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A
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 (contemp) American Computer Scientist and Professor at MIT
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 (1914-1974)
American army commander, General (
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
My toast would be, may our country be always
successful, but whether successful or otherwise, always right.
John Quincy
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]
A priest
asked, What is Fate, Master?
And he
answered: It is that which gives a beast of burden its reason for existence.
It is
that which men in former times had to bear upon their backs.
It is
that which has caused nations to build byways from City to City upon which
carts and coaches pass, and alongside which inns have come to be built to stave
off Hunger, Thirst, and Weariness.
And that
is Fate? said the priest.
Fate...
I thought you said Freight, responded the Master.
That's
all right, said the priest. I wanted to know what Freight was too.
“Kehlog Albran,” The Profit
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.
Robert Alden
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 (b 1924) American fantasy author 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 (1904-1966) British mystery author 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 (1821-1881) Swiss
philosopher and critic
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 (1821-1881) Swiss
philosopher and critic
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
(b 1940) American racecar
driver
Someone was hurt before you; wronged before you; beaten before
you; humiliated before you; raped before you; yet, someone survived.
Maya Angelou (b 1928) American author, poet,
historian, civil-rights activist
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 (b 1928) American author, poet, historian, civil-rights
activist
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.
Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) French-Italian-Polish author, poet
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."