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Power Words

Compiled by Kevin Solway



A considerable number of persons are able to protect themselves against the outbreak of serious neurotic phenomena only through intense work. Karl Abrah

Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lord Acton

Young men have a passion for regarding their elders as senile. Henry Adams

How can they say my life isn't a success? Have I not for more than sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten? Cindy Adams

We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them. Abigail Adams

I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way. Franklin P. Adams

Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit. Henry B. Adams

A genius is one who can do anything except make a living. Joey Adams

Success has made failures of many men. Cindy Adams

A psychiatrist is a fellow who asks you a lot of expensive questions your wife asks for nothing. Joey Adams

Marriage is give and take. You'd better give it to her or she'll take it anyway. Joey Adams

A teacher affects eternity; no one can tell where his influence stops. Henry Adams

We have not fit men for the times. John Adams

Arguments out of a pretty mouth are unanswerable. Joseph Addison

A woman seldom asks advice before she has bought her wedding clothes. Joseph Addison

Early to bed and early to rise is a bad rule for anyone who wishes to become acquainted with our most prominent and influential people. George Ade

An infallible method of conciliating a tiger is to allow oneself to be devoured. Konrad Adenauer

. . . there is no point in our ancestors speaking to us unless we know how to listen. Mortimer J. Adler

It is easier to fight for one's principles than live up to them. Alfred Adler

Act so as to elicit the best in others and thereby in thyself. Felix Adler

The paper burns, but the words fly away. Ben Joseph Akiba

I have a fine sense of the ridiculous, but no sense of humour. Edward Albee

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. Louisa May Alcott

If at first you don't succeed you're running about average. M.H. Alderson

Often the test of courage is not to die but to live. Conte Vittorio Alfieri

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

The only thing I regret is that I'm not somebody else. Woody Allen

It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens. Woody Allen

Most of the time I don't have much fun. The rest of the time I don't have any fun at all. Woody Allen

The structure of the joke is . . . the juxtaposition of the trivial and the mundane . . . We have to reconcile the paradox of it all. The joke mirrors that paradox. Woody Allen

Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted. Fred Allen

A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized. Fred Allen

Your whole life is a series of effects, having their cause in thought - in your own thought. All conduct is made and molded by thought; all deeds, good or bad, are thoughts made visible. James Allen

A conference is a gathering of important people who singly can do nothing, but together can decide that nothing can be done. Fred Allen

An associate producer is the only guy in Hollywood who will associate with a producer. Fred Allen

Imitation is the sincerest form of television. Fred Allen

Success is like dealing with your kid or teaching your wife to drive. Sooner or later you'll end up in the police station. Fred Allen

I commend you to the goddess of ambition. She teaches the great virtues of labour, aggression and perseverance. John Peter Altgeld

For the skeptic there remains only one consolation: if there should be such a thing as superhuman law, it is administered with subhuman efficiency. Eric Ambler

Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man. American Proverb

Action and faith enslave thought, both of them in order not to be troubled or inconvenienced by reflection, criticism, and doubt. Henri Frederic Amiel

Every nation sincerely desires peace; and all nations pursue courses which if persisted in, must make peace impossible. Sir Norman Angell

Actresses don't have husbands, they have attendants. Margaret Anglin

The great artist and thinker are the simplifiers. Henri Frederic Aniel

A synonym is the word you use when you can't spell the right one and therefore can't find it in the dictionary. Anon

Many people quit looking for work when they find a job. Anon

A sinner can reform, but stupidity is forever. Anon

You never have read anything about the "plans and objectives" of the Apostles. The title of the book is "The Acts of the Apostles". Anon

If Earthlings cannot co-operate with their fellow inhabitants, what makes them think they can co-operate with the inhabitants of other planets. Anon

Among civilized nations reason has always been an occupational hazard. Anon

A reactionary is a man whose political opinions always manage to keep up with yesterday. Anon

Bigamy is having one husband too many. Monogamy is the same. Anon

No productive author can remain a productive author without other productive authors. Anon

College professors are people who get what's left over after the football coach is paid off. Anon

Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire. Anon

Marriage is the price I pay for having hormones. Anon

If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. Anon

What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted! Anon

The girl who has half a mind to become an actress doesn't realize that that's what it requires. Anon

Rebellion: A system devised to replace one form of tyranny with another. Anon

The primary requisite for any new tax law is for it to exempt enough voters to win the next election. Anon

What do you do with the problem solvers after the problem is solved? Anon

One real test of will-power is to have the same ailment someone is describing - and not mention it. Anon

Science is a history of superseded theories. Anon

Vanity is the result of a delusion that someone is paying attention. Anon

Wealth is not his that has it, but his who enjoys it. Anon

What most people consider as virtue after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy. Anon

When a wife reminds a husband that they're not getting any younger, he can assume that she is about to suggest something expensive. Anon

Wise men learn more from fools, than fools do from wise men. Anon

Wise people think all they say; fools say all they think. Anon

You cannot expect a person to see eye to eye with you when you're looking down on him. Anon

On retirement: Twice as much husband on half as much money. Anonymous Wife

Talent is like a faucet; while it is open, one must write. Inspiration is a farce that poets have invented to give themselves importance. Jean Anouilh

Until the day of his death, no man can be sure of his courage. Jean Anouilh

The only question left to be settled now is, are women persons? Susan B. Anthony

That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly, they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell. Saint Thomas Aquinas

The discontented child cries for toasted snow. Arab Proverb

A man profits more by the sight of an idiot than by the orations of the learned. Arabian Proverb

Judge a man by the reputation of his enemies. Arabian Proverb

You should have seen what a fine-looking man he was before he had all those children. Arapesh tribesman

Human war has been the most successful of all our cultural traditions. Robert Ardrey

A high heart ought to bear calamities and not flee them, since in bearing them appears the grandeur of the mind and in fleeing them the cowardice of the heart. Pietro Aretino

There are some jobs in which it is impossible for a man to be virtuous. Aristotle

Wit is cultured insolence. Aristotle

Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence. Aristotle

The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness, and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. Aristotle

The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of the circumstances. Aristotle

I have learned only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. First, let her think she is having her own way. Second, let her have it. Antony Armstrong-Jones. Lord Snowdon

Racism is the snobbery of the poor. Raymond Aron

Children grow up so fast. Before you know it, the little girl in the frilly, feminine dress is a woman in blue jeans. Edward Asner

It isn't the common man at all who is important; it's the uncommon man. Lady Nancy Astor

The only thing I like about rich people is their money. Lady Astor

There is a good deal of solemn cant about the common interests of capital and labour. As matters stand, their only common interest is that of cutting each other's throat. Brooks Atkinson

Only those in the last stage of disease could believe that children are true judges of character. W.H. Auden

Lord give me chastity - but not yet. Saint Augustine

A lady's imagination is very rapid: it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. Jane Austen

Those who do not complain are never pitied. Jane Austen

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Jane Austen

Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then. Jane Austen

A prudent question is one-half of wisdom. Francis Bacon

All things are admired either because they are new or because they are great. Francis Bacon

It is as natural to die as to be born, and to a little infant perhaps the one is as painful as the other. Francis Bacon

He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Francis Bacon

He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils, for time is the greatest innovator. Francis Bacon

He was reputed one of the wise men that made answer to the question, when a man should marry? "A young man not yet, and elder man not at all". Francis Bacon

Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable. Francis Bacon

Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. Francis Bacon

Prosperity discovers vice, adversity discovers virtue. Francis Bacon

What is it then to have or have not wife But single thraldom, or a double strife? Francis Bacon

Women - one half the human race at least - care fifty times more for a marriage than a ministry. Walter Bagehot

The cure for admiring the House of Lords is to go and look at it. Walter Bagehot

Nothing is more unpleasant than a virtuous person with a mean mind. Walter Bagehot

They who forgive most shall be most forgiven. Philip James Bailey

Punctuality is something that if you have it, there's often no one around to share it with you. Hylda Baker

A teacher who is consistently fair, kindly and honest - whatever his religious convictions - does more moral good in a school than a year of religious assemblies. Balaam

The world is before you, and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in. James Baldwin

Virtue, perhaps, is nothing more than politeness of soul. Honore de Balzac

A woman seen by all is a woman wished for; hence the terrible power of actresses. Honore de Balzac

For continued success, study and prepare to accomplish future objectives. Harry F. Banks

Women get more unhappy the more they try to liberate themselves. Brigitte Bardot

In marriage you are chained, it is an obligation; living with someone is a mutual agreement that is renegotiated and re-endorsed every day. Brigitte Bardot

I don't see why people want new plays all the time. What would happen to concerts if people wanted new music all the time? Clive Barnes

I am not young enough to know everything. Sir James M. Barrie

Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else. Sir James M. Barrie

A woman can be anything that the man who loves her would have her to be. Sir James M. Barrie

I've read some of your modern free verse and wonder who set it free. John Barrymore

The trouble with life is that there are so many beautiful women and so little time. John Barrymore

In Genesis it says that it is not good for a man to be alone, but sometimes it's a great relief. John Barrymore

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstances. Bruce Barton

The most important thing about getting somewhere is starting right were we are. Bruce Barton

Every man has a right to be wrong in his opinions. But no man has a right to be wrong in his facts. Bernard Baruch

Ten ancient commandments lousing up the fun. Along came prosperity - and then there were none. Gerald Barzan

You don't have to fool all the people all of the time; you just have to fool enough to get elected. Gerald Barzan

Trickle, trickle, Trickle, trickle. Give me a buck And I'll give you a nickel. Gerald Barzan

Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition. Jacques Barzun

One man's remorse is another man's reminiscence. Gerald Horton Bath

The pleasure of being in crowds is a mysterious expression of sensual joy in the multiplication of Number. Baudelaire

It appears on close examination, that work is less boring than amusing oneself. Charles Baudelaire

Marriage always demands the greatest understanding of the art of insincerity possible between two human beings. Vicki Baum

I knew her when she didn't know where her next husband was coming from. Anne Baxter

Never in the history of fashion has so little material been raised so high to reveal so much that needs to be covered so badly. Cecil Beaton. On the miniskirt

When an individual is kept in a situation of inferiority, the fact is that he does become inferior. Simone de Beauvoir

Marriage is traditionally the destiny offered to women by society. Most women are married or have been, or plan to be or suffer from not being. Simone de Beauvoir

To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job. Simone de Beauvoir

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives. Clay P. Bedford

There are no women composers, never have been and possibly never will be. Sir Thomas Beecham

It is not the going out of port, but the coming in, that determines the success of the voyage. Henry Ward Beecher

