As a confirmed melancholic, I can testify
that the best and maybe only antidote for melancholia is action. However, like
most melancholics, I suffer also from sloth.
Edward Abbey (1927-1989) American
anarchist, writer, environmentalist
Anarchism is founded on the
observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer
are wise enough to rule others.
Edward Abbey (1927-1989) American
anarchist, writer, environmentalist
If I have not
seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders.
Hal Abelson
In life as in
dance: Grace glides on blistered feet.
Alice Abrams
They’ve got us surrounded
again, the poor bastards.
Lieutenant
Colonel Creighton Abrams,
Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an
assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as
a male schlemiel.
Bella Abzug (1920-1998) American
politician
I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the
length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.
Diane Ackerman (b. 1948) American
poet, non-fiction writer
Newsweek (
It began in mystery, and it
will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.
Diane Ackerman (b. 1948) American
poet, non-fiction writer
When you blame others, you give up your power to change.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English
writer
The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that
cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong
goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English
writer Mostly Harmless (1992)
ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX: Listen, three eyes...
don’t you try to outweird me, I get stranger things than you free with my
breakfast cereal.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English
writer The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
"You'd better be prepared for the jump into
hyperspace. It's unpleasantly like being drunk."
"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?"
"Ask a glass of water."
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English
writer The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
It's no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase "As
pretty as an airport" appear.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English
writer The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing
continued to happen.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English
writer The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Arthur hoped and prayed that
there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realised there was a contradiction there and
merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.
Douglas Adams
(1952-2001) English writer Life, The Universe, And Everything
The
world's a lot less scary when you're carrying a rocket launcher around with
you.
Ernest Adams, "The
Designer's Notebook", Gamasutra
I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by
looking up something and finding something else on the way.
A good deal of so-called atheism is itself, from my point of view,
theologically significant. It is the working of God in history, and judgement
upon the pious. An authentic prophet can and should be a radical critic of
spurious piety, of sham spirituality.
James Luther Adams (1901-1994) American
theologian Speech (Jan 1977)
To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so is something
worse.
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
My toast would be, may our country be always successful, but whether
successful or otherwise, always right.
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
When people say to me:
"How do you do so many things?", I often
answer them, without meaning to be cruel: "How do you do so little?"
It seems to me that people have vast potential. Most people can do
extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take risks. Yet most people
don't. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever.
Phillip Adams
WALLY: Stupidity is like nuclear power; it can be used
for good or evil.
DILBERT: And you don't want to get any on you.
Scott Adams (b. 1957) American
cartoonist Dilbert (
A man must be both stupid and uncharitable who believes there is no
virtue or truth but on his own side.
Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English
essayist, poet, statesman
Sir Roger told them, with an air of a man who would not give his
judgement rashly, that much might be said on both sides.
Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English
essayist, poet, statesman The Spectator, #122 (
It is always easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to
them.
Alfred Adler (1870-1937) Austrian
psychologist
Remark to friend (in Phyllis Bottome, _Alfred Adler: A Biography_, ch. 5,
1939) (1927)
The truth is often a terrible weapon of aggression. It is possible to
lie, and even to murder with the truth.
Alfred Adler (1870-1937) Austrian
psychologist The Problems of Neurosis, ch. 2 (1929)
It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath.
Aeschylus (525-456 BC) Greek
dramatist Fragment 385
Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good,
you'll have to ram them down people's throats.
Howard Aiken (1900-1973) American
mathematician
Say not unto thyself, Behold, truth breedeth
hatred, and I will avoid it; dissimulation raiseth friends, and I will follow
it. Are not the enemies made by truth, better than the friends obtained by
flattery?
Akhenaton (d. 1362 BC) King of
Egypt (1379-62 BC), religious reformer [Amenhotep IV, Ikhn-aton]
Here's my Golden Rule for a tarnished age: be fair with others, but then
keep after them until they're fair with you.
Alan Alda (b. 1936) American
actor
It isn't necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It's only necessary
to be rich.
Alan Alda (b. 1936) American
actor
There is not
enough darkness in all the world to put out the light
of even one small candle.
PERCHIK: Money is the world's curse.
TEVYE: May the Lord smite me with it! And may I never
recover!
Sholom Aleichem (1859-1916)
Russian-Jewish humorist [pseud. for Sholem Rabinowitz]
Fiddler on the Roof (with Joseph
Stein) (1971)
Fantasy is hardly
an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.
Lloyd Alexander,
The Prydain Chronicles
The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted
thirty years of his life.
Muhammed Ali (b. Cassius Clay,
1942) American boxer Playboy, Interview (Nov. 1975)
Only a man who
knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul
and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is
even.
Muhammed Ali (b. Cassius Clay,
1942) American boxer
Friendship is the hardest
thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if
you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned
anything.
Muhammed Ali (b. Cassius Clay, 1942)
American boxer
I think you should defend to the death their right to march, and then go
down and meet them with baseball bats.
