Samuel Johnson on Curiosity
“A generous and elevated mind is distinguished by nothing more certainly than an eminent degree of curiosity.” Samuel Johnson
Marquis de la Grange on Advice
“When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.” Marquis de la Grange (1639 – 1692)
Henry Austin Dobson on Time
“Time goes, you say? Ah, no! alas, time stays, we go.” Henry Austin Dobson
Antoine de Saint-Exupery on Language
“Language is the source of misunderstandings.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery French writer (1900 – 1944)
Francis Bacon on Change
“Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly.” Francis Bacon
Sophocles on Wisdom
“Wisdom outweighs any wealth.” Sophocles
C. S. Lewis on Life
“We are what we believe we are.” C. S. Lewis
Kate Reid on Acting
“Acting is not being emotional, but being able to express emotion.” Kate Reid
Lynda Barry on Love
“Love is an exploding cigar we willingly smoke.” Lynda Barry
Arthur Koestler on Discovery
“The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards.” Arthur Koestler British (Hungarian-born) author (1905 – 1983)
Will Rogers on Ignorance
“You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.” Will Rogers, New York Times Aug. 31 1924 US humorist & showman (1879 – 1935)
Don Marquis on Procrastination
“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” Don Marquis US humorist (1878 – 1937)
Benjamin Franklin on Liberty
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759 US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 – 1790)
Lucius Annaeus Seneca on Death
“The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Lewis Carroll on Memory
“It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backward.” Lewis Carroll English author & recreational mathematician (1832 – 1898)
Mark Twain on Death
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” Mark Twain
Carl Gustav Jung on Change
“There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.” Carl Gustav Jung
Peter Kreeft on Hell
“The national anthem of Hell is ‘I did it my way’.” Peter Kreeft
Stephen Covey on Problems
“The way we see the problem is the problem.” Stephen Covey
Aristotle on Education
“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” Aristotle
Jodie Foster Wisdom Quote
“Normal is not something to aspire to, it’s something to get away from.” Jodie Foster US movie actress (1962 – )
Napoleon Bonaparte on Politics
“He who knows how to flatter also knows how to slander.” Napoleon Bonaparte
Judith Martin on Conversation
“Let us make a special effort to stop communicating with each other, so we can have some conversation.” Judith Martin, (Miss Manners)
Francois de La Rochefoucauld on Agreement
“We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.” Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Maximes (1678) French author & moralist (1613 – 1680)
W. Somerset Maugham on Criticism
“People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.” W. Somerset Maugham English dramatist & novelist (1874 – 1965)
Laurence J. Peter on Anger
“Speak when you are angry – and you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” Laurence J. Peter US educator & writer (1919 – 1988)
George Bernard Shaw on Wisdom
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” George Bernard Shaw, “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” (1893) act II Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Galileo Galilei on Ignorance
“I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him.” Galileo Galilei Italian astronomer & physicist (1564 – 1642)
W. L. George on War
“Wars teach us not to love our enemies, but to hate our allies.” W. L. George
Euripides on Foolishness
“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.” Euripides Greek tragic dramatist (484 BC – 406 BC)
Helen Keller on Life
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” Helen Keller
Richard Brinsley Sheridan on Imagination
“He is indebted to his memory for his jests and to his imagination for his facts.” Richard Brinsley Sheridan Irish dramatist & politician (1751 – 1816)
H. L. Mencken on Humanity
“The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
James Magary on Computers
“Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in the world that just don’t add up.” James Magary
George Bernard Shaw on History
“If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.” George Bernard Shaw Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Voltaire on Beliefs
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire French author, humanist, rationalist, & satirist (1694 – 1778)
Douglas Adams on Politics
“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy English humorist & science fiction novelist (1952 – 2001)
Greg Anderson on Character
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” Greg Anderson
Thomas Carlyle on Silence
“Silence is more eloquent than words.” Thomas Carlyle
Abraham Maslow on Problems
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970)
Pedro Calderon de la Barca on Love
“Love that is not madness is not love.” Pedro Calderon de la Barca
William Hazlitt on Humanity
“Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.” William Hazlitt English essayist (1778 – 1830)
George Santayana on Progress
“Those who speak most of progress measure it by quantity and not by quality.” George Santayana US (Spanish-born) philosopher (1863 – 1952)
Robert Frost on Love
“Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.” Robert Frost US poet (1874 – 1963)
H. L. Mencken Cynical Quote
“The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
Jim Clark on the Internet
“The Internet is not just one thing, it’s a collection of things – of numerous communications networks that all speak the same digital language.” Jim Clark
Nicholas Chamfort on Character
“In great affairs men show themselves as they wish to be seen; in small things they show themselves as they are.” Nicholas Chamfort (1741 – 1794)
Hector Berlioz on Ideas
“Every composer knows the anguish and despair occasioned by forgetting ideas which one had no time to write down.” Hector Berlioz French composer (1803 – 1869)
Mark Twain on Lies
“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Mark Twain
Winston Churchill on Law
“If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.” Winston Churchill
Arnold Lobel on Books
“Books to the ceiling, Books to the sky, My pile of books is a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.” Arnold Lobel
Blaise Pascal on Faith
“In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.” Blaise Pascal
H. L. Mencken on Politics
“Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
Isaac Asimov on Knowledge
“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.” Isaac Asimov US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 – 1992)
L. Frank Baum on Imagination
“Imagination has brought mankind through the dark ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity.” L. Frank Baum
Demetri Martin Funny Quote
“I bought a cactus. A week later it died. And I got depressed, because I thought, Damn. I am less nurturing than a desert.” Demetri Martin, New York Magazine, October 3, 2005
Cicero on Philosophy
“There is nothing so absurd but some philosopher has said it.” Cicero, De Divinatione Roman author, orator, & politician (106 BC – 43 BC)
George Orwell on Society
“Society has always seemed to demand a little more from human beings than it will get in practice.” George Orwell
Lewis Thomas on Language
“The great thing about human language is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand.” Lewis Thomas US author, biologist, physician (1913 – 1993)
Sir Barnett Cocks on Politics
“A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.” Sir Barnett Cocks (1907 – 1989)
