Stacey's blog: "Rambles"

A refusal of praise is a desire to be praised twice. Francois de La Rochefoucauld A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire. Francois de La Rochefoucauld A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires. Francois de La Rochefoucauld All the passions make us commit faults; love makes us commit the most ridiculous ones. Francois de La Rochefoucauld As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words, so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing. Francois de La Rochefoucauld As one grows older, one becomes wiser and more foolish. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy they are, who already possess it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Conceit causes more conversation than wit. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Confidence contributes more to conversation than wit. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Decency is the least of all laws, but yet it is the law which is most strictly observed. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Everyone complains of his memory, and nobody complains of his judgment. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Few things are impracticable in themselves; and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Flattery is a kind of bad money, to which our vanity gives us currency. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Funeral pomp is more for the vanity of the living than for the honor of the dead. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad example. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Gracefulness is to the body what understanding is to the mind. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Great souls are not those who have fewer passions and more virtues than others, but only those who have greater designs. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Hope, deceiving as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of our lives by an agreeable route. Francois de La Rochefoucauld How can we expect another to keep our secret if we have been unable to keep it ourselves? Francois de La Rochefoucauld However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue. Francois de La Rochefoucauld I have always been an admirer. I regard the gift of admiration as indispensable if one is to amount to something; I don't know where I would be without it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If it were not for the company of fools, a witty man would often be greatly at a loss. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If we are to judge of love by its consequences, it more nearly resembles hatred than friendship. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If we had no faults of our own, we should not take so much pleasure in noticing those in others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld If we resist our passions, it is more due to their weakness than our strength. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In all professions each affects a look and an exterior to appear what he wishes the world to believe that he is. Thus we may say that the whole world is made up of appearances. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In love we often doubt what we most believe. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In most of mankind gratitude is merely a secret hope of further favors. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In the human heart new passions are forever being born; the overthrow of one almost always means the rise of another. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In the misfortunes of our best friends we always find something not altogether displeasing to us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is easier to appear worthy of a position one does not hold, than of the office which one fills. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is easier to know men in general, than men in particular. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is great folly to wish to be wise all alone. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is not enough to have great qualities; We should also have the management of them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It is with true love as it is with ghosts; everyone talks about it, but few have seen it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It takes nearly as much ability to know how to profit by good advice as to know how to act for one's self. Francois de La Rochefoucauld It's easier to be wise for others than for ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealously is always born with love but it does not die with it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealousy contains more of self-love than of love. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealousy lives upon doubts. It becomes madness or ceases entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Jealousy springs more from love of self than from love of another. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Live on doubts; it becomes madness or stops entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Love often leads on to ambition, but seldom does one return from ambition to love. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Men give away nothing so liberally as their advice. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Neither the sun nor death can be looked at with a steady eye. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Never give anyone the advice to buy or sell shares, because the most benevolent price of advice can turn out badly. Francois de La Rochefoucauld No man is clever enough to know all the evil he does. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Nothing is so contagious as example; and we never do any great good or evil which does not produce its like. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Nothing prevents one from appearing natural as the desire to appear natural. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Old age is a tyrant, who forbids, under pain of death, the pleasures of youth. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Old men are fond of giving good advice to console themselves for their inability to give bad examples. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Old people love to give good advice; it compensates them for their inability to set a bad example. Francois de La Rochefoucauld One forgives to the degree that one loves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Our actions are like the terminations of verses, which we rhyme as we please. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Our virtues are most frequently but vices in disguise. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Passions are the only orators to always convinces us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Perfect Valor is to do, without a witness, all that we could do before the whole world. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Perfect valour consists in doing without witnesses that which we would be capable of doing before everyone. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Perhaps being old is having lighted rooms inside your head, and people in them, acting. People you know, yet can't quite name. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Preserving health by too severe a rule is a worrisome malady. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Pride does not wish to owe and vanity does not wish to pay. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Silence is the safest course for any man to adopt who distrust himself. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Taste may change, but inclination never. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The accent of one's birthplace remains in the mind and in the heart as in one's speech. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The desire to seem clever often keeps us from being so. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The happiness and misery of men depend no less on temper than fortune. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The heart is forever making the head its fool. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The intellect is always fooled by the heart. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The mind is always the patsy of the heart. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The one thing people are the most liberal with, is their advice. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The only good imitations are those that poke fun at bad originals. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The only thing that should surprise us is that there are still some things that can surprise us. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The passions are the only orators which always persuade. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The reason that lovers never weary each other is because they are always talking about themselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is that each is thinking more about what he intends to say than others are saying. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The sure mark of one born with noble qualities is being born without envy. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The sure way to be cheated is to think one's self more cunning than others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The virtues and vices are all put in motion by interest. Francois de La Rochefoucauld The word virtue is as useful to self-interest as the vices. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are bad people who would be less dangerous if they were quite devoid of goodness. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are crimes which become innocent and even glorious through their splendor, number and excess. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are heroes in evil as well as in good. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are various sorts of curiosity; one is from interest, which makes us desire to know that which may be useful to us; and the other, from pride which comes from the wish to know what others are ignorant of. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There are very few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune; it is a certain air which distinguishes us, and seems to destine us for great things; it is a price which we imperceptibly set upon ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is no disguise that can for long conceal love where it exists or simulate it where it does not. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not. Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is only one kind of love, but there are a thousand imitations. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Timidity is a fault for which it is dangerous to reprove persons whom we wish to correct of it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld To achieve greatness one should live as if they will never die. Francois de La Rochefoucauld To know how to hide one's ability is great skill. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Too great haste to repay an obligation is a kind of ingratitude. Francois de La Rochefoucauld True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Usually we praise only to be praised. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Virtue would go far if vanity did not keep it company. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We all have enough strength to endure the misfortunes of others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We always get bored with those whom we bore. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We always love those who admire us, but we do not always love those whom we admire. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are more interested in making others believe we are happy than in trying to be happy ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are nearer loving those who hate us than those who love us more than we wish. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We are strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We do not despise all those who have vices, but we do despise those that have no virtue. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We give advice, but we cannot give the wisdom to profit by it. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We only acknowledge small faults in order to make it appear that we are free from great ones. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We only confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no big ones. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We seldom find any person of good sense, except those who share our opinions. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We seldom find people ungrateful so long as it is thought we can serve them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We should often feel ashamed of our best actions if the world could see all the motives which produced them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them. Francois de La Rochefoucauld We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not talk about ourselves at all. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Weakness of character is the only defect which cannot be amended. Francois de La Rochefoucauld What is called generosity is usually only the vanity of giving; we enjoy the vanity more than the thing given. Francois de La Rochefoucauld What makes vanity so insufferable to us, is that it hurts our own. Francois de La Rochefoucauld What men have called friendship is only a social arrangement, a mutual adjustment of interests, an interchange of services given and received; it is, in sum, simply a business from which those involved propose to derive a steady profit for their own self-love. Francois de La Rochefoucauld What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one. Francois de La Rochefoucauld When our hatred is violent, it sinks us even beneath those we hate. Francois de La Rochefoucauld When we are in love we often doubt that which we most believe. Francois de La Rochefoucauld When we disclaim praise, it is only showing our desire to be praised a second time. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Why can we remember the tiniest detail that has happened to us, and not remember how many times we have told it to the same person. Francois de La Rochefoucauld Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person? Francois de La Rochefoucauld Wit sometimes enables us to act rudely with impunity. Francois de La Rochefoucauld