Woody Allen (b. 1935) American
comedian, writer, director On the
KKK Skokie march
I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard
enough to find your way around
Woody Allen (b. 1935) American
comedian, writer, director Getting Even (1978)
There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep
better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.
Woody Allen (b. 1935) American
comedian, writer, director Side Effects (1989)
To YOU I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition.
Woody Allen (b. 1935) American
comedian, writer, director Stardust Memories (1980)
If only God would give me
some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at
the Swiss bank.
Woody Allen (b. 1935) American
comedian, writer, director
Love is the
answer, but while you’re waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty good
questions.
Woody Allen (b. 1935) American
comedian, writer, director
Sex without love is an
empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, it’s one of the best.
Woody Allen (b. 1935) American
comedian, writer, director
I'd call him a sadistic, hippophilic necrophile, but that would be
beating a dead horse.
Woody Allen (b. 1935) American
comedian, writer, director What's up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
When the habitually even-tempered suddenly fly into a passion, that
explosion is apt to be more impressive than the outburst of the most violent
amongst us.
Margery Allingham Death
of a Ghost, 1934
People who are aware of, and ashamed of, their prejudices are well on the
road to eliminating them.
Gordon Allport (1897-1967) American
psychology professor
I have this
theory about sport, which was developed at the cost of much thought and
drinking. The theory (which is mine) is this: All true sports can be seen an
elaboration or combination of three primitive activities: fighting, racing, or
accurately throwing something.
Rob St. Amant
Look around the table. If you don't see a sucker, get up, because you're
the sucker.
They do greatly err who acknowledge that the flesh of man was taken on
Himself by Christ, but deny that the affections of man were taken; and they
contravene the purpose of the Lord Jesus Himself, since thus they take away
from man what constitutes man, for man cannot be man without human affections.
St. Ambrose (339-397) Roman
prelate, Bishop of Milan [Aurelius Ambrosius]
Women wish to be loved
without a why or a wherefore; not because they are pretty, or good, or
well-bred, or graceful, or intelligent, but because they are themselves.
Henri Frederic Amiel
To do easily what is difficult for others is the mark of talent. To do
what is impossible for talent is the mark of genius.
Henri Frederic Amiel
I think NASCAR would be much more exciting if, like in a skating rink,
every 15 minutes someone announced it was time to reverse direction.
Jeffrey T. Anbinder (b. 1969) American
freelance writer
It was a joke, okay? If we thought it would actually be used, we wouldn't
have written it!
Mark L. Andreessen (b. 1971) American
Internet founder (on the creation of
the BLINK tag in HTML)
The key to leadership is having people willing to follow you if only out
of curiosity to see what's going to happen.
Mark L. Andreessen (b. 1971) American
Internet founder
Fast Company, "Marc
Andreessen, Act II," interview by George Anders (Feb. 2001)
If everything seems
under control, you’re just not going fast enough.
Mario Andretti
Someone was hurt
before you; wronged before you; beaten before you; humiliated before you; raped
before you; yet, someone survived.
A diamond is the result of
intense pressure. Less pressure is crystal, less than that is coal, less than
thatis fossilized leaves or plain dirt. Pressure can change you into something
quite precious, quite wonderful, quite beautiful, and extremely hard.
Maya Angelou
You have to decide at the end of the day if you can live with yourself.
Princess Anne (b. 1950) Princess
Royal of
The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.
Robert Anthony (contemp.) American
psychologist, author
Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid and act anyway.
Robert Anthony (contemp.) American
psychologist, author Think, Think On and Think Again
Most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being
happy.
Robert Anthony (contemp.) American
psychologist, author Think, Think On and Think Again
Sooner or later we all discover that the important
moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the
graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real
milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced,
stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives
are measured by these.
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) American
reformer
The religious persecution of the ages has been done under what was
claimed to be the command of God. I distrust those people who know so well what
God wants them to do, because I notice that it always coincides with their own
desires.
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) American
reformer Speech to National
American Woman Suffrage Association (1896)
Guilt is a tempting trap for
the unwary. It lets you feign responsibility while wallowing in ego.
Anthropos
I was a queen,
and you took away my crown; a wife, and you killed my husband; a mother, and
you deprived me of my children. My blood alone remains: take it, but do not
make me suffer long.
Marie Antoinette (1755-1795) Austrian ruler
Come to the edge
he said; We are afraid they said. Come to the edge he
said; They came. He pushed them; and they flew.
The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their
minds to be good or evil.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) American
political scientist
The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after
the revolution.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) American
political scientist New Yorker (
The trouble with
Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were
neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and
terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our
moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all
the atrocities put together.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) American
political scientist
Men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not
their friends, that cities learn the lesson of
building high walls and ships of war; and this lesson saves their children,
their homes, and their properties.
Aristophanes (c.450-c.388 BC)
Athenian comedic playwright
Wise people, even though all laws were abolished, would still live the
same life.
Aristophanes (c.450-c.388 BC)
Athenian comedic playwright
Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek
philosopher
What is a friend?