Whatever is only almost true is quite false, and among the most dangerous of errors, because being so near truth, it is the more likely to lead astray. Henry Ward Beecher

Do not look back on happiness or dream of it in the future. You are only sure of today; do not let yourself be cheated out of it. Henry Ward Beecher

Civilized people can talk about anything. Clive Bell

The wisest men, in the bulk, are the men who have tilled the earth . . . Hilaire Belloc

A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep. Saul Bellow

A great many people have . . . asked how I manage to get so much work done and still keep looking so dissipated. Robert Benchley

The wise man thinks once before he speaks twice. Robert Benchley

Great literature must spring from an upheaval in the author's soul. If that upheaval is not present then it must come from the works of any other author which happens to be handy and easily adapted. Robert Benchley

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous. Robert Benchley

If we justify war it is because all peoples always justify the traits of which they find themselves possessed. Ruth Benedict

Grant us brotherhood, not only for this day, but for all our years - a brotherhood not of words, but of acts and deeds. Stephen Vincent Benet

Perspective, I soon realized, was a fine commodity, but utterly useless when I was in the thick of things. Ingrid Bengis

They are the most embarrassed people in this world, the English. Alan Bennett

Taxes are going up so fast that government is likely to price itself right out of the market. Dan Bennett

I believe in instinct, not in reason. When reason is right, nine times out of ten it is impotent, and when it prevails, nine times out of ten it is wrong. A.C. Benson

If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so. Eric Bentley

The physical union of the sexes . . . only intensifies man's sense of solitude. Nicolas Berdyaev

Governments last as long as the under-taxed can defend themselves against the over-taxed. Bernard Berenson

The toughest thing about success is that you've got to keep on being a success. Irving Berlin

The wish to pray is a prayer in itself. George Bernanos

Art is I; science is we. Claude Bernard

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Bible

The thing that hath been; it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Bible (Ecclesiastes)

It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house. Bible. Proverbs

Nepotism: Appointing your grandmother to office for the good of the party. Ambrose Bierce

Clergyman: A man who undertakes the management of our spiritual affairs as a method of bettering his temporal ones. Ambrose Bierce

Bore: A person who talks when you wish him to listen. Ambrose Bierce

Plan: To bother about the best method of accomplishing an accidental result. Ambrose Bierce

Brain: The apparatus with which we think we think. Ambrose Bierce

Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. Ambrose Bierce

Saint: A dead sinner revised and edited. Ambrose Bierce

President : The leading figure in a small group of men of whom - and of whom only - it is positively known that immense numbers of their countrymen did not want any of them for President. Ambrose Bierce

Diagnosis: The physician's art of determining the condition of the patient's purse in order to find out how sick to make him. Ambrose Bierce

Prison: A place of punishments, and rewards. Ambrose Bierce

Egotist: A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me. Ambrose Bierce

Success is the one unpardonable sin against one's fellows. Ambrose Bierce

Epitaph: A monumental inscription designed to remind the deceased of what he might have been if he had had the will and opportunity. Ambrose Bierce

Prophecy: The art and practice of selling one's credibility for future delivery. Ambrose Bierce

Push: One of the two things mainly conducive to success, especially in politics. The other is pull. Ambrose Bierce

Quotation: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another. Ambrose Bierce

Redemption is the fundamental mystery of our holy religion, and who believeth in it shall not perish, but have everlasting life in which to try to understand it. Ambrose Bierce

Repentance: The faithful attendant and follower of Punishment. It is usually manifest in a degree of reformation that is not inconsistent with continuity of sin. Ambrose Bierce

Resign: To renounce an advantage for a greater advantage. Ambrose Bierce

Restitution: The founding or endowing of universities and public libraries by gift or bequest. Ambrose Bierce

Revolution: In politics, an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment. Ambrose Bierce

Year: A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments. Ambrose Bierce

Acquaintance: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from but not well enough to lend to. Ambrose Bierce

Remember the poor - it costs nothing. Josh Billings

Never teach your child to be cunning or you may be certain you will be one of the very first victims of his shrewdness. Josh Billings

If a man is right he can't be too radical; if he is wrong, he can't be too conservative. Josh Billings

Woman's influence is powerful, especially when she wants something. Josh Billings

Confidence is simply that quiet assured feeling you have before you fall flat on your face. Dr. L. Binder. (American historian)

He who makes his law a curse, By his own law shall surely die. William Blake

No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings. William Blake

A Robin Red breast in a cage Puts all Heaven in a rage. William Blake

Learn to reason forward and backward on both sides of a question. Thomas Blandi

Sow an act and you reap a habit. George D. Boardman

The secret of power is the knowledge that others are more cowardly than you are. Ludwig Boerne

An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field. Niels Bohr. Danish physicist

No one who cannot halt at self-imposed boundaries could ever write. Nicolas Boileau

Motherhood is the biggest on-the-job training scheme in the world. Erma Bombeck

An actor is a sculptor who carves in snow. Edwin Booth

Most educators would continue to lecture on navigation while the ship is going down. James H. Boren

What a man knows should find its expression in what he does; the value of superior knowledge is chiefly in that it leads to a performing manhood. Christian N. Bovee

That is partly why women marry - to keep up the fiction of being in the hub of things. Elizabeth Bowen

Statistics are for losers. Scotty Bowman

A French woman, when double-crossed, will kill her rival; the Italian woman would rather kill her deceitful lover; the English woman simply breaks off relations - but they all will console themselves with another man. Charles Boyer

Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut save you thirty cents? Peg Bracken

The right to be let alone is the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued in civilized man. Justice Louis D. Brandeis

We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both. Justice Louis D. Brandels

An actor's a guy who if you ain't talking about him, he ain't listening. Marlon Brando

There is just one thing I can promise you about the outerspace programme: Your tax dollar will go farther. Wernher von Braun

Men always fall for frigid women because they put on the best show. Fanny Brice

For of course the true meaning of a term is to be found by observing what a man does with it, not by what he says about it. P.W. Bridgman

Get away from the crowd when you can. Keep yourself to yourself, if only for a few hours daily. Arthur Brisbane

For some reason, we see divorce as a signal of failure despite the fact that each of us has a right and an obligation to rectify any other mistake we make in life. Dr. Joyce Brothers

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants. J. Brotherton

Why in the world are salaries higher for administrators when the basic mission is teaching. Governor Jerry Brown

It may be laid down as an axiom that a man who does not live the life of the mob will not think its thought either. Lewis Browne

Since when was genius found respectable? Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The great mind knows the power of gentleness, only tries force because persuasion fails. Robert Browning

When the fight begins within himself, a man's worth something. Robert Browning

It is a great misfortune neither to have enough wit to talk well nor enough judgment to be silent. Jean de La Brupere

A strict observer is one who would be an atheist under an atheistic king. Jean De La Bruyere

There are few wives so perfect as not to give their husbands at least once a day good reason to repent of ever having married, or at least of envying those who are unmarried. Jean de la Bruyere

Liberality lies less in giving liberally than in the timeliness of the gift. Jean De La Bruyere

There are only two ways of getting on in this world: by one's own industry, or by the weakness of others. Jean de La Bruyere

This great misfortune - to be incapable of solitude. Jean de la Bruyere

The majority of men devote the greater part of their lives to making their remaining years unhappy. Jean De La Bruyere

There are only three events in a man's life; birth, life, and death; he is not conscious of being born, he dies in pain, and he forgets to live. Jean De La Bruyere

There are some who speak one moment before they think. Jean De La Bruyere

Nothing's too good for winners . . . but take defeat with dignity while planning to come back. Paul Bryant

I explained to him I had simple tastes and didn't want anything ostentatious, no matter what it cost me. Art Buchwald

Through zeal, knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost; let a man who knows this double path of gain and loss thus place himself in that knowledge may grow. Buddha

The no-mind not-thinks no-thoughts about no-things. Buddha

Style is the man himself. Georges de Buffon

Beneath the rule of men entirely great, The pen is mightier than the sword. Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Ambition has no rest. E.R. Bulwer-Lytton

Life would be tolerably agreeable if it were not for its amusements. E.R. Bulwer-Lytton

If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues. E.R. Bulwer-Lytton

Nothing can constitute good breeding which has not good nature for its foundation. E.R. Bulwer-Lytton

A reform is a correction of abuses; a revolution is a transfer of power. E.R. Bulwer-Lytton

There are no warlike peoples - just warlike leaders. Ralph Bunche

The people no longer believe in principles, but will probably periodically believe in saviours. Jacob Burckhardt

A woman is but an animal, and an animal not of the highest order. Edmund Burke

Adversity is a severe instructor, set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves, as he loves us better too. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Edmund Burke

A nation without the means of reform is without means of survival. Edmund Burke

The arrogance of age must submit to be taught by youth. Edmund Burke

Superstition is a religion of feeble minds. Edmund Burke

The march of the human mind is slow. Edmund Burke

Pleasures are like poppies spread: You seize the flower, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river: A moment white - then melts forever. Robert Burns

Never do today what you can do tomorrow. Something may occur to make you regret your premature action. Aaron Burr

Few persons realize how much of their happiness, such as it is, is dependent upon their work, upon the fact that they are kept busy and not left to feed upon themselves. John Burroughs

Diogenes struck the father when the son swore. Robert Burton

War, like any other racket, pays high dividends to the very few. The cost of operations is always transferred to the people who do not profit. General Smedley Butler

Those that fly may fight again, Which we can never do that's slain. Hence timely running's no mean part Of conduct, in the martial art. Samuel Butler

A sense of humour keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will keep him from the commission of all sins, or nearly all, save those that are worth committing. Samuel Butler

There are the few who make things happen; the many more who watch things happen and the overwhelming majority who have no notion of what happens. Nicholas Murray Butler

Oaths are but words, and words are but wind. Samuel Butler

All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income. Samuel Butler

Every new idea has something of the pain and peril of childbirth about it. Samuel Butler

Friendship is like money, easier made than kept. Samuel Butler

The souls of women are so small, That some believe they've none at all. Samuel Butler

No gold, no Holy Ghost. Samuel Butler

Brigands require your money or your life. Women require both. Samuel Butler

An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less. Nicholas Murray Butler. American educator

Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death. James F. Byrnes

A would-be satirist, a hired buffoon, A monthly scribbler of some low lampoon, Condemn'd to drudge, the meanest of the mean, And furbish falsehoods for a magazine. Lord Byron

Father of Light, great God Heaven! Hear'st thou the accents of despair? Can guilt like man's be e'er forgiven? Can vice atone for crimes by prayer? Lord Byron

