Erma Bombeck on Success
“Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.” Erma Bombeck
Isaac Asimov on Computers
“Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.” Isaac Asimov US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 – 1992)
Lester J. Pourciau on Politics
“There is no monument dedicated to the memory of a committee.” Lester J. Pourciau
Denis Diderot on Morality
“There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.” Denis Diderot French author, encyclopedist, & philosopher (1713 – 1784)
Christopher Reeve on Dreams
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” Christopher Reeve
Somerset Maugham on Love
“The love that lasts longest is the love that is never returned.” Somerset Maugham
Victor Hugo on Music
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” Victor Hugo
Blore’s Razor
“Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is funnier.” Blore’s Razor
Samuel Johnson on Integrity & Knowledge
“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” Samuel Johnson English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 – 1784)
Japanese Proverb about Reading
“If you believe everything you read, better not read.” Japanese Proverb
Neil Armstrong on Mystery
“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) Apollo 11 astronaut, first man on the Moon.
Benjamin Franklin on Money
“Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.” Benjamin Franklin US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 – 1790)
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)
George Orwell on Language
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.” George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, 1946 English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 – 1950)
Thomas Carlyle on Conceit
“The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.” Thomas Carlyle Scottish author, essayist, & historian (1795 – 1881)
Elon Musk on Business
“Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product.” Elon Musk
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
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)
Jake Roberts on Experience
“Every moment is an experience.” Jake Roberts
Margaret Millar Cynical Quote
“Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses.” Margaret Millar
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
Hannah Arendt on Forgiveness
“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” Hannah Arendt
Saint Augustine on Wisdom
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Saint Augustine
Douglas Adams on Society
“Nothing travels faster than light, with the possible exception of bad news, which follows its own rules” Douglas Adams
Victor Hugo on Thought
“A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.” Victor Hugo French dramatist, novelist, & poet (1802 – 1885)
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)
Franklin Pierce Adams on Politics
“Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody.” Franklin Pierce Adams US journalist (1881 – 1960)
Henri Matisse on Art
“A picture must possess a real power to generate light and for a long time now I’ve been conscious of expressing myself through light or rather in light.” Henri Matisse
Robert Benchley on Quotations
“The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.” Robert Benchley US actor, author, & humorist (1889 – 1945)
Joseph Conrad on Evil
“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes, 1911 English (Polish-born) novelist (1857 – 1924)
Robertson Davies on Future
“The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealised past.” Robertson Davies, “A Voice from the Attic”, 1960
Oscar Wilde on Business
“My own business always bores me to death; I prefer other people’s.” Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan, 1892 Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Anonymous on Power
“All power corrupts, but we need the electricity.” Unknown
Elbert Hubbard on Journalism
“Editor: a person employed by a newspaper, whose business it is to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to see that the chaff is printed.” Elbert Hubbard US author (1856 – 1915)
Aldous Huxley on Happiness
“Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.” Aldous Huxley, Vedanta for the Western World, 1945 English critic & novelist (1894 – 1963)
Carl Becker on Humanity
“The significance of man is that he is insignificant and is aware of it.” Carl Becker
Emily Matthews on Christmas
“From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another the warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other.” Emily Matthews
Charlotte Carpenter on Christmas
“He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.” Charlotte Carpenter
Burton Hillis on Christmas and Family
“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.” Burton Hillis
Helen Keller on Christmas
“The only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.” Helen Keller
Oren Arnold on Christmas
“Christmas gift suggestions: to your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.” Oren Arnold
Dale Evans on Christmas and Love
“Christmas is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.” Dale Evans
Calvin Coolidge on Christmas and Peace
“Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” Calvin Coolidge
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
