Galileo Galilei on Science
“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” Galileo Galilei Italian astronomer & physicist (1564 – 1642)
Dan Rather on Americans
“Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn’t block traffic.” Dan Rather US television newscaster (1931 – )
David Russell on Life
“The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.” David Russell
Martin Luther King, Jr. on History
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
R. Buckminster Fuller on Science
“Everything you’ve learned in school as ‘obvious’ becomes less and less obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no solids in the universe. There’s not even a suggestion of a solid. There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no straight lines.” R. Buckminster Fuller US architect & engineer (1895 – 1983)
John Stuart Mill on Happiness
“Ask yourself whether you are happy and you cease to be so.” John Stuart Mill English economist & philosopher (1806 – 1873)
Plutarch on Wisdom
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” Plutarch
Abigail Van Buren on Society
“The less you talk, the more you’re listened to.” Abigail Van Buren
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Thoughts
“In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self Reliance” US essayist & poet (1803 – 1882)
Oscar Wilde on Society
“The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.” Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist, 1891 Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
William James on Society
“A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.” William James US Pragmatist philosopher & psychologist (1842 – 1910)
Winston Churchill on Business
“I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.” Winston Churchill
Mohandas Gandhi on Forgiveness
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Mohandas Gandhi
King Solomon on Value
“Good people are remembered long after they are gone, but the wicked are soon forgotten.” Solomon a king of Israel and a thinker
Marcus Aurelius on Anger
“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” Marcus Aurelius
John Andrew Holmes on Self
“It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.” John Andrew Holmes
Leo Tolstoy on Change
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” Leo Tolstoy Russian mystic & novelist (1828 – 1910)
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg on Belief
“First there is a time when we believe everything, then for a little while we believe with discrimination, then we believe nothing whatever, and then we believe everything again – and, moreover, give reasons why we believe.” Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799)
Elbert Hubbard on Friendship
“A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.” Elbert Hubbard
Albert Einstein on Success
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein
Edgar Allan Poe on Dreams
“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” Edgar Allan Poe, “Eleonora” US short story author, editor, & poet (1809 – 1849)
James Carville on Time
“The best time to plant an oak tree was twenty-five years ago. The second best time is today.” James Carville
John Kenneth Galbraith Cynical Quote
“If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.” John Kenneth Galbraith US (Canadian-born) administrator & economist (1908 – 2006)
William S. Burroughs on Politics and Science Fiction
“After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say ‘I want to see the manager.’ “ William S. Burroughs US author (1914 – 1997)
Adam Osborne on Computers
“People think computers will keep them from making mistakes. They’re wrong. With computers you make mistakes faster.” Adam Osborne
Henry Kissinger on Politics
“Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.” Henry Kissinger US (German-born) diplomat & scholar (1923 – )
Robert Frost on Poetry
“A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” Robert Frost
Randolph Bourne on Society
“Society is one vast conspiracy for carving one into the kind of statue it likes, and then placing it in the most convenient niche it has.” Randolph Bourne
Helen Keller on Comfort
“To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.” Helen Keller US blind & deaf educator (1880 – 1968)
Woody Allen on the Universe
“I’m astounded by people who want to ‘know’ the universe when it’s hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.” Woody Allen US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 – )
Marcus Aurelius on Life
“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.” Marcus Aurelius
Norman Vincent Peale on Success
“How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself – so always think positively.” Norman Vincent Peale
Janet Long on Sanity
“Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy.” Janet Long
Socrates on Marriage
“My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.” Socrates
Dwight D. Eisenhower on War
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
Zig Ziglar on Success
“A goal properly set is halfway reached.” Zig Ziglar
Winston Churchill on Success
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
Eric Hoffer on Fear
“You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.” Eric Hoffer (1902 – 1983)
Tom Stoppard on Art & Imagination
“Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.” Tom Stoppard, “Artist Descending a Staircase” British dramatist & screenwriter (1937 – )
Christopher Columbus on Exploration
“Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.” Christopher Columbus
Elbert Hubbard on Work & Technology
“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.” Elbert Hubbard
William Faulkner on Equality
“To live anywhere in the world today and be against equality because of race or color is like living in Alaska and being against snow.” William Faulkner
Ambrose Bierce on Acquaintances
“Acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.” Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary US author & satirist (1842 – 1914)
Mohandas Gandhi on Change
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mohandas Gandhi
Fred Allen on Fame
“A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.” Fred Allen US radio comedian (1894 – 1956)
Euripides on Death
“No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow.” Euripides
Robert Frost on Law
“A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.” Robert Frost, (attributed) US poet (1874 – 1963)
Willie Tyler on Lightning
“The reason lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place is that the same place isn’t there the second time.” Willie Tyler
Edsger Dijkstra on Computers
“Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.” Edsger Dijkstra
James F. Byrnes on Life
“Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.” James F. Byrnes US jurist & politician (1879 – 1972)