Though women are angels, yet wedlock's the devil. Lord Byron

Shut up the world at large, let Bedlam out; And you will be perhaps surprised to find All things pursue exactly the same route. Lord Byron

A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew. Herb Caen

There is only one trait that marks the writer. He is always watching. It's a kind of trick of mind and he is born with it. Morley Callaghan

Always the gods give small things to the small. Callimachus

An honest politician is one who when he's bought stays bought. Simon Cameron

I don't understand why girls who wear wigs, false eyelashes, and falsies always complain that there are no REAL men anymore. Glen Campbell

Marriage is the deep, deep peace of the double bed after the hurly-burly of the chaise-longue. Mrs. Campbell. British actress

He who despairs over an event is a coward, but he who holds hopes for the human condition is a fool. Albert Camus

Every man on the foundation of his own sufferings and joys, builds for all. Albert Camus

Every act of rebelling expresses a nostalgia for innocence. Albert Camus

There is only one truly philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Albert Camus

Those who write clearly have readers; those who write obscurely have commentators. Albert Camus

Arrogance, pedantry, and dogmatism are the occupational diseases of those who spend their lives directing the intellects of the young. Henry S. Canby

But of all plagues, good Heaven, they wrath can send, Save me, oh, save me, from the candid friend. George Canning

I called the New World into existence to redress the balance of the Old. George Canning

Truth or tact? You have to choose. Most times they are not compatible. Eddie Cantor

It takes twenty years to make an overnight success. Eddie Cantor

Words fascinate me. They always have. For me, browsing in a dictionary is like being turned loose in a bank. Eddie Cantor

Every age is modern to those who are living in it. Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo

A well-written Life is almost as rare as a well-spent one. Thomas Carlyle

Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man, but for the one man who can stand prosperity there are a hundred who will stand adversity. Thomas Carlyle

I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. Thomas Carlyle

The universe is but one vast Symbol of God. Thomas Carlyle

Everywhere in life, the true question is not what we gain, but what we do. Thomas Carlyle

France was a long despotism tempered by epigrams. Thomas Carlyle

Genius (which means transcendent capacity of taking trouble, first of all). Thomas Carlyle

History is the essence of innumerable biographies. Thomas Carlyle

Nature admits no lie. Thomas Carlyle

No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men. Thomas Carlyle

No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether irreclaimably bad. Thomas Carlyle

The true University of these days is a collection of books. Thomas Carlyle

As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do. Andrew Carnegie

Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think. Dale Carnegie

As to virtue . . . it is an act of the will, a habit which increases the quantity, intensity and quality of life. It builds up, strengthens and vivifies personality. Alexis Carrel

Man cannot remake himself without suffering. For he is both the marble and the sculptor. Alexis Carrel

Dressing with style is akin to issuing a manifesto; dressing fashionably is like signing a petition. Quentin Crisp and Donald Carroll

Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it. Lewis Carroll

When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less. Lewis Carroll

Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves. Lewis Carroll

In time of war the first casualty is truth. Boake Carter

I'd rather eat shit than wear a suit. Billy Carter

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise. George Washington Carver

Medicine in the hands of a fool is poison, just as poison becomes medicine in the hands of the wise. Giacomo Casanova

I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do. Willa Cather

The best way to keep good acts in memory is to refresh them with new. Cato

It is a difficult matter to argue with the belly since it has no ears. Cato

I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone. Edith Cavell

A private sin is not so prejudicial in the world as a public indecency. Miguel de Cervantes

Valour lies just half way between rashness and cowheartedness. M.de Cervantes

Good actions ennoble us, and we are sons of our own deeds. M.de Cervantes

Tell me what company thou keepest, and I'll tell thee what thou art. M.de Cervantes

A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience. M.de Cervantes

Many men and women enjoy popular esteem not because they are known, but because they are not known. Sebastian Chamfort

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. E.H. Chapin

Humility is not a weak and timid quality, it must be carefully distinguished from a groveling spirit. There is such a thing as an honest pride and self-respect. Edwin H. Chapin

I remain just one thing, and one only - and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician. Charles Chaplin

Of Presbyterianism: Not a religion for gentlemen. Charles II

I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse. Charles V

Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world nor none. Stuart Chase

In some cases non-violence requires more militancy than violence. Cesar Chavez

Life does not agree with philosophy: There is no happiness that is not idleness, and only what is useless is pleasurable. Chekhov

The passion of ambition is the same in a courtier, a soldier, or an ecclesiastic; but, from their different educations and habits, they will take very different methods to gratify it. Lord Chesterfield

Since attaining the full use of my reason no one has every heard me laugh. Earl of Chesterfield

He makes people pleased with him by making them first pleased with themselves. Lord Chesterfield

It is not to be imagined by how many different ways vanity defeats its own purpose. Lord Chesterfield

The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet. Lord Chesterfield

Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober enough. Lord Chesterfield

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author. Gilbert Keith Chesterton

A puritan is a person who pours righteous indignation into the wrong things. G.K. Chesterton

Free verse is like free love; it is a contradiction in terms. G.K. Chesterton

Psychoanalysis is confession without absolution. G.K. Chesterton

All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. G.K. Chesterton

The full potentialities of human fury cannot be reached until a friend of both parties tactfully intervenes. G.K. Chesterton

Why shouldn't we quarrel about a word? What is the good of words if they aren't important enough to quarrel over? Why do we choose one word more than another if there isn't any difference between them? G.K. Chesterton

As enunciated today, "progress" is simply a comparative of which we have not settled the superlative. G.K. Chesterton

There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great. G.K. Chesterton

Carlyle said that men were mostly fools. Christianity, with a surer and more reverend realism, says that they are all fools. G.K. Chesterton

Variability is one of the virtues of a woman. It avoids the crude requirement of polygamy. So long as you have one good wife you are sure to have a spiritual harem. G.K. Chesterton

Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf. G.K. Chesterton

Mr. Shaw is (I suspect) the only man on earth who has never written any poetry. G.K. Chesterton

New roads: new ruts. G.K. Chesterton

The artistic temperament is a disease that afflicts amateurs. G.K. Chesterton

The madman is not the man who has lost his reason. The madman is the man who has lost everything except his reason. G.K. Chesterton

The modern world . . . has no notion except that of simplifying something by destroying nearly everything. G.K. Chesterton

The rich are the scum of the earth in every country. G.K. Chesterton

The word "orthodoxy" not only no longer means being right; it practically means being wrong. G.K. Chesterton

There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person. G.K. Chesterton

Only the brave deserve the fair, but only rich, fat, cowardly merchants can afford them. Chinese Proverb

Settle one difficulty and you keep hundreds away. Chinese Proverb

Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others. Sir Winston Churchill

In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies. Sir Winston Churchill

Difficulties mastered are opportunities won. Sir Winston Churchill

True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information. Sir Winston Churchill

Men will forgive a man anything except bad prose. Sir Winston Churchill

Perfectionism is spelled "Paralysis." Sir Winston Churchill

Without victory there is no survival! Sir Winston Churchill

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. Sir Winston Churchill

I said that the world must be made safe for at least fifty years. If it was only for fifteen to twenty years then we should have betrayed our soldiers. Sir Winston Churchill

Of Mr. Baldwin: It is a fine thing to be honest but it is also very important to be right. Sir Winston Churchill

Of the British: They are the only people who like to be told how bad things are - who like to be told the worst. Sir Winston Churchill

Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right than to be responsible and wrong. Sir Winston Churchill

Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war. Sir Winston Churchill

Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival. Sir Winston Churchill

One had as good to be out of the world, as out of the fashion. Colley Cibber

We are in bondage to the law in order that we may be free. Cicero

The harvest of old age is the memory and rich store of blessings laid up earlier in life. Cicero

The good of the people is the chief law. Marcus Tullius Cicero

There is nothing so absurd but some philosopher has said it. Marcus Tullius Cicero

When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is honourable to reach the second or even the third rank. Cicero

Confidence is that feeling by which the mind embarks on great and honourable courses with a sure hope and trust in itself. Cicero

Believe one who knows: you will find something greater in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters. St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Are bombs the only way of setting fire to the spirit of a people? Is the human will as inert as the past two worldwide wars would indicate? Gregory Clark

Among the porcupines, rape is unknown. Gregory Clark

He is next to the gods whom reason impels. Claudian

I had rather be right than be President. Henry Clay

War is too important to be left to the generals. Georges Clemenceau

Unswerving loyalty to duty, constant devotion to truth, and a clear conscience will overcome every discouragement and surely lead the way to usefulness and high achievement. Grover Cleveland

'Tis better to have fought and lost, Than never to have fought at all. Arthur Hugh Clough

To be poor and independent is very nearly an impossibility. William Cobbett

To watch the progress of the crops is by no means unentertaining to any rational creature. William Cobbett

The joy of the young is to disobey - but the trouble is, there are no longer any orders. Jean Cocteau

Tact consists in knowing how far to go too far. Jean Cocteau

The purity of a revolution can last a fortnight. Jean Cocteau

Most of us hate to see a poor loser - or a rich winner. Harold Coffin

Science is a flickering light in our darkness, it is but the only one we have and woe to him who would put it out. Morris Cohen

A man's house is his castle. Sir Edward Coke

A "New Thinker" when studied closely, is merely a man who does not know what other people have thought. Frank Moore Colby

No mind is thoroughly well organized that is deficient in a sense of humour. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing, Beloved from pole to pole. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I have seen gross intolerance shown in support of tolerance. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Often do the spirits of great events stride on before the events And in today already walks tomorrow. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

What comes from the heart, goes to the heart. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Don't ever wear artistic jewellery; it wrecks a woman's reputation. S.G. Colette

A man is as old as he's feeling, a woman as old as she looks. Mortimer Collins

Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer. Charles Caleb Colton

Tyrants have not yet discovered any chains that can fetter the mind. Charles Caleb Colton

Many speak the truth when they say that they despise riches, but they mean the riches possessed by other men. Charles Caleb Colton

Imitation is the sincerest of flattery. Charles Caleb Colton

If the cause be good, the most violent attack of its enemies will not injure it so much as an injudicious defense of it by its friends. Charles Caleb Colton

Men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; anything but - live for it. Charles Caleb Colton

In great cities men are more callous both to the happiness and the misery of others . . . for they are constantly in the habit of seeing both extremes. Charles Caleb Colton

If you have nothing to say, say nothing. Charles Caleb Colton

When in reading we meet with any maxim that may be of use, we should take it for our own, and make an immediate application of it, as we would of the advice of a friend whom we have purposely consulted. Charles Caleb Colton