A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short. Andre Maurois A successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt every day. Andre Maurois An artist must be a reactionary. He has to stand out against the tenor of the age and not go flopping along. Andre Maurois Business is a combination of war and sport. Andre Maurois Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know. Andre Maurois Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy person has no time to form. Andre Maurois If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny. Andre Maurois If you value a man's regard, strive with him. As to liking, you like your newspaper - and despise it. Andre Maurois In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others. Andre Maurois Lost Illusion is the undisclosed title of every novel. Andre Maurois Modesty and unselfishness - these are the virtues which men praise - and pass by. Andre Maurois Old age is far more than white hair, wrinkles, the feeling that it is too late and the game finished, that the stage belongs to the rising generations. The true evil is not the weakening of the body, but the indifference of the soul. Andre Maurois People are what you make them. A scornful look turns into a complete fool a man of average intelligence. A contemptuous indifference turns into an enemy a woman who, well treated, might have been an angel. Andre Maurois Self-pity comes so naturally to all of us. The most solid happiness can be shaken by the compassion of a fool. Andre Maurois Smile, for everyone lacks self-confidence and more than any other one thing a smile reassures them. Andre Maurois Style is the hallmark of a temperament stamped upon the material at hand. Andre Maurois The difficult part in an argument is not to defend one's opinion but rather to know it. Andre Maurois The effectiveness of work increases according to geometric progression if there are no interruptions. Andre Maurois The first recipe for happiness is: Avoid too lengthy meditation on the past. Andre Maurois The most important quality in a leader is that of being acknowledged as such. All leaders whose fitness is questioned are clearly lacking in force. Andre Maurois There are certain persons for whom pure Truth is a poison. Andre Maurois There are deserts in every life, and the desert must be depicted if we are to give a fair and complete idea of the country. Andre Maurois To be witty is not enough. One must possess sufficient wit to avoid having too much of it. Andre Maurois We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity - romantic love and gunpowder. Andre Maurois Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold. Andre Maurois

A company of tyrants is inaccessible to all seductions. Voltaire A witty saying proves nothing. Voltaire All men are born with a nose and ten fingers, but no one was born with a knowledge of God. Voltaire All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. Voltaire All styles are good except the tiresome kind. Voltaire All the reasonings of men are not worth one sentiment of women. Voltaire An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination. Voltaire Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices. Voltaire Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung. Voltaire Anything too stupid to be said is sung. Voltaire Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. Voltaire As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities. Voltaire Behind every successful man stands a surprised mother-in-law. Voltaire Better is the enemy of good. Voltaire Business is the salt of life. Voltaire But nothing is more estimable than a physician who, having studied nature from his youth, knows the properties of the human body, the diseases which assail it, the remedies which will benefit it, exercises his art with caution, and pays equal attention to the rich and the poor. Voltaire By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property. Voltaire Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause. Voltaire Clever tyrants are never punished. Voltaire Common sense is not so common. Voltaire Divorce is probably of nearly the same date as marriage. I believe, however, that marriage is some weeks the more ancient. Voltaire Do well and you will have no need for ancestors. Voltaire Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. Voltaire Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do. Voltaire Every one goes astray, but the least imprudent are they who repent the soonest. Voltaire Everything is for the best in this best of possible worlds. Voltaire Everything's fine today, that is our illusion. Voltaire Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe. Voltaire Fear follows crime and is its punishment. Voltaire For take thy balance if thou be so wise And weigh the wind that under heaven doth blow; Or weigh the light that in the east doth rise; Or weigh the thought that from man's mind doth flow. Voltaire Friendship is the marriage of the soul, and this marriage is liable to divorce. Voltaire Froth at the top, dregs at bottom, but the middle excellent. Voltaire God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. Voltaire God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. Voltaire He is a hard man who is only just, and a sad one who is only wise. Voltaire He must be very ignorant for he answers every question he is asked. Voltaire He shines in the second rank, who is eclipsed in the first. Voltaire He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead. Voltaire He who has not the spirit of this age, has all the misery of it. Voltaire He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad. Voltaire He who thinks himself wise, O heavens! is a great fool. Voltaire History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes. Voltaire How inexpressible is the meanness of being a hypocrite! how horrible is it to be a mischievous and malignant hypocrite. Voltaire How pleasant it is for a father to sit at his child's board. It is like an aged man reclining under the shadow of an oak which he has planted. Voltaire I advice you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying you annuities. Voltaire I am very fond of truth, but not at all of martyrdom. Voltaire I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. Voltaire I hate women because they always know where things are. Voltaire I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: "O Lord make my enemies ridiculous." And God granted it. Voltaire I know many books which have bored their readers, but I know of none which has done real evil. Voltaire I Thy God am the Light and the Mind which were before substance was divided from Spirit and darkness from Light. Voltaire Ice-cream is exquisite - what a pity it isn't illegal. Voltaire If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated. Voltaire If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him. Voltaire If the bookseller happens to desire a privilege for his merchandise, whether he is