A single soul dwelling in two bodies.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek
philosopher
Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which
will not bear serious examination is false wit.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek
philosopher
It is easy to fly into a
passion--anybody can do that--but to be angry with the right person and at the
right time and with the right object and in the right way--that is not easy,
and it is not everyone who can do it.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek
philosopher
There is a foolish corner in the brain of the wisest man.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek
philosopher
The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a
thousandfold.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek
philosopher On the Heavens, Book I, ch. v
No excellent soul is exempt
from a mixture of madness.
Aristotle
(384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Wit is educated insolence.
Aristotle
(384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
There is no great genius without a touch of madness.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek
philosopher Problemata (quoted by Seneca the Younger)
The world isn't interested in the storms you encountered, but whether or
not you brought in the ship.
If I were in the President's place I would not get a chance to resign. I
would be lying in a pool of my own blood hearing Mrs. Armey standing over me
saying, "How do I reload this damn thing?"
Dick Armey (b. 1940)
People
refer to 'the good ol' days', but I don't know what they're talking about. As
someone who's battled cancer, if I lived more than 20 years ago, I'd be a dead
man.
Lance Armstrong
I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend
to waste any of mine running around doing exercises.
Neil Armstrong (b. 1930) American
astronaut
It suddenly
struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb
and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like
a giant. I felt very, very small.
Neil Armstrong (b. 1930) American
astronaut
In a world where we are forced to conform to society,
it is necessary to have personal chaos.
Thomas
Armstong
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to
surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever
cost.
Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) American
athlete Speech
From my close observation of writers … they fall into two groups: 1)
those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad
review, and 2) those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review.
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
Russian-American writer
The young specialist in English Lit,
... lectured me severely on the fact that in every century people have
thought they understood the Universe at last, and in every century they were
proved to be wrong. It follows that the one thing we can say about our modern
"knowledge" is that it is wrong.
... My answer to him was, "... when people thought the
Earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the Earth was spherical
they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the Earth is spherical is just
as wrong as thinking the Earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of
them put together."
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) Russian-American
writer "The Relativity of
Wrong" (1996)
*Any* technological advance can be dangerous. Fire was
dangerous from the start, and so (even more so) was speech -- and both are
still dangerous to this day -- but human beings would not be human without
them.
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
Russian-American writer The Caves of Steel, Introduction (novel
1954, intro 1983)
Even as a youngster, though, I could not bring myself to believe that if
knowledge presented danger, the solution was ignorance. To me, it always seemed
that the solution had to be wisdom. You did not refuse to look at danger, rather you learned how to handle it safely.
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
Russian-American writer The Caves of Steel, Introduction (novel 1954,
intro 1983)
[John]
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
Russian-American writer
Never let your
sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right.
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
Russian-American writer The Caves of Steel, Introduction (novel
1954, intro 1983)
It is forbidden to descry other sects; the true believer gives honor to
whatever in them is worthy of honor.
Asoka (c. 269-232 BC)
Indian Buddhist emperor Edict
One reason I don't drink is
that I want to know when I'm having a good time.
Nancy Astor
I have no objections to churches so long as they do not interfere with God's
work.
Brooks Atkinson (1894-1984) American
drama critic and journalist
She even had a
kind of special position among men: she was an exception, she fitted none of
the categories they commonly used when talking about girls; she wasn’t a
cock-teaser, a cold fish, an easy lay or a sneaky bitch; she was an honorary
person. She had grown to share their contempt for most women.
We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are
here for I don't know.
W. H. Auden (1907-1973) American
poet The Dyer's Hand, and Other Essays (1968)
Christ did not
enchant men; He demanded that they believe in Him: except on one occasion, the
Transfiguration. For a brief while, Peter, James, and John were permitted to
see Him in His glory. For that brief while they had no need of faith. The
vision vanished, and the memory of it did not prevent them from all forsaking
Him when He was arrested, or Peter from denying that he had ever known Him.
W. H. Auden (1907-1973) American
poet A Certain World [1971]
Evil is
unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own table.
W. H. Auden (1907-1973) American
poet
She wanted to advise
them, to give him the benefit of experience and the wisdom of her years, but she
held her tongue. They must work out their own destinies, she thought.
Jean M. Auel
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
Berthold Auerbach (1812-1882) German
author (also attrib. Red
Auerbach)
The world is a book, and those
who do not travel, read only a page.
You can force a man to enter a church , to
approach the altar, to receive the sacrament, but you cannot force him believe.
God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised
tomorrow to your procrastination.
People travel to wonder at
the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long course of
rivers, and they pass by themselves, without wondering
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father and philosopher
Suppress prostitution, and
capricious lusts will overthrow society.
What, then, is
time? I know well enough what it is, provided that nobody asks me; but if I am
asked what it is and try to explain, I am baffled.
The danger from computers
is not that they will eventually get as smart as men, but we will meanwhile
agree to meet them halfway.
Bernard Avishai (b. 1911) American
writer, business consultant
Cats names are more for human benefit. They give
one a certain degree more confidence that the animal belongs to you.
Alan Ayckbourn "Table Manners"