Slogans are both exciting and comforting, but they are also powerful opiates for the conscience. James Bryant Conant

Each honest calling, each walk of life, has its own elite, its own aristocracy based upon excellence of performance. J.B. Conant

The job of satire is to frighten and enlighten. Richard Condon

Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue. Confucius

It is not truth that makes man great, but man who makes truth great. Confucius

Have no friends not equal to yourself. Confucius

Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous. Confucius

Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that carry them far apart. Confucius

Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness. Confucius

Study the past, if you would divine the future. Confucius

The people may be made to follow a course of action, but they may not be made to understand it. Confucius

The superior man is distressed by his want of ability. Confucius

The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress. Confucius

To be able to practise five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue . . . gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. Confucius

When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them. Confucius

An author arrives at a good style when his language performs what is required of it without shyness. Cyril Connolly

As repressed sadists are supposed to become policemen or butchers so those with irrational fear of life become publishers. Cyril Connolly

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than write for the public and have no self. Cyril Connolly

Boys do not grow up gradually. They move forward in spurts like the hands of clocks in railway stations. Cyril Connolly

I have always disliked myself at any given moment; the total of such moments is my life. Cyril Connolly

Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once. Cyril Connolly

The ape-like virtues without which no one can enjoy a public school. Cyril Connolly

The man who is master of his passions is Reason's slave. Cyril Connolly

There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall. Cyril Connolly

Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising. Cyril Connolly

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. Joseph Conrad

The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house as a guest and then becomes a host and then a master. Joseph Conrad

You shall judge of a man by his foes as well as by his friends. Joseph Conrad

You have got to do something about it to make it count. Carl C. Conway

I had ambition not only to go farther than any man had ever been before, but as far as it was possible for a man to go. Captain James Cook

Satisfaction does not come from indulgence or satiety; it comes from achievement. Calvin Coolidge

What we need in appointive positions are men of knowledge and experience with sufficient character to resist temptations. Calvin Coolidge

Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped. Calvin Coolidge

Fraud and falsehood only dread examination. Truth invites it. Thomas Cooper

A good memory is needed after one has lied. Pierre Corneille

Do your duty and leave the rest to the Gods. Pierre Corneille

The manner of giving is worth more than the gift. Pierre Corneille

We triumph without glory when we conquer without danger. Pierre Corneille

No man is a hero to his valet. Anne-Marie Bigot de Cornuel

The best things in life must come by effort from within and not by gifts from the outside. Fred Corson

An intimate truth is also a universal truth. John Cournos

Many of the same people who have no difficulty in finding extenuating circumstances to account for the violence of the hardhats, find it impossible to accept any explanations for the violence of the students. Norman Cousins

It is nonsense to say there is not enough time to be fully informed . . . Time given to thought is the greatest timesaver of all. Norman Cousins

People who develop the habit of thinking of themselves as world citizens are fulfilling the first requirement of sanity in our time. Norman Cousins

The message from the moon which we have flashed to the far corners of this planet is that no problem need any longer be considered insoluble. Norman Cousins

The only security for the American people today, or for any people, is to be found through the control of force rather than the pursuit of force. Norman Cousins

The possibility of war increases in direct proportion to the effectiveness of the instruments of war. Norman Cousins

Where is the indignation about the fact that the United States and Soviet Union have accumulated thirty thousand pounds of destructive force for every human being in the world? Norman Cousins

Never mind, dear, we're all made the same, though some more than others. Sir Noel Coward

Strange how potent cheap music is. Sir Noel Coward

The Stately Homes of England How beautiful they stand, To prove the upper classes Have still the upper hand. Sir Noel Coward

Life is an incurable disease. Abraham Cowley

God made the country, and man made the town. William Cowper

Farce is the essential theatre. Farce refined becomes high comedy: farce brutalized becomes tragedy. Sir Edward Gordon Craig

There is no future in any job. The future lies in the man who holds the job. Dr. George Crane

The Golden Rule is of no use to you whatever, unless you realize that it is your move. Frank Crane

A man said to the universe, "Sir, I exist." "However," replied the universe, "the fact has not created in me a sense of obligation." Stephen Crane

No people do so much harm as those who go about doing good. Mandell Creighton

Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are. Quentin Crisp

Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with our oppressors. Evelyn Cunningham

The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance. John Philpot Curran

Golf is like a love affair: if you don't take it seriously, it's no fun; if you do take it seriously, it breaks your heart. Arnold Daly

Any man with a fine shock of hair, a good set of teeth, and a bewitching smile can park his brains, if he has any, and run for public office. Frank Dane

Females are not the only species who prostitute themselves for money; they are the only ones that are honest about it. Frank Dane

Everything is organized today. I called my Congressman a jack-ass, and I heard from the jack-ass lobby. Frank Dane

If the real estate gang could, they'd raise the rents in the graveyards. Frank Dane

Posterity is that which is denied an author until he is in the public domain. Frank Dane

I get no respect. The way my luck is running, if I was a politician I'd be honest. Rodney Dangerfield

Defeat never comes to a man until he admits it. Josephus Daniels

Give to a pig when it grunts and a child when it cries, and you will have a fine pig and a bad child. Danish proverb

In revolutions authority remains with the greatest scoundrels. Georges Jacques Danton

History repeats itself, that's one of the things that's wrong with history. Clarence Darrow

When I was a boy I was told that anyone could be President. I'm beginning to believe it. Clarence Darrow

Man with all his noble qualities . . . still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin. Charles Robert Darwin

A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. Charles Darwin

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. William Henry Davies

You can always borrow a corkscrew from a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Chauncey Depew

If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things. Descartes

Nothing deflates so fast as a punctured reputation. Thomas R. Dewar

It is a melancholy truth that even great men have their poor relations. Charles Dickens

Of Course - I prayed - And did God Care? Emily Dickinson

Tell the truth But tell it slant. Emily Dickinson

He was one of those men who think that the world can be saved by writing a pamphlet. Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield)

It is well known what a middle man is: he is a man who bamboozles one party and plunders the other. B. Disraeli

A precedent embalms a principle. B. Disraeli

The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations. B. Disraeli

A university should be a place of light, of liberty and of learning. B. Disraeli

What we anticipate seldom occurs, what we least expected generally happens. B. Disraeli

The world is weary of statesmen whom democracy has degraded into politicians. B. Disraeli

The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes. B. Disraeli

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. B. Disraeli

"My idea of an agreeable person," said Hugo Bohun, "is a person who agrees with me." Benjamin Disraeli

Every woman should marry - and no man. Benjamin Disraeli

When I want to read a novel I write one. Benjamin Disraeli

Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret. Benjamin Disraeli

Youth is the trustee of posterity. Benjamin Disraeli

To understand any living thing, you must, so to say, creep within and feel the beating of its heart. W. MacNeile Dixon

It is difficult to be humble. Even if you aim at humility, there is no guarantee that when you have attained the state you will not be proud of the feat. Bonamy Dobree

It's an old adage that the way to be safe is never to be secure. Each one of us requires the spur of insecurity to force us to do our best. Harold W. Dodds

I got disappointed in human nature as well and gave it up because I found it too much like my own. James Patrick Donleavy

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne

Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies. John Donne

No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. John Donne

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. Mark Van Doren

A just cause is not ruined by a few mistakes. Dostoevsky

If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things. Norman Douglas

Depend upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The lowest and vilest alleys of London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Don't put the fate of your business in the delusions of economists. Peter Drucker

In all recorded history there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from. Peter Drucker

Property has its duties as well as its rights. Thomas Drummond

Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all he can do. Henry Drummond

He who will not reason, is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave. Sir William Drummond

Beware the fury of a patient man. John Dryden

When beauty fires the blood, how love exalts the mind! J. Dryden

Even victors are by victory undone. J. Dryden

But far too numerous was the herd of such, who think too little, and who talk too much. J. Dryden

Virtue is its own reward. J. Dryden

Did wisely from expensive sins refrain, and never broke the sabbath, but for gain. J. Dryden

For politicians neither love nor hate. J. Dryden

Great wits are sure to madness allied and thin partitions do their bounds divide. J. Dryden

Put even the plainest woman into a beautiful dress and unconsciously she will try to live up to it. Lady Lucie Duff-Gordon

Social progress does not have to be bought at the price of individual freedom. John Foster Dulles

The world will never have lasting peace so long as men reserve for war the finest human qualities. John Foster Dulles

It is often woman who inspires us with the great things that she will prevent us from accomplishing. Alexandre Dumas

One of the strangest things about life is that the poor, who need the money the most, are the ones that never have it. Finley Peter Dunne

In those days, the (Roman) government gave them bread and circuses. Today we give them bread and elections, but it is just a change in the style of a periodical amusement. Will Durant

If our economy of freedom fails to distribute wealth as ably as it has created it, the road to dictatorship will be open to any man who can persuasively promise security to all. Will & Ariel Durant

Nothing is clearer in history than the adoption by successful rebels of the methods they were accustomed to condemn in the forces they deposed. Will & Ariel Durant

Religions are born and may die, but superstition is immortal. Only the fortunate can take life without mythology. Will & Ariel Durant

We . . . repeatedly enlarge our instrumentalities without improving our purpose. Will Durant

A poet in history is divine, but a poet in the next room is a joke. Max Eastman

We are not at war with Egypt. We are in an armed conflict. Sir Anthony Eden

Restlessness is discontent - and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man - and I will show you a failure. Thomas Alva Edison

The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil. Thomas A. Edison

Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration. Thomas A. Edison

So far as religion of the day is concerned, it is a damned fake . . . Religion is all bunk. Thomas A. Edison

There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the real labour of thinking. Thomas A. Edison

Successful teachers are effective in spite of the psychological theories they suffer under. Educational Proverb

I never think of the future. It comes soon enough. Albert Einstein

Don't have any children. It makes divorce so much more complicated. Albert Einstein

My political ideal is democracy. Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized. Albert Einstein

The process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a continual flight from wonder. Albert Einstein

Well, it's hard for a mere man to believe that woman doesn't have equal rights. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Virtue does not consist so much in abstaining from vice, as in not having an affection for it. W.T. Eldridge

Poetry is not the assertion of truth, but the making of that truth more fully real to us. T.S. Eliot

In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness. George Eliot

An ass may bray a good while before he shakes the stars down. George Eliot

Humankind cannot bear very much reality. T.S. Eliot

Birth, and copulation, and death. That's all the facts when you come to brass tacks. Thomas Stearns Eliot

I should like to know what is the proper function of women if it is not to make reasons for husbands to stay at home, and still stronger reasons for bachelors to go out. George Eliot