selling Rabelais or the Fathers of the Church, the magistrate grants the privilege without answering for the contents of the book. Voltaire If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him. Voltaire If we do not find anything pleasant, at least we shall find something new. Voltaire Illusion is the first of all pleasures. Voltaire In every author let us distinguish the man from his works. Voltaire In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another. Voltaire Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes. Voltaire Injustice in the end produces independence. Voltaire Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others? Voltaire It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not the barrier that separates ignorance from knowledge. Voltaire It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one. Voltaire It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. Voltaire It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere. Voltaire It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. Voltaire It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind. Voltaire It is new fancy rathert than taste which produces so many new fashions. Voltaire It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce. Voltaire It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it. Voltaire It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue. Voltaire It is said that the present is pregnant with the future. Voltaire It is the flash which appears, the thunderbolt will follow. Voltaire It is today, my dear, that I take a perilous leap. Voltaire It is vain for the coward to flee; death follows close behind; it is only by defying it that the brave escape. Voltaire Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. Voltaire Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers. Voltaire Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world. Voltaire Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us. Voltaire Love has features which pierce all hearts, he wears a bandage which conceals the faults of those beloved. He has wings, he comes quickly and flies away the same. Voltaire Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination. Voltaire Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. Voltaire Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity. Voltaire Men use thought only as authority for their injustice, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts. Voltaire Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts. Voltaire My life is a struggle. Voltaire Nature has always had more force than education. Voltaire Neither holy, nor Roman, nor Empire. Voltaire Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument. Voltaire No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking. Voltaire No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible. Voltaire Nothing can be more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and common sense. Voltaire Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. Voltaire Now, now my good man, this is no time for making enemies. Voltaire One great use of words is to hide our thoughts. Voltaire One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose. Voltaire Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes. Voltaire Originality is nothing by judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another. Voltaire Our country is that spot to which our heart is bound. Voltaire Paradise was made for tender hearts; hell, for loveless hearts. Voltaire Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time. Voltaire Prejudice, friend, govern the vulgar crowd. Voltaire Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die. Voltaire Slavery is also as ancient as war, and was as human nature. Voltaire Society therefore is an ancient as the world. Voltaire Stand upright, speak thy thoughts, declare The truth thou hast, that all may share; Be bold, proclaim it everywhere: They only live who dare. Voltaire Tears are the silent language of grief. Voltaire 'That is indisputable,' was the answer, 'but in this country it is a good thing to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others.' Voltaire The ancient Romans built their greatest masterpieces of architecture, their amphitheaters, for wild beasts to fight in. Voltaire The ancients recommended us to sacrifice to the Graces, but Milton sacrificed to the Devil. Voltaire The art of government is to make two-thirds of a nation pay all it possibly can pay for the benefit of the other third. Voltaire The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease. Voltaire The best is the enemy of the good. Voltaire The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out. Voltaire The ear is the avenue to the heart. Voltaire The first step, my son, which one makes in the world, is the one on which depends the rest of our days. Voltaire The flowery style is not unsuitable to public speeches or addresses, which amount only to compliment. The lighter beauties are in their place when there is nothing more solid to say; but the flowery style ought to be banished from a pleading, a sermon, or a didactic work. Voltaire The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. Voltaire The ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination. Voltaire The infinitely little have a pride infinitely great. Voltaire The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all. Voltaire The little may contrast with the great, in painting, but cannot be said to be contrary to it. Oppositions of colors contrast; but there are also colors contrary to each other, that is, which produce an ill effect because they shock the eye when brought very near it. Voltaire The mouth obeys poorly when the heart murmurs. Voltaire The multitude of books is making us ignorant. Voltaire The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year. Voltaire The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error. Voltaire The public is a ferocious beast; one must either chain it or flee from it. Voltaire The safest course is to do nothing against one's conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death. Voltaire The secret of being a bore... is to tell everything. Voltaire The secret of being tiresome is in telling everything. Voltaire The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice. Voltaire The superfluous, a very necessary thing. Voltaire The very impossibility in which I find myself to prove that God is not, discovers to me his existence. Voltaire The world embarrasses me, and I cannot dream that this watch exists and has no watchmaker. Voltaire There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times. Voltaire Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too. Voltaire This self-love is the instrument of our preservation; it resembles the provision for the perpetuity of mankind: it is necessary, it is dear to us, it gives us pleasure, and we must conceal it. Voltaire Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. Voltaire To be at peace in crime! ah, who can thus flatter himself. Voltaire To believe in God is impossible not to believe in Him is absurd. Voltaire To hold a pen is to be at war. Voltaire To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. Voltaire