Paul Valery on Books
“Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, and their own content.” Paul Valery French critic & poet (1871 – 1945)
Charles Peters on Politics
“Bureaucrats write memoranda both because they appear to be busy when they are writing and because the memos, once written, immediately become proof that they were busy.” Charles Peters
H. L. Mencken on Age & Wisdom
“The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
John Madden on Sports
“The fewer rules a coach has, the fewer rules there are for players to break.” John Madden
John Dryden on Forgiveness
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” John Dryden
Jerome K. Jerome on Work
“I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.” Jerome K. Jerome, “Three Men in a Boat”, 1889 British humor writer (1859 – 1927)
Friedrich Nietzsche’s Cynical Quote
“Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.” Friedrich Nietzsche German philosopher (1844 – 1900)
Eugene McCarthy on Politics
“It is dangerous for a national candidate to say things that people might remember.” Eugene McCarthy US politician (1916 – 2005)
Zig Ziglar on Work
“A lot of people quit looking for work as soon as they find a job.” Zig Ziglar
Franklin Pierce Adams Cynical Quote
“Seeing ourselves as others see us would probably confirm our worst suspicions about them.” Franklin Pierce Adams US journalist (1881 – 1960)
Albert Einstein on Science
“The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Albert Einstein US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)
John Wanamaker on Advertising
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” John Wanamaker US department store merchant (1838 – 1922)
Helen Rowland on Life
“The follies which a man regrets most, in his life, are those which he didn’t commit when he had the opportunity.” Helen Rowland, A Guide to Men, 1922 (1876 – 1950)
Cicero on Humanity and Community
“We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race.” Cicero
Thomas Jefferson on Peace
“Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.” Thomas Jefferson
Antoine de Saint-Exupery on War
“War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Frank Wilczek on Physics
“In physics, you don’t have to go around making trouble for yourself – nature does it for you.” Frank Wilczek American physicist (1951 – )
Sidney J. Harris on Regret
“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” Sidney J. Harris
John Ciardi on Politics
“The Constitution gives every American the inalienable right to make a damn fool of himself.” John Ciardi US poet (1916 – 1986)
William Goldman on Life
“Life isn’t fair. It’s just fairer than death, that’s all.” William Goldman, “The Princess Bride”
Jake Roberts on Experience
“Every moment is an experience.” Jake Roberts
R. Buckminster Fuller on Technology
“Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.” R. Buckminster Fuller US architect & engineer (1895 – 1983)
Madeleine L’Engle Cynical Quote
“It takes too much energy to be against something unless it’s really important.” Madeleine L’Engle US juvenile science fiction novelist (1918 – )
James Thurber on Art
“He knows all about art, but he doesn’t know what he likes.” James Thurber US author, cartoonist, humorist, & satirist (1894 – 1961)
Sun Tzu on Opportunities
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” Sun Tzu Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)
David Allan Coe on Equality
“All men are created equal, it is only men themselves who place themselves above equality.” David Allan Coe
Laurence J. Peter on Clutter
“If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?” Laurence J. Peter US educator & writer (1919 – 1988)
Sir Richard Steele on Reading
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Sir Richard Steele
Josh Billings on Experience
“There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply.” Josh Billings
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)
Arthur Schopenhauer Cynical Quote
“Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right.” Arthur Schopenhauer German philosopher (1788 – 1860)
Margaret Millar Cynical Quote
“Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses.” Margaret Millar
Isaac Newton on Science
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Isaac Newton, Letter to Robert Hooke, February 5, 1675 English mathematician & physicist (1642 – 1727)
Albert Einstein on Education
“I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” Albert Einstein US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)
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
Theodore Roosevelt on Criticism
“It’s not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” Theodore Roosevelt
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)
Ian Fleming on Time
“I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.” Ian Fleming British novelist (1908 – 1964)
Jimmy Carter on Nature
“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” Jimmy Carter
John Russell on Sanity
“Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting.” John Russell
Oscar Wilde on Knowledge
“There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating: people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Peter Ustinov on Humor
“Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.” Peter Ustinov English actor & author (1921 – 2004)
Neil Armstrong’s Famous Quote
“This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) Apollo 11 astronaut, first man on the Moon.
Winston Churchill on Art
“Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.” Winston Churchill
Hannah Arendt on Forgiveness
“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” Hannah Arendt
T. S. Eliot on Humanity
“Humankind cannot stand very much reality.” T. S. Eliot British (US-born) critic, dramatist & poet (1888 – 1965)
Antoine de Saint-Exupery on Children
“Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “The Little Prince”, 1943 French writer (1900 – 1944)
Gian Vincenzo Gravina Cynical Quote
“A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company.” Gian Vincenzo Gravina (1664 – 1718)
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)
Thomas A. Edison on Friendship
“I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.” Thomas A. Edison