We are all apt to believe what the world believes about us. George Eliot

What we call progress is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance. Henry Havelock Ellis

There are few among us who have not suffered from too early familiarity with the Bible and the conceptions of religion. Havelock Ellis

All mankind love a lover. Ralph Waldo Emerson

A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before. R.W. Emerson

Good writing is a kind of skating which carries off the performer where he would not go. R.W. Emerson

Genius borrows nobly. R.W Emerson

Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science. R.W. Emerson

Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm. R.W. Emerson

Commit a crime, and the earth is made of glass. There is no such thing as concealment. R.W. Emerson

No man thoroughly understands a truth until he has contended against it. R.W. Emerson

Society is always taken by surprise at any new example of common sense. R.W. Emerson

Every hero becomes a bore at last. R.W. Emerson

By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. R.W. Emerson

Every reform is only a mask under cover of which a more terrible reform, which dares not yet name itself, advances. R.W. Emerson

If a man write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mouse-trap than his neighbour, though he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door. R.W. Emerson

You cannot do wrong without suffering wrong. R.W. Emerson

In every work of genius, we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. R.W. Emerson

Too busy with the crowded hour to fear to live or die. R.W. Emerson

By right or wrong Lands and goods go to the strong. R.W. Emerson

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. R.W. Emerson

God screens men from premature ideas. R.W. Emerson

Our best thoughts come from others. R.W. Emerson

The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. R.W. Emerson

When it is dark enough you can see the stars. R.W. Emerson

There is properly no history; only biography. R.W. Emerson

Take notes on the spot, a note is worth a cart-load of recollections. R.W. Emerson

To be great is to be misunderstood. R.W. Emerson

In failing circumstances no man can be relied on to keep his integrity. R.W. Emerson

We boil at different degrees. R.W. Emerson

Love of beauty is Taste . . . The creation of beauty is Art. R.W. Emerson

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. R.W. Emerson

Let a man know his worth, and keep things under his feet. R.W. Emerson

The end of the human race is that it will die of civilization. R.W. Emerson

Talent alone cannot make a writer. There must be a man behind the book. R.W. Emerson

The highest compact we can make with our fellow is - "Let there be truth between us two forevermore." R.W. Emerson

Weed - a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. R.W. Emerson

The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next. R.W. Emerson

Whilst he sits on the cushions of advantage, he goes to sleep. R.W. Emerson

The silence that accepts merit as the most natural thing in the world, is the highest applause. R.W. Emerson

They can conquer who believe they can. It is he who has done the deed once who does not shrink from attempting it again. R.W. Emerson

Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters. Nathaniel Emmons

There is perhaps nothing more conducive to success in any important and difficult undertaking than a firm, steady, unremitting spirit. Nathaniel Emmons

He that would the daughter win, Must with the mother first begin. English Proverb

No sooner said than done, so acts your man of worth. Ennius

Keep neither a blunt knife nor an ill-disciplined looseness of tongue. Epictetus

You need but will, and it is done; but if you relax your efforts you will be ruined, for ruin and recovery are both from within. Epictetus

In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king. Desiderius Erasmus

Righteous vengefulness . . . has always made new tyrannies out of aging liberations. Erik Erickson

There's a difference between beauty and charm. A beautiful woman is one I notice. A charming woman is one who notices me. John Erskine

Most people have some sort of religion, at least they know which church they're staying away from. John Erskine

We do not insist that the more saintly of two surgeons shall operate on us for appendicitis. John Erskine

The quizzical expression of the monkey at the zoo comes from his wondering whether he is his brother's keeper or his keeper's brother. Evan Esar

After wisdom comes wit. E. Esar

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy - and Jill a wealthy widow. E. Esar

Si jeunesse savait; si vieillesse pouvait: If only youth knew, if only age could. Henri Estienne

Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad. Euripides

All other woes a woman bears are minor But lose her husband! - might as well be dead. Euripides

Stoicism is the wisdom of madness and cynicism the madness of wisdom. Bergen Evans

To the naive, skepticism often seems malicious perversity: Only some secret enemy in the inward degenerate nature of man, said Topsell, could lead anyone to doubt the existence of the unicorn. B. Evans

Wisdom is meaningless until our own experience has given it meaning . . . and there is wisdom in the selection of wisdom. B. Evans

When a woman behaves like a man why doesn't she behave like a nice man. Dame Edith Evans

Words are one of our chief means of adjusting to all the situations of life. The better control we have over words, the more successful our adjustment is likely to be. B. Evans

Tall oaks from little acorns grow. David Everett

I gave my life for freedom - this I know: For those who bade me fight had told me so. W.N. Ewer

The formula for Utopia on earth remains always the same: to make a necessity of virtue. Clifton Fadiman

. . . the difference between town and country is mostly the view. Nan Fairbrother

Childhood is fierce as tigers. Tame the tigers, there is no childhood. Henry Fairlie

The people came to realize that wealth is not the fruit of labour but the result of organized protected robbery. Frantz Fanon

Violence alone, violence committed by the people, violence organized and educated by its leaders, makes it possible for the masses to understand social truths and gives the key to them. Frantz Fanon

There's no scandal like rags, nor any crime so shameful as poverty. George Farquhar

If people really liked to work, we'd still be plowing the land with sticks and transporting goods on our backs. William Feather

Important work is seldom done when one is feeling important. W. Feather

Indifference and inaction must always pay a penalty. W. Feather

All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers . . . Each one owes infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in which he was born. Francois Fenelon

Live, as it were, in trust. All that is in you, all that you are, is only loaned to you. Make use of it according to the will of Him who lends it, but never regard it for a moment as your own. Francois Fenelon

Let justice be done, though the world perish. Ferdinand I

A man who experiences no genuine satisfaction in life does not want peace . . . Men court war to escape meaninglessness and boredom, to be relieved of fear and frustration. Nels F.S. Ferre

Men just don't seem to jump off the bridge for big reasons; they usually do so for little ones. W.H. Ferry

A mighty good sausage stuffer was spoiled when the man became a poet. Eugene Field

Anybody who hates children and dogs can't be all bad. W.C. Fields

I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally. William Claude Fields

Why shouldn't the American people take half my money from me? I took all of it from them. Edward A. Filene

Maturity of mind is the capacity to endure uncertainty. John Finley

A conclusion is the place where you got tired thinking. Martin H. Fischer

What this country needs is radicals who will stay that way regardless of the creeping years. John Fischer

The most essential feature of man is his improvableness. John Fiske

An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmaster of ever afterwards. F.Scott Fitzgerald

The victor belongs to the spoils. F.Scott Fitzgerald

Of himself and his wife: Sometimes I don't know whether Zelda and I are real or whether we are characters in one of my novels. F.Scott Fitzgerald

Marriage: It is the loose ends with which men hang themselves. Zelda Fitzgerald. Wife of F.Scott Fitzgerald

Love is like linen often changed, the sweeter. Phineas Fletcher

England is the paradise of women, the purgatory of men, and the hell of horses. John Florio

Patience and passage of time do more than strength and fury. Jean De La Fontaine

Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement. Henry Ford

If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability. Henry Ford

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs. Henry Ford

Faith, to my mind, is a stiffening process, a sort of mental starch, which ought to be applied as sparingly as possible. E.M. Forster

Always take a job that is too big for you. H.E. Fosdick

Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people. H.E. Fosdick

It is no disgrace to rest a bit. G. Fowler

In every well-governed state wealth is a sacred thing; in democracies it is the ONLY sacred thing. Anatole France

We do not know what to do with this short life, yet we yearn for another that will be eternal. Anatole France

A woman must choose: with a man liked by women, she is not sure; with a man disliked by women, she is not happy. Anatole France

Of all sexual aberrations, chastity is the strangest. Anatole France

In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. Benjamin Franklin

'Tis a laudable Ambition, that aims at being better than his Neighbours. Benjamin Franklin

There is much difference between imitating a man and counterfeiting him. Benjamin Franklin

We think we are on the right road to improvement because we are making experiments. Benjamin Franklin

We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately. Benjamin Franklin

Up, sluggard, and waste not life; in the grave will be sleeping enough. Benjamin Franklin

Americans have mastered the art of being prosperous though broke. Billy Boy Franklin

All a man needs to be elected President is the kind of profile that looks good on a postage stamp. B.B. Franklin

I have made it a rule, whenever I say something stupid, to immediately attribute it to Samuel Johnson, the President of these United States - or the Bible. B.B. Franklin

Be generous, good and just - when anything is to be gained by virtue. B.B. Franklin

If a lie is repeated often enough all the dumb jackasses in the world not only get to believe it, they even swear by it. B.B. Franklin

Mere survival is an affliction. What is of interest is life, and the direction of that life. Guy Fregault

At bottom God is nothing more than an exalted father. Sigmund Freud

Children are completely egotistic; they feel their needs intensely and strive ruthlessly to satisfy them. Sigmund Freud

When a man is freed of religion, he has a better chance to live a normal and wholesome life. Sigmund Freud

Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires. Sigmund Freud

Man's judgments of value follow directly his wishes for happiness - they are an attempt to support his illusions with arguments. Sigmund Freud

The great question . . . which I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is "What does a woman want?" Sigmund Freud

Clothe an idea in words and it loses its freedom of movement. Egon Friedell

There is perhaps no phenomenon which contains so much destructive feeling as moral indignation which permits envy or hate to be acted out under the guise of virtue. Erich Fromm

As we ascend the social ladder, viciousness wears a thicker mask. Erich Fromm

The successful revolutionary is a statesman, the unsuccessful one a criminal. Erich Fromm

The idea that egotism is the basis of the general welfare is the principle on which competitive society has been built. Erich Fromm

There is perhaps no phenomenon which contains so much destructive feeling as moral indignation, which permits envy or hate to be acted out under the guise of virtue. Erich Fromm

Accounting: Nobody was ever meant To remember or invent What he did with every cent. Robert Frost

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age. Robert Frost

A poet begins in delight and ends in wisdom. Robert Frost

By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day. Robert Frost

The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work. Robert Frost

Most of the change we think we see in life Is due to truths being in and out of favour. Robert Frost

The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. Robert Frost

I would as soon write free verse as play tennis with the net down. Robert Frost

More than once I should have lost my soul to radicalism if it had been the originality it was mistaken for by its young converts. Robert Frost

The best things and best people rise out of their separateness; I'm against a homogenized society because I want the cream to rise. Robert Frost

The style is the man. Rather say the style is the way the man takes himself. If it is with outer seriousness, it must be with inner humour. If it is with outer humour, it must be with inner seriousness. Robert Frost