To the wicked, everything serves as pretext. Voltaire To them it seemed that the gifts of an enemy were to be dreaded. Voltaire Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them. Voltaire Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy. Voltaire Very learned women are to be found, in the same manner as female warriors; but they are seldom or ever inventors. Voltaire Very often, say what you will, a knave is only a fool. Voltaire We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature. Voltaire We are rarely proud when we are alone. Voltaire We cannot always oblige; but we can always speak obligingly. Voltaire We cannot wish for that we know not. Voltaire We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard. Voltaire We must distinguish between speaking to deceive and being silent to be reserved. Voltaire Weakness on both sides is, as we know, the motto of all quarrels. Voltaire What a heavy burden is a name that has become too famous. Voltaire What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature. Voltaire What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy. Voltaire What then do you call your soul? What idea have you of it? You cannot of yourselves, without revelation, admit the existence within you of anything but a power unknown to you of feeling and thinking. Voltaire When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, that is metaphysics. Voltaire When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion. Voltaire Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors. Voltaire You see many stars at night in the sky but find them not when the sun rises; can you say that there are no stars in the heaven of day? So, O man! because you behold not God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God. Voltaire Your destiny is that of a man, and your vows those of a god. Voltaire Your Majesty may think me an impatient sick man, and that the Turks are even sicker. Voltaire

All oppression creates a state of war. Simone de Beauvoir Buying is a profound pleasure. Simone de Beauvoir Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay. Simone de Beauvoir Defending the truth is not something one does out of a sense of duty or to allay guilt complexes, but is a reward in itself. Simone de Beauvoir I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity. Simone de Beauvoir I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth - and truth rewarded me. Simone de Beauvoir I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom. Simone de Beauvoir If you live long enough, you'll see that every victory turns into a defeat. Simone de Beauvoir In itself, homosexuality is as limiting as heterosexuality: the ideal should be to be capable of loving a woman or a man; either, a human being, without feeling fear, restraint, or obligation. Simone de Beauvoir It is old age, rather than death, that is to be contrasted with life. Old age is life's parody, whereas death transforms life into a destiny: in a way it preserves it by giving it the absolute dimension. Death does away with time. Simone de Beauvoir It's frightening to think that you mark your children merely by being yourself. It seems unfair. You can't assume the responsibility for everything you do -or don't do. Simone de Beauvoir One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius. Simone de Beauvoir One is not born a woman, but becomes one. Simone de Beauvoir One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion. Simone de Beauvoir Retirement may be looked upon either as a prolonged holiday or as a rejection, a being thrown on to the scrap-heap. Simone de Beauvoir Sex pleasure in woman is a kind of magic spell; it demands complete abandon; if words or movements oppose the magic of caresses, the spell is broken. Simone de Beauvoir Since it is the Other within us who is old, it is natural that the revelation of our age should come to us from outside -from others. We do not accept it willingly. Simone de Beauvoir Society cares for the individual only so far as he is profitable. Simone de Beauvoir That a whole part of the middle class detests me... is utterly normal. I would be troubled if the contrary were true. Simone de Beauvoir The most mediocre of males feels himself a demigod as compared with women. Simone de Beauvoir To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job. Simone de Beauvoir To make oneself an object, to make oneself passive, is a very different thing from being a passive object. Simone de Beauvoir What is an adult? A child blown up by age. Simone de Beauvoir When an individual is kept in a situation of inferiority, the fact is that he does become inferior. Simone de Beauvoir Why one man rather than another? It was odd. You find yourself involved with a fellow for life just because he was the one that you met when you were nineteen. Simone de Beauvoir

A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men. Plato All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by one Workman; and however we deceive ourselves, as dear unto God is the poor peasant as the mighty prince. Plato All things will be produced in superior quantity and quality, and with greater ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts, and at the right moment, without meddling with anything else. Plato Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, You cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation. Plato At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet. Plato Attention to health is life greatest hindrance. Plato Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. Plato Courage is a kind of salvation. Plato Courage is knowing what not to fear. Plato Cunning... is but the low mimic of wisdom. Plato Democracy passes into despotism. Plato Democracy... is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike. Plato Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty. Plato Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in governments. Plato For the introduction of a new kind of music must be shunned as imperiling the whole state; since styles of music are never disturbed without affecting the most important political institutions. Plato Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. Plato He was a wise man who invented beer. Plato He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden. Plato He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden. Plato Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty. Plato How can you prove whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state? Plato I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict. Plato I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning. Plato I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work. Plato Ignorance of all things is an evil neither terrible nor excessive, nor yet the greatest of all; but great cleverness and much learning, if they be accompanied by a bad training, are a much greater misfortune. Plato Is it not also true that no physician, in so far as he is a physician, considers or enjoins what is for the physician's interest, but that all seek the good of their patients? For we have agreed that a physician strictly so called, is a ruler of bodies, and not a maker of money, have we not? Plato