More of my Favourite Quotes
"You don't fool me;there is no Sanity Clause" ~~ Chico Marx when he was asked to sign a stipulation in a contract
"The condition of alienation, of being asleep, of being unconscious,of being out of one's mind, is the condition of the normal man. Society highly values its normal man.It educates children to lose themselves and to become absurd,and thus to be normal. Normal men have killed
perhaps 100,000,000 of their fellow normal men in the last fifty years." ~~
R.D. Laing
"the West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do." ~~
Samuel P. Huntington
"Though human genius in its various inventions with various
instruments answer the same end, it will never find an invention more
beautiful or more simple or direct than nature because in her inventions
nothing is lacking and nothing superfluous" ~~ Leonardo Da Vinci
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor
do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no
safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught
as often as the bold. Life is either a daring adventure or
nothing." ~~ Helen Keller
"The greatest threat to our world and its peace comes from those who want war, who prepare for it, and who, by holding out vague promises of future peace or by instilling fear of foreign aggression, try to make us accomplices to their plans." ~~
Hermann Hesse
"No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe; every man is a peece
of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the
Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as
if a Manor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death
diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never
send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." ~~ (MEDITATION XVII., Devotions upon Emergent Occasions by John
Donne)
"The urge to save humanity is almost
always a false front for the
urge to rule." - H.L. Mencken
After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations.
- H. L. Mencken
Error is continually repeated in action. So we must continually repeat the truth in words - Junius
Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life
exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to
contact us. ~~ Bill Watterson
In Germany, they first came for the communists [incidentally the word communist is often censored in the US, and "Socialist(s)". is/are used instead], and I
didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade
unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then
they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a
Catholic. Then they came for me and by that time there was nobody left to
speak up. ~~ Martin Niemoller
(after failing to speak up to protect a moslem family being abused on London Underground the other day I am ashamed to say that it is much easier said than done ~~ AK)
Mending fences is often more productive than building walls ~~ Axel Klystrom
"Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do
without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget, awareness
of debt eats up domestic felicity". ~~ Robert Heinlein
"People who know little are usually great talkers, while men who know much say little."
~~Jean Jacques Rousseau
"Add life to your days" instead of days to your life ~~ Anon
Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain
all, and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.
~~ Dr. Van Helsig, Dracula (Bram Stoker)
"It must be inconvenient to be made of flesh," said the
Scarecrow, thoughtfully, "for you must sleep, and eat and drink.
However, you have brains, and it is worth a lot of bother to be able to
think properly." ~~ Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz
"If it's meaninglessness that awaits us, let us live as to make
it an unjust fate" ~~ Miguel de Unamuno
"Never trust a man who reads only one book." ~~ Anon
"Always read the other mans book." ~~ Mahyar Gol-Shekan
"Civilisation is a self-quenching phenomenon." - Ricardo
Edmunds
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I
have others." ~~ Julius Marx
Never explain - your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't
believe you anyhow. ~~ Elbert Hubbard
"The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people
tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes
stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is
Fascism ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any
controlling private power."
-FDR
Those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they
themselves must pass. ~~ Confucius
Knowledge is not important, imagination is everything. ~~ Albert
Einstein
We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking as we used
when we created them. ~~ Albert Einstein
Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. ~~
Leonardo da Vinci
May you live all the days of your life. ~~ Johnathan Swift
A woman is not property, and husbands who think otherwise are living
in a dream world. ~~ Robert Heinlein
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing
himself. ~~ Tolstoy
The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. ~~
Albert Einstein
God save me from the intellectual catatonia that results from reading
about the Michelson-Morley experiment. - Axel Klystron
Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with
what you have. ~~ Doris Mortman
How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-Only one, but it takes a long time, and the light bulb has to want to change. ~~ Anonymous
Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and
why. Then do it. ~~ Robert Heinlein
"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip."~~Will Rogers
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.
Accepting the orthodox consensus is an order of magnitude less
attractive than having all my carbon atoms replaced with silicon ones. -
- Axel Klystron
You may have tangible wealth untold, caskets of jewels and coffers of
gold. Richer than I, you can never be- I had parents who read to me... ~~
Anon
Avoid making irrevocable decisions while tired or hungry. ~~ Robert
Heinlein
Avoid making irrevocable decisions while out of your skull on Scotch
whiskey. - Axel Klystron
Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else get your way. Anon
Everything in excess! To enjoy the flower of life, take big bites.