A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain. Robert Frost. American Poet

The practical effect of a belief is the real test of its soundness. James Anthony Froude

When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only of how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. Buckminster Fuller

A man's best fortune, or his worst, is his wife. Thomas Fuller

Ninety-five percent of films are born of frustration, of self-despair, of poverty, of ambition for survival, for money, for fattening bank accounts. Sam Fuller

Action is the proper Fruit of Knowledge. Thomas Fuller

The number of malefactors authorizes not the crime. Thomas Fuller

Two things a man should never be angry at: what he can help, and what he cannot help. Thomas Fuller

Husbands are like fires - they go out when unattended. Zsa Zsa Gabor

I am a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house. Zsa Zsa Gabor

You never really know a man until you have divorced him. Zsa Zsa Gabor

Wife, mother, nurse, seamstress, cook, housekeeper, chambermaid, laundress, dairy-woman, and scrub generally, doing the work of six, for the sake of being supported. Frances Dana Gage

In the United States though power corrupts, the expectation of power paralyzes. J.K. Galbraith

Wealth is not without its advantages and the case to the contrary, although it has often been made, has never proved widely persuasive. J.K. Galbraith

It is impossible in a democratic society to think of a single measure for the improvement of social well-being which is not subject to subversion by ill-conceived minority or even majority pressures. J.K. Galbraith

Emancipation of the mind is a no less worthy enterprise than emancipation of the body. J.K. Galbraith

I have a feeling that at any time about three million Americans can be had for any militant reaction against law, decency, the Constitution, the Supreme Court, compassion and the rule of reason. J.K. Galbraith

Talk of revolution is one of avoiding reality. J.K. Galbraith

I do not feel obliged to believe that that same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use. Galileo Galilei

What difference does it make to the dead . . . whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? Mohandas Gandhi

What is a man if he is not a thief who openly charges as much as he can for the goods he sells? Mohandas Gandhi

I consider myself a Hindu, Christian, Moslem, Jew, Buddhist, and Confucian. Mohandas Gandhi

Golden shackles are far worse than iron ones. Mohandas Gandhi

I cannot see myself as a wife - ugly word. Greta Garbo

Women marry because they don't want to work. Mary Garden. Opera singer

Violence is counter-productive and produces changes of a sort you don't want. It is a very dangerous instrument and can destroy those who wield it. John Gardner

The job of a teacher is to excite in the young a boundless sense of curiosity about life, so that the growing child shall come to apprehend it with an excitement tempered by awe and wonder. John Garrett

My country is the world. My countrymen are all mankind. William Lloyd Garrison

Humour is an affirmation of dignity, a declaration of man's superiority to all that befalls him. Romain Gary

Forget the times of your distress, but never forget what they taught you. Herbert Gasser

Before being the master of others, you should be the master of yourself. Jose Ortega y Gasset

Victory has a hundred fathers but defeat is an orphan. W.I.E. Gates

What if Columbus had been told, Chris baby, don't go now. Wait until we've solved our No.1 Priorities - war and famine; poverty and crime; pollution and disease; illiteracy and racial hatred - and Queen Isabella's own brand of internal security. W.I.E Gates

The comfortable estate of widowhood is the only hope that keeps up a wife's spirits. John Gay

Give a woman a job and she grows balls. Jack Gelber

There is nothing so fatal to character as half-finished tasks. David Lloyd George

There are people into whose heads it never enters to conceive of any better state of society than that which now exists. Henry George

A country can be judged by the quality of its proverbs. German Proverb

The worst scoundrels make the best preachers. German Proverb

Unprovided with original learning, unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved to write a book. Edward Gibbon

I was never less alone than while by myself. Edward Gibbon

So urgent on the vulgar is the necessity of believing, that the fall of any system of mythology will probably be succeeded by the introduction of some other mode of superstition. Edward Gibbon

Disagreement may be the shortest cut between two minds. Kahlil Gibran

I always voted at my party's call, And never thought of thinking for myself at all I thought so little, they rewarded me By making me the Ruler of the Queen's Navee! W.S. Gilbert

In all the woes that curse our race, There is lady in the case. W.S. Gilbert

I got all the schooling any actress needs. That is, I learned to write enough to sign contracts. Hermione Gingold

Everyone, when there's a war in the air, learns to live with a new element; falsehood. Jean Giraudoux

A wife loves out of duty, and duty leads to constraint, and constraint kills desire. Jean Giraudoux

Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. Arnold Glasow

Behind every successful man is a woman - with nothing to wear. L. Grant Glickman

Hereditary wealth is in reality a premium paid to idleness. William Godwin

And here, poor fool, with all my lore I stand no wiser than before. J.W. von Goethe

Ambition and love are the wings of great actions. J.W. von Goethe

When an idea is wanting a word can always be found to take its place. J.W. von Goethe

Everything in the world may be endured except continual prosperity. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Behavior is a mirror in which everyone displays his image. J.W. von Goethe

If any man wishes to write a clear style, let him first be clear in his thoughts. J.W. von Goethe

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. J.W. von Goethe

I do not love a man who is zealous for nothing. Oliver Goldsmith

Love: An abject intercourse between tyrants and slaves. Oliver Goldsmith

Silence gives consent. Oliver Goldsmith

I chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but such qualities as would wear well. Oliver Goldsmith

It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. David Ormsby Gore

Civilized man's brain is a museum of contradictory truths. Remy de Gourmont

Atom bomb stockpiles are no guarantee of security. Until lust and greed and murder are removed from the hearts of men, there is, there can be, no peace or security. A.P. Gouthey

There is more required today to make a single man wise than formerly to make Seven Sages. Baltasar Gracian

Childhood is ignorant, boyhood is lightheaded, youth is rash, and old age is ill-humoured. Luis De Granada

There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword. Ulysses S. Grant

When a man despairs, he does not write; he commits suicide. George Monro Grant

If you steal something small you are a petty thief, but if you steal millions you are a gentleman of society. Greek Proverb

The real theatre of the sex war is the domestic hearth. Germaine Greer

If the work of God could be comprehended by reason, it would be no longer wonderful, and faith would have no merit if reason provided proof. Pope Gregory 1

Nature didn't make us perfect so she did the next best thing. She made us blind to our faults. Grit

Figures won't lie, but liars will figure. Charles H. Grosvenor

I had always assumed that cliche was a suburb of Paris, until I discovered it to be a street in Oxford. Philip Guedalla

Biography, like big game hunting, is one of the recognized forms of sport, and it is as unfair as only sport can be. Philip Guedalla

A fairly bright boy is more intelligent and far better company than the average adult. J.B.S. Haldane

If there are two ways of doing something - the easy way and the best way, most people will select the easy way even though it's hardly ever effective. Robert Half

Why is it that when a store is going out of business, the store's personnel are always helpful and polite. Robert Half

History is philosophy teaching by examples. Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Most men's anger about religion is as if two men should quarrel for a lady they neither of them care for. Lord Halifax

Actually, I'm an overnight success. But it took twenty years. Monty Hall

Man's security comes from within himself, and the security of all men is founded upon the security of the individual. Manly Hall

Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his abilities, and for no more, and none can tell whose sphere is the largest. Gail Hamilton

To let oneself be bound by a duty from the moment you see it approaching is part of the integrity that alone justifies responsibility. Dag Hammarskjold

You have not done enough, you have never done enough, so long as it is still possible that you have something to contribute. Dag Hammarskjold

Next to the American corpse, the American bride is the hottest thing in today's merchandising market. Kitty Hanson. American writer

Virtue is its own revenge. E.Y. Harburg

Ambition is a commendable attribute, without which no man succeeds. Only inconsiderate ambition imperils. Warren G. Harding

More and more university students are convinced that work in American society is morally empty, aesthetically ugly, and, under conditions of automation, economically unnecessary. Michael Harrington

Nobody can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own. Sydney Harris

You may be sure that when a man begins to call himself a realist, he is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing. Sydney Harris

Intelligence, I admit, is no safeguard if one is determined to leap into disbelief. Barbara Harrison

Irreligious men are often better suited for godly missions. Hasidic Saying

All that was new in them was false and what was true was old. Professor Haughton. on Darwin's findings

A man's soul may be buried and perish under a dungheap or in a furrow of the field, just as under a pile of money. Nathaniel Hawthorne

Science seeks generally only the most useful systems of classification: these it regards for the time being, until more useful classifications are invented as true. S.I. Hayakawa

The last thing a scientist would do is cling to a map because he inherited it from his grandfather, or because it was used by George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. S.I. Hayakawa

Those who cannot miss an opportunity of saying a good thing are not to be trusted with the management of any great question. William Hazlitt

Some persons make promises for the pleasure of breaking them. William Hazlitt

Wit is the rarest quality to be met with among people of education. William Hazlitt

Actors are the only honest hypocrites. William Hazlitt

Life is the art of being well deceived. William Hazlitt

No style is good that is not fit to be spoken or read aloud with effect. William Hazlitt

Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity a greater. William Hazlitt

Don't tell my mother I work in an advertising agency - she thinks I play the piano in a whore house. Head of French advertising agency

What's not worth doing is not worth doing well. Don Hebb

Opinions founded on prejudice are always sustained with the greatest violence. Hebrew Proverb

Poverty is a wonderful thing. It sticks to a man after all his friends have forsaken him. Hebrew Proverb

Life has a value only when it has something valuable as its object. Hegel

Poverty sits by the cradle of all our great men and rocks all of them to manhood. Heinrich Heine

If I had to give young writers advice, I'd say don't listen to writers talking about writing. Lillian Hellman

Callous greed grows pious very fast. Lillian Hellman

Courage is grace under pressure. Ernest Hemingway

But in modern war . . . you will die like a dog for no good reason. Ernest Hemingway

All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened. Ernest Hemingway

Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. Ernest Hemingway

Plain women know more about men than beautiful ones do. But beautiful women don't need to know about men. It's the men who have to know about the beautiful women. Katherine Hepburn

Only the young die good. Oliver Herford

Manuscript: Something submitted in haste and returned at leisure. Oliver Herford

That age is best which is the first When youth and blood are warmer. Robert Herrick

Wonder rather than doubt is the root of knowledge. Abraham Joshua Heschel

Adults have already been taught to look at things only one way - the accepted way. Eight-year-olds are too uneducated to be that dumb. Karl Hess

When two cultures collide is the only time when true suffering exists. Hermann Hesse

The gap in our economy is between what we have and what we think we ought to have - and that is a moral problem, not an economic one. Paul Heyne

Many people have played themselves to death. Many people have eaten and drunk themselves to death. Nobody ever thought himself to death. Gilbert Highet

There's a might big difference between good, sound reasons and reasons that sound good. Burton Hillis

There is nothing women hate so much as to see men selfishly enjoying themselves without the solace of feminine society. Katharine Tynan Hinkson

To do nothing is also a good remedy. Hippocrates

Style is self-plagiarism. Alfred Hitchcock

The cinema is not a slice of life, it's a piece of cake. Alfred Hitchcock

A violently active, dominating, intrepid, brutal youth - that is what I am after. Adolf Hitler

We stand for the maintenance of private property. Adolf Hitler

The victor will never be asked if he told the truth. Adolf Hitler

All who are not of good race in this world are chaff. Adolf Hitler

A new age of magic interpretation of the world is coming, of interpretation in terms of the will and not of the intelligence. There is no such thing as truth, either in the moral or the scientific sense. Adolf Hitler

By this revolution the German way of life is definitely settled for the next thousand years. Adolf Hitler

England and America will one day have a war with one another, which will be waged with the greatest hatred imaginable. One of the two countries will have to disappear. Adolf Hitler

In a hundred years, our language will be the language of Europe. Adolf Hitler

The Japanese are occupying all the islands, one after another. They will get hold of Australia, too. The White Race will disappear from those regions. Adolf Hitler

The beauties of the Crimea, which we shall make accessible by means of an autobahn - for us Germans, that will be our Riviera. Adolf Hitler

The day of individual happiness has passed. Adolf Hitler

The essential thing for the future is to have lots of children. Everybody should be persuaded that the family's life is assured only when it has upwards of four children - I should even say, four sons. Adolf Hitler

The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one. Adolf Hitler

Truth is with the victor - who, as you know, also controls the historians. Rolf Hochhuth

We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents. Eric Hoffer

Humility is not renunciation of pride but the substitution of one pride for another. Eric Hoffer

Many of the insights of the saint stem from his experience as a sinner. Eric Hoffer

The sterile radical is basically . . . conservative. He is afraid to let go of the ideas and beliefs he picked up in his youth lest his life be seen as empty and wasted. Eric Hoffer

To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are. Eric Hoffer

Deep down, Erikson wants profoundly to be respected and admired - and very deep down he wants to be left alone. Stanley Hoffmann

The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the right. Quentin Hogg

A child enters your home and for the next twenty years makes so much noise that you can hardly stand it. Then the child departs, leaving the house so silent that you think you are going mad. John Andrew Holmes

The universe is not hostile, nor yet is it friendly. It is simply indifferent. John H. Holmes

Fresh air is good if you don't take too much of it; most of the achievements and pleasures of life are in bad air. Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Law, wherein, as in a magic mirror we see reflected not only our own lives, but the lives of all men that have been! When I think of this majestic theme my eyes dazzle. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Every calling is great when greatly pursued. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

The longing for certainty and repose is in every human mind. But certainty is generally illusion and repose is not the destiny of man. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

How many people live on the reputation of the reputation they might have made! Oliver Wendell Holmes

The man who is always worrying whether or not his soul would be damned generally has a soul that isn't worth a damn. Oliver Wendell Holmes

Babies and infants show a style of life, and a desire and ability to learn, that in an adult we might well call genius. John Holt

Absolute freedom of the press to discuss public questions is a foundation stone of American liberty. Herbert Hoover

Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. Herbert Hoover

A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it. Bob Hope

What would the world be, once bereft Of wet and wildness? Let them be left, let them be left, wildness and wet; Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet. Gerard Manley Hopkins

No poems can live long or please that are written by water-drinkers. Horace

Beggars, actors, buffoons, and all that breed. Horace

Instead of forming new words I recommend to you any kind of artful management by which you are able to give cost to old ones. Horace

The man is either mad, or he is making verses. Horace

Nature not content with denying him the ability to think, has endowed him with the ability to write. A.E. Housman

I think I am better than the people who are trying to reform me. E.W. Howe

Men have as exaggerated an idea of their rights as women have of their wrongs. E.W. Howe

The way of the world is to praise dead saints and to persecute living ones. Nathaniel Howe

Prosperity: That condition which attracts the lively interest of lawyers, and warrants your being sued for damages, or indicted; or both. Elbert Hubbard

We work to become, not to acquire. Elbert Hubbard

If you suffer, thank God! - it is a sure sign that you are alive. Elbert Hubbard

A society in which women are taught anything but the management of a family, the care of men, and the creation of the future generation is a society which is on the way out. L. Ron Hubbard

An optimist is a fellow who believes what's going to be will be postponed. Kin Hubbard

A man is as good as he has to be, and a woman as bad as she dares. Elbert Hubbard

An optimist is always broke. Kin Hubbard

Poet: A person born with an instinct for poverty. Elbert Hubbard

I'll say this for adversity; people seem to be able to stand it, and that's more than I can say for prosperity. Kin Hubbard

Polygamy: An endeavour to get more out of life than there is in it. Elbert Hubbard

Saintship is the exclusive possession of those who have either worn out or never had the capacity to sin. Elbert Hubbard

When a fellow says it ain't the money but the principle of the thing, it's the money. Kin Hubbard

I guess walking slow getting married is because it gives you time to maybe change your mind. Virginia Cary Hudson

England has two books, one which she has made and one which has made her: Shakespeare and the Bible. Victor Hugo

Great perils have this beauty, that they bring to light the fraternity of strangers. Victor Hugo

Habit is the nursery of errors. Victor Hugo

Advice is not disliked because it is advice; but because so few people know how to give it. Leigh Hunt

The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing. Leigh Hunt

We do not know what education could do for us, because we have never tried it. Robert Maynard Hutchins

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to put the other somewhat higher. Thomas Huxley

Children are remarkable for their . . . intolerance of shams, the clarity and ruthlessness of their vision. Aldous Huxley

Like every man of sense and good feeling, I abominate work. Aldous Huxley

I am ignorant and impotent and yet, somehow or other, here I am unhappy, no doubt, profoundly dissatisfied . . . In spite of everything I survive. Aldous Huxley

They intoxicate themselves with work so they won't see how they really are. Aldous Huxley

To a person uninstructed in natural history, his country or seaside stroll is a walk through a gallery filled with wonderful works of art, nine-tenths of which have their faces turned to the wall. Thomas Henry Huxley

Science commits suicide when it adopts a creed. Thomas Henry Huxley

Several excuses are always less convincing than one. Aldous Huxley

In practical life, the woman is judged by man's law, as if she were a man, not a woman. Henrik Ibsen

To write: that is to sit in judgement over one's self. H. Ibsen

I am afraid the clergyman's God is often the head of the clerical profession. Dean W.R. Inge

A nation is a society united by a delusion about its ancestry and by a common hatred of its neighbours. Dean William R. Inge. Dean of St. Paul's London

Few rich men own their own property. The property owns them. Robert G. Ingersoll

Women prefer men who have something tender about them - especially the legal kind. Kay Ingram

Everything that I know now I have known since the age of six or seven: the age of reason. Eugene Ionesco

It isn't what people think that is important, but the reason they think what they think. Eugene Ionesco

Of three things the devil makes a stew: lawyers' tongues, lovers' promises, and ungrateful children. Italian proverb

The nation that is richest in proverbs (Spain) is the one that has proved itself the least wise in action. Joseph Jacobs

We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood. William James

Childhood is the one prison from which there's no escape, the one sentence from which there's no appeal. We all serve our time. P.D. James

So far war has been the only force that can discipline a whole community, and until an equivalent discipline is organized, I believe that war must have its way. William James

Suicide was naturally the consistent course dictated by the logical intellect. (Is suicide the ultimate sincerity? There seems to be no way to refute the logic of suicide but by the illogic of instinct.) William James

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. William James

The exclusive worship of the bitch-goddess success is our national disease. William James

It is only in the lonely emergencies of life that our creed is tested: then routine maxims fail, and we fall back on our gods. William James

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. William James

The more fervent opponents of Christian doctrine have often enough shown a temper which, psychologically considered, is indistinguishable from religious zeal. William James

Religious awe is the same organic thrill which we feel in a forest at twilight, or in a mountain gorge. William James

The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it. William James

Most comics make jokes to defend themselves against what they see as a hostile and inhumane world . . . often a deeply felt rage. Samuel S. Janus

. . . and another lot of young people will appear, and consider us completely outdated, and they will write ballads to express their loathing of us, and there is no reason why this should ever end. Alfred Jarry

There is nothing so good to the heart as well argued conversation, when you know that your companion will answer to your thought as the anvil meets the hammer . . . Richard Jefferies

I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. Thomas Jefferson

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Thomas Jefferson

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. Thomas Jefferson

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, we shall become as corrupt as in Europe, and go to eating one another as they do there. Thomas Jefferson

For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate error so long as reason is free to combat it. Thomas Jefferson

Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear. Thomas Jefferson

Love is like the measles; we all have to go through it. Jerome K. Jerome

It often happens that I wake at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope. Pope John XXIII

A cow is a very good animal in the field, but we turn her out of a garden. Samuel Johnson

All the arguments which are brought to represent poverty as no evil show it to be evidently a great evil. Samuel Johnson

We do pretty much whatever we want to. Why can't we live in good cities? Philip Johnson

Patriotism: The last refuge of the scoundrel. Dr. Johnson

Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy. Samuel Johnson

I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read. Samuel Johnson

Smoking is a shocking thing - blowing smoke out of our mouths into other people's mouths, eyes, and noses, and having the same thing done to us. Samuel Johnson

The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book. Samuel Johnson

Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good. Samuel Johnson

A man in jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company. Samuel Johnson

To improve the golden moment of opportunity and catch the good that is within our reach is the great art of life. Samuel Johnson

Oats: A grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people. Samuel Johnson

What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure. Samuel Johnson

Treating your adversary with respect is giving him an advantage to which he is not entitled. Samuel Johnson

That is the happiest conversation where there is no competition, no vanity but a calm quiet interchange of sentiments. Samuel Johnson

The applause of a single human being is of great consequence. Samuel Johnson

Men seldom make passes at a girl who surpasses. Franklin P. Jones

What makes resisting temptation difficult, for many people, is that they don't want to discourage it completely. Franklin P. Jones

Wearing shorts usually reveals nothing about a man so much as his indifference to public opinion. Franklin P. Jones

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't. Erica Mann Jong

Ambition, like a torrent, ne'er looks back; And is a swelling, and the last affection A high mind can put off. Ben Jonson