It is right to give every man his due. Plato Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens. Plato Know one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good. Plato Knowledge is true opinion. Plato Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. Plato Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom. Plato Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence. Plato Let us describe the education of our men. What then is the education to be? Perhaps we could hardly find a better than that which the experience of the past has already discovered, which consists, I believe, in gymnastic, for the body, and music for the mind. Plato Love is a serious mental disease. Plato Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods. Plato Man - a being in search of meaning. Plato Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. Plato Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue. Plato Must not all things at the last be swallowed up in death? Plato Necessity... the mother of invention. Plato No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding. Plato No trace of slavery ought to mix with the studies of the freeborn man. No study, pursued under compulsion, remains rooted in the memory. Plato Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half. Plato Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety. Plato Old age has a great sense of calm and freedom. When the passions have relaxed their hold and have escaped, not from one master, but from many. Plato One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. Plato Only the dead have seen the end of the war. Plato Philosophy is the highest music. Plato Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history. Plato Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men. Plato Science is nothing but perception. Plato States are as the men, they grow out of human characters. Plato The beginning is the most important part of the work. Plato The curse of me and my nation is that we always think things can be bettered by immediate action of some sort, any sort rather than no sort. Plato The excessive increase of anything causes a reaction in the opposite direction. Plato The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile. Plato The greatest wealth is to live content with little. Plato The heaviest penalty for deciding to engage in politics is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself. Plato The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant. Plato The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom. Plato The most important part of education is proper training in the nursery. Plato The most virtuous are those who content themselves with being virtuous without seeking to appear so. Plato The wisest have the most authority. Plato Then anyone who leaves behind him a written manual, and likewise anyone who receives it, in the belief that such writing will be clear and certain, must be exceedingly simple-minded. Plato There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain. Plato There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot. Plato There must always remain something that is antagonistic to good. Plato There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands. Plato They certainly give very strange names to diseases. Plato They do certainly give very strange, and newfangled, names to diseases. Plato Thinking: The talking of the soul with itself. Plato This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector. Plato This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are. Plato Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. Plato To love rightly is to love what is orderly and beautiful in an educated and disciplined way. Plato We are twice armed if we fight with faith. Plato We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. Plato We ought to fly away from earth to heaven as quickly as we can; and to fly away is to become like God, as far as this is possible; and to become like him is to become holy, just, and wise. Plato Wealth is well known to be a great comforter. Plato Whatever deceives men seems to produce a magical enchantment. Plato When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them. Plato When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself. Plato When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader. Plato When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader. Plato When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income. Plato Wisdom alone is the science of others sciences. Plato Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Plato Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. Plato You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. Plato

All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain. Epictetus All religions must be tolerated... for every man must get to heaven in his own way. Epictetus Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. Epictetus Difficulties show men what they are. In case of any difficulty remember that God has pitted you against a rough antagonist that you may be a conqueror, and this cannot be without toil. Epictetus First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak. Epictetus First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus For it is not death or hardship that is a fearful thing, but the fear of death and hardship. Epictetus Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire. Epictetus Freedom is the right to live as we wish. Epictetus God has entrusted me with myself. Epictetus He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk. Epictetus He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of these for to whatever point the perfection of anything brings us, progress is always an approach toward it. Epictetus If you wish to be a writer, write. Epictetus Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public. Epictetus Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish? Nothing else. Epictetus It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death. Epictetus It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them. Epictetus It takes more than just a good looking body. You've got to have the heart and soul to go with it. Epictetus It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. Epictetus Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them. Epictetus Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope. Epictetus No great thing is created suddenly. Epictetus No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. Epictetus No man is free who is not master of himself. Epictetus Not every difficult and dangerous thing is suitable for training, but only that which is conducive to success in achieving the object of our effort. Epictetus Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. Epictetus One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent. Epictetus Only the educated are free. Epictetus People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them. Epictetus Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater. Epictetus The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things. Epictetus The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. Epictetus The soul's impurity consists in bad judgments, and purification consists in producing in it right judgments, and the pure soul is one which has right judgments. Epictetus The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing. Epictetus There is nothing good or evil save in the will. Epictetus There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will. Epictetus To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete. Epictetus Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed. Epictetus We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. Epictetus What will the world be quite overturned when you die? Epictetus When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. Epictetus Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit. Epictetus Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he be master of the world. Epictetus