Moderation is for monks. ~~ Robert Heinlein
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana ~~ Groucho Marx
Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time
to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
"Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right."~~ Isaac Asimov
In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must,
above all, be a sheep. ~~ Albert Einstein
Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny. ~~ Robert Heinlein
Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrity.
The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit
to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his
intelligence. ~~ Albert Einstein
There is no conclusive evidence of life after death; but there is no
evidence of any sort against it. Soon enough you will know. So why fret
about it? ~~ Robert Heinlein
God's commandments - Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not commit
adultery. Don't eat pork. What was that last one? Don't eat pork. Is
that the word of God or is that pigs trying to outsmart everybody. ~~
Jon Stewart
A diplomat is a man who can convince his wife she'd look stout in a
fur coat. ~~ Anon
You must not give power to a man unless, above everything else, he
has character. Character is the most important qualification of the
president of the United States. ~~ Richard Nixon
I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say
because it's such a beautiful animal. Well, I think my mother is
attractive, but I just keep photographs of her. ~~ Ellen DeGeneres
I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the
law. ~~ David Dinkins
I'd rather have a free bottle in front of me than a prefrontal lobotomy. ~~ Anonymous
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. Nor
do the children of men as a whole experience it. Life is either a daring
adventure or nothing.. ~~ Helen Keller
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
The fearful are caught as often as the bold. Life is either a daring
adventure or nothing. ~~ Helen Keller
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. ~~ Helen Keller
The worst enemy of capitalism is a successful capitalist. - Adam
Smith
Marriage is like a cage; one sees the birds outside desperate to get
in, and those inside desperate to get out. ~~ Montaigne
Cleanliness is next to impossible. ~~ O'Reilly's law of the kitchen
if I could figure it out why hasn't somebody else?" - Sandy Kidd
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are. ~~
Talmudic Saying
She's a lovely person. She deserves a good husband. Marry her before
she finds one. ~~ Oscar Levant to Harpo Marx
We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees. ~~ Jason Kidd
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. ~~ Annie
Dillard
Make a firm decision now... you can always change it later. ~~ Anon
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not
fish they are after. ~~ Henry David Thoreau
Reasoning with prejudice is like fighting a shadow, it exhausts the
reasoner without visibly affecting the prejudice. ~~ Henry David Thoreau
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train
stops.
On my desk I have a workstation ~~ Veronica Echols
What if there were no hypothetical
situations? ~~ Andrew Kohlsmith
The secret to creativity is knowing how
to hide your sources. ~~ Albert Einstein
Tattoos are the leisure suit of the
90s. ~~ Sean Tuite
Learn to pause - or nothing worthwhile
can catch up to you. ~~ Anon
A human being should be able to change
a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a
building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a well, set a bone,
comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, co-operate, act alone,
solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a
computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialisation is for insects. ~~ Robert Heinlein
A professional is someone who can do
his best work when he doesn't feel like it. ~~ Alistair Cooke
The only thing worth praying for is
that one will be in the line of evolution - - Anon
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One
helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life. ~~ Sandra
Carey
Life is full of cactus but you don't
have to sit on it. - - South African sugar packet
The key to everything is patience. You
get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. ~~ Arnold H.
Glasow
The difference between science and the
fuzzy subjects is that science requires reasoning while those other
subjects merely require scholarship. ~~ Robert Heinlein
Not everything that can be counted
counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. ~~ Einstein
"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the
answers." ~~James Thurber
"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet."
~~ -James Oppenheim
"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."
~~ -Franklin P. Jones
"Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's
original, you will have to ram it down their throats."
~~ Howard Aiken
"I got a lot of ideas. Trouble is, most of them suck."
~~ George Carlin
Children nowadays are not respectful of their parents; They grab the best
food at the table without thought of sharing; They trample on their
parents' toes as they move around the room, and if there are visitors,
they interrupt rudely with their own concerns.
~~Socrates, c. 5th century BC
"Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign" ~~ (J.S. Mill, On Liberty, 1859)
"The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand
well."~~H.T. Leslie
"If you want to know the character of a man, find out what his cat thinks of him. "~~Anonymous
"First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others."~~Thomas A Kempis
"A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."
~~Grace Murray Hopper
"Cultures that wilfully
anaesthetise themselves to the past, will infantilise themselves. To
have no sense of your parents, and your grandparents, and of the
pleasures and pains of actually understanding your antiquity, is to be
completely robbed of any freedom to shape your posterity" ~~ Cicero
A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it ~~ Bob Hope
"'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."
~~ Abraham Lincoln
"You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need."
~~ Vernon Howard
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