He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity. Ben Jonson

Taste is the literary conscience of the soul. Joseph Joubert

They castrate the books of other men in order that with the fat of their works they may lard their own lean volumes. Jovious

Pity is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the human sufferer. James Joyce

Justice is the constant and perpetual wish to render to everyone his due. Justinian

Anyone can direct a good picture if he's got a good script. Garson Kanin

You do not destroy an idea by killing people; you replace it with a better one. Edward Keating

If poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree it had better not come at all. John Keats

Beauty is truth, truth beauty. John Keats

I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest. John Keats

If you cannot mould yourself as you would wish, how can you expect other people to be entirely to your liking? Thomas A. Kempis

Thou shalt ever joy at eventide if thou spend the day fruitfully. Thomas A. Kempis

It is much safer to obey than to rule. Thomas A. Kempis

Verily, when the day of judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done. Thomas A. Kempis

Man proposes but God disposes. Thomas A. Kempis

Sic transit gloria mundi - Oh, how swiftly the glory of the world passes away! Thomas A. Kempis

Would to God that we might spend a single day really well! Thomas A. Kempis

The truly passionate are little boys. Murray Kempton

Teach me to live, that I may dread The grave as little as my bed. Bishop Thomas Ken

We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world - or to make it the last. John F. Kennedy

Oppressed people are frequently very oppressive when first liberated . . . They know best two positions. Somebody's foot on their neck or their foot on somebody's neck. Florence Kennedy

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. John F. Kennedy

Is there such a thing as Shoppers Anonymous? John F. Kennedy. Commenting on wife Jacqueline

There are three sides to every story - yours, mine, and all that lie between. Jody Kern

Tact: Ability to tell a man he's open-minded when he has a hole in his head. F.G. Kernan

Marrying a man is like buying something you've been admiring for a long time in a shop window. You may love it when you get home, but it doesn't always go with everything else in the house. Jean Kerr. American writer

If you want to kill any idea in the world today, get a committee working on it. C.F. Kettering

You can be sincere and still be stupid. Charles F. Kettering

It is man's destiny to ponder on the riddle of existence and, as a by-product of his wonderment, to create a new life on the earth. C.F. Kettering

Learn how to fail intelligently, for failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. C.F. Kettering

There never has been any thirty-hour week for men who had anything to do. C.F. Kettering

It is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil. John Maynard Keynes

Practical men . . . are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Johy Maynard Keynes

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge where there is no river. Nikita S. Khrushchev

If you feed the people just with revolutionary slogans they will listen today, they will listen tomorrow, they will listen the day after tomorrow, but on the fourth day they will say, To hell with you! Nikita Khrushchev

For men must work and women must weep, And the sooner it's over, the sooner to sleep. Charles Kingsley

Some say that the age of chivalry is past, that the spirit of romance is dead. The age of chivalry is never past, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth. Charles Kingsley

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about. Charles Kingsley

The sin ye do by two and two ye must pay for one by one. Rudyard Kipling

For Allah created the English mad - the maddest of all mankind! Rudyard Kipling

For the female of the species is more deadly than the male. Rudyard Kipling

Four things greater than all things are,- Women and Horses and Power and War. Rudyard Kipling

He travels the fastest who travels alone. Rudyard Kipling

I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. Rudyard Kipling

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same. Rudyard Kipling

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch. Rudyard Kipling

The silliest woman can manage a clever man; but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool. Rudyard Kipling

Too bad ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation. Henry Kissinger

Every good thought you think is contributing its share to the ultimate result of your life. Grenville Kleiser

We cannot unthink unless we are insane. Arthur Koestler

There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking. Alfred Korzybski

The adherents of the status quo never had it so bad. There has always been a conflict between those who feel their values are eternal and those who feel they are relative. R. Kostelanetz

Television: A medium. So called because it is neither rare nor well done. Ernie Kovacs

Credulity is the man's weakness, but the child's strength. Charles Lamb

Nothing puzzles me more than time and space, and yet nothing puzzles me less, for I never think about them. Charles Lamb

The most mortifying infirmity in human nature, to feel in ourselves, or to contemplate in another, is, perhaps, cowardice. Charles Lamb

Levity is the soul of wit. Melville D. Landon. (Eli Perkins)

Taken as a whole, the universe is absurd. Walter Savage Landor

He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support rather than illumination. Andrew Lang

Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one the stars. Frederick Langbridge

By 1960 work will be limited to three hours a day. John Langdon-Davies. A Short History of the Future 1936

By 1975 parents will have ceased to bring up their children in private family units. John Langdon-Davies. A Short History of the Future 1936

By 1975 sexual feeling and marriage will have nothing to do with each other. John Langdon-Davies. A Short History of the Future 1936

Crime will be considered a disease after 1985 and will cease to exist by AD 2000. John Langdon-Davies. A Short History of the Future 1936

Democracy will be dead by 1950. John Langdon-Davies. A Short History of the Future 1936

A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. This is too much of a temptation to the editor. Ring Lardner

How can you write if you can't cry? Ring Lardner

For a desperate disease, a desperate cure. Latin Proverb

Polygamy: The greatest testimony to man's willingness to take chances. Joe Laurie Jr.

London seems to me like some hoary massive underworld, a hoary ponderous inferno. The traffic pours through the rigid grey streets like the rivers of hell . . . D.H. Lawrence

Grand Old Man: That means on our continent (North America) anyone with snow-white hair who has kept out of jail till eighty. Stephen Leacock.

People don't ask for facts in making up their minds. They would rather have one good, soul-satisfying emotion than a dozen facts. Robert Keith Leavitt

There's always room for improvement. It's the biggest room in the house. Louise Heath Leber

At the beginning there was the Word - at the end just the Cliche. Stanislaw J. Lec

Not all women give most of their waking thoughts to the problem of pleasing men. Some are married. Emma Lee

It's easier to be original and foolish than original and wise. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

The resistance of a woman is not always proof of her virtue but more frequently of her experience. Ninan de Lenclos

. . . the fatal theory of the separation of Church and State. Pope Leo XIII

To despise legitimate authority, no matter in whom it is invested, is unlawful; it is rebellion against God's will. Pope Leo XIII

To believe with certainty we must begin with doubting. Stanislaus J. Lescynski

A man who does not lose his reason over certain things has none to lose. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. Aaron Levenstein

Noblesse oblige - Nobility carries its obligations. Duc De Levis

When audiences come to see us authors lecture, it is largely in the hope that we'll be funnier to look at than to read. Sinclair Lewis

It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, as long as you've got money. Joe. E. Lewis

A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents. G.C. Lichtenberg

Ambition and suspicion always go together. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

If you have done your best and failed, try doing your worst; you might see your error and succeed. Benjamin Lichtenberg

Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one. A.J. Liebling

My father taught me to work, but not to love it. I never did like to work, and I don't deny it. I'd rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, laugh - anything but work. Abraham Lincoln

Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored. Abraham Lincoln

The ballot is stronger than the bullet. Abraham Lincoln

It is characteristic of all movements and crusades that the psychopathic element rises to the top. Robert Lindner

I do beseech you to direct your efforts more to preparing youth for the path and less to preparing the path for youth. Judge Ben Lindsay

Very few established institutions, governments and constitutions . . . are ever destroyed by their enemies until they have been corrupted and weakened by their friends. Walter Lippmann

Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much. Walter Lippmann

I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts. John Locke

One unerring mark of the love of truth is not entertaining any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs it is built upon will warrant. John Locke

New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. John Locke

We should have a great many fewer disputes in the world if words were taken for what they are, the signs of our ideas only, and not for things themselves. John Locke

The ignorant man always adores what he cannot understand. Cesare Lombroso

A boy's will is the wind's will, And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

To say the least, a town life makes one more tolerant and liberal in one's judgement of others. H.W. Longfellow

Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions. H.W. Longfellow

Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one. Konrad Lorenz

Education is about the only thing lying around loose in the world, and it's about the only thing a fellow can have as much of as he's willing to haul away. George Horace Lorimer

Everytime I give someone a title, I make a hundred people angry and one person ungrateful. Louis XIV

Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage. Richard Lovelace

A wise scepticism is the first attribute of a good critic. James Russell Lowell

The misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come. James Russell Lowell

There is no good in arguing with the inevitable. The only argument available with an east wind is to put on your overcoat. James Russell Lowell

So long as a man enjoys prosperity, he cares not whether he is beloved. Marcus Annaeus Lucan

Reason is the enemy of faith. Martin Luther

By virtue we merely mean the avoidance of the vices that do not attract us. Robert Lynd

Yesterday is a cancelled cheque; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have - so spend it wisely. Kay Lyons

Men who use terrorism as a means to power, rule by terror once they are in power. Helen MacInness

. . . undergraduates . . . were always in revolt. They were never static. The only way they could form their minds was by opposing accepted opinion. Helen MacInness

As civilisation advances, poetry almost necessarily declines. Thomas Macaulay

Perhaps no person can be a poet, or can even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind. Thomas Macaulay

The business of everybody is the business of nobody. Thomas Macaulay

The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm. Thomas Babington Macaulay

We know no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality. Thomas Macaulay

Every nation has the government that it deserves. Joseph De Maistre. On Russia in 1811

You show me a capitalist, I'll show you a bloodsucker. Malcolm X

A break in the established order is never the work of chance. It is the outcome of a man's resolve to turn life to account. Andre Malraux

The path that leads from moral standards to political activity is strewn with our dead selves. Andre Malraux

War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace. Thomas Mann

The ideal must be high; the purpose strong, worthy and true, or the life will be a failure. Orison Swett Marden

If you have one strong idea, you can't help repeating it and embroidering it. Sometimes I think that authors should write one book and then be put in a gas chamber. John Marquand

I know a fellow who's as broke as the Ten Commandments. John Marquand

Publishing a volume of verse is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo. Don Marquis

If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that's read by persons who move their lips when they're reading to themselves. Don Marquis

An idea isn't responsible for the people who believe in it. Don Marquis

When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him WHOSE. Don Marquis

A cult is a religion with no political power. Thomas Wolfe

Early in life I had to choose between arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change. Frank Lloyd Wright

I know the price of success - dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen. Frank Lloyd Wright

The truth is more important than the facts. Frank Lloyd Wright

The only thing wrong with architecture is architects. Frank Lloyd Wright

Too low they build who build beneath the stars. Edward Young

What ardently we wish, we soon believe. Edward Young

It is difficult to retain the knowledge one has acquired, without putting it into practice. Pliny the Younger

He is either dead or teaching school. Zenobius

What I want to do is to make people laugh so that they'll see things seriously. William Zinsser






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