All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine. Socrates An honest man is always a child. Socrates As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent. Socrates Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant. Socrates Beauty is a short-lived tyranny. Socrates Beauty is the bait which with delight allures man to enlarge his kind. Socrates Beware the barrenness of a busy life. Socrates By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher. Socrates Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannise their teachers. Socrates Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for. Socrates False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil. Socrates He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature. Socrates I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing. Socrates I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean. Socrates I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance. Socrates I was afraid that by observing objects with my eyes and trying to comprehend them with each of my other senses I might blind my soul altogether. Socrates I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live. Socrates If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it. Socrates If all misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart. Socrates If thou continuest to take delight in idle argumentation thou mayest be qualified to combat with the sophists, but will never know how to live with men. Socrates Let him that would move the world first move himself. Socrates My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher. Socrates Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued. Socrates Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior. Socrates One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him. Socrates Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us. Socrates The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. Socrates The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. Socrates The poets are only the interpreters of the Gods. Socrates The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is a habit. Socrates Wisdom begins in wonder. Socrates

A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs. Epicurus Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist. Epicurus Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Epicurus I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know. Epicurus I never desired to please the rabble. What pleased them, I did not learn; and what I knew was far removed from their understanding. Epicurus I would rather be first in a little Iberian village than second in Rome. Epicurus If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another. Epicurus If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires. Epicurus It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet,than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble. Epicurus It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself. Epicurus It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life. Epicurus It is not so much our friends' help that helps us, as the confidence of their help. Epicurus It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls. Epicurus Misfortune seldom intrudes upon the wise man; his greatest and highest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of life. Epicurus Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance. Epicurus Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little. Epicurus Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship. Epicurus Of all things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship. Epicurus Riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss. Epicurus Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempest. Epicurus The art of living well and the art of dying well are one. Epicurus The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it. Epicurus The misfortune of the wise is better than the prosperity of the fool. Epicurus The time when most of you should withdraw into yourself is when you are forced to be in a crowd. Epicurus There is no such thing as justice in the abstract; it is merely a compact between men. Epicurus We do not so much need the help of our friends as the confidence of their help in need. Epicurus You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. Epicurus

A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one. Aristotle A true friend is one soul in two bodies. Aristotle A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side. Aristotle All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. Aristotle All men by nature desire to know. Aristotle All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind. Aristotle All virtue is summed up in dealing justly. Aristotle Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy. Aristotle At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. Aristotle Bad men are full of repentance. Aristotle Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age. Aristotle Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms. Aristotle Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit. Aristotle Change in all things is sweet. Aristotle Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others. Aristotle Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal. Aristotle Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers. Aristotle Different men seek after happiness in different ways and by different means, and so make for themselves different modes of life and forms of government. Aristotle Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them. Aristotle Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them. Aristotle Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity. Aristotle Education is the best provision for old age. Aristotle Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil. Aristotle For what is the best choice, for each individual is the highest it is possible for him to achieve. Aristotle Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. Aristotle Friendship is essentially a partnership. Aristotle Great men are always of a nature originally melancholy. Aristotle Happiness depends upon ourselves. Aristotle He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god. Aristotle Homer has taught all other poets the art of telling lies skillfully. Aristotle Hope is a waking dream. Aristotle Hope is