeck
Erma Bombeck on Life
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me”. Erma Bombeck
J.R.R Tolkien on Wisdom
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crown less again shall be king.” J.R.R Tolkien
Pablo Picasso on Work
“Work is a necessity for man. Man invented the alarm clock.”
Thomas H. Huxley on Wisdom
“It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance.” Thomas Huxley
Don Marquis on Progress
“The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race.” Don Marquis US humorist (1878 – 1937)
James M. Barrie on Life
“Life is a long lesson in humility.” James M. Barrie
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)
Peter Borden on Science
“Most advances in science come when a person for one reason or another is forced to change fields.” Peter Borden
Marie Curie on Work
“One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.” Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Letter to her brother, 1894 Polish chemist & physicist (1867 – 1934)
Oscar Wilde on Experience
“Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.” Oscar Wilde
Albert Einstein on Love
“Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.” Albert Einstein
Bertrand Russell Cynical Quote
“Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day.” Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), “Dreams and Facts” British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Rita Rudner Funny Quote
“My husband gave me a necklace. It’s fake. I requested fake. Maybe I’m paranoid, but in this day and age, I don’t want something around my neck that’s worth more than my head.” Rita Rudner US comedian
Frank Lloyd Wright on Technology
“If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger.” Frank Lloyd Wright
Napoleon Hill on Time
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” Napoleon Hill
Aristotle on Art
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Aristotle
Marjorie Stoneman Douglas on the Future
“The future lies in the strength with which people can set their powers of creation against their impulses for destruction. Perhaps this is the unending frontier.” Marjorie Stoneman Douglas
Robert Frost on Work
“The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.” Robert Frost US poet (1874 – 1963)
Doug Larson on Children
“Few things are more satisfying than seeing your own children have teenagers of their own.” Doug Larson
Robert Byrne on Life
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” Robert Byrne
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on Truth
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (Sherlock Holmes) British mystery author & physician (1859 – 1930)
Anonymous on Politics
“Liberals are very broadminded: they are always willing to give careful consideration to both sides of the same side.” Anonymous
Roger Allen on Age
“In case you’re worried about what’s going to become of the younger generation, it’s going to grow up and start worrying about the younger generation.” Roger Allen
William Blake on Forgiveness
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” William Blake English engraver, illustrator, & poet (1757 – 1827)
Cullen Hightower on Knowledge
“Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know.” Cullen Hightower
Will Durant on Education
“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” Will Durant US historian (1885 – 1981)
George Lucas on Movies
“The secret to film is that it’s an illusion.” George Lucas
Marcus Tullius Cicero on Faith
“A man of courage is also full of faith.” Marcus Tullius Cicero
Oscar Wilde Cynical Quote
“Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Freeman Dyson on Technology
“Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences.” Freeman Dyson
George Eliot on Anger
“Anger and jealousy can no more bear to lose sight of their objects than love.” George Eliot
Frank Lloyd Wright on Truth
“The truth is more important than the facts.” Frank Lloyd Wright US architect (1869 – 1959)
Thomas Jefferson on Liberty
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” Thomas Jefferson, to Archibald Stuart, 1791 3rd president of US (1743 – 1826)
Thomas A. Edison on Thinking
“There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking.” Thomas A. Edison US inventor (1847 – 1931)
Franklin P. Jones on Punctuality
“The trouble with being punctual is that nobody’s there to appreciate it.” Franklin P. Jones
Jean Cocteau on Movies
“A film is a petrified fountain of thought.” Jean Cocteau
Putt’s Law
“Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.” Archibald Putt
Clive Barnes on Television
“Television is the first truly democratic culture – the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want.” Clive Barnes
Mahatma Gandhi on Work
“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” Mahatma Gandhi Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 – 1948)
Sun Tzu on Fear
“Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy” Sun Tzu Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)
Carl Sagan on Imagination
“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” Carl Sagan
Peter Ustinov on Science
“If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can’t be done.” Peter Ustinov English actor & author (1921 – 2004)
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
Sharon Salzberg on Life and Education
“We learn and grow and are transformed not so much by what we do but by why and how we do it.” Sharon Salzberg, O Magazine, The Power of Intention, January 2004
Zig Ziglar on Success
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment moved us into action, and discipline enabled us to follow through.” Zig Ziglar
M. C. Escher on Work
“My work is a game, a very serious game.” M. C. Escher Dutch artist (1898 – 1972)
Anne Frank on Happiness
“Whoever is happy will make others happy too.” Anne Frank
Bertrand Russell on Scepticism
“It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatsoever for supposing it is true.” Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), “On the Value of Scepticism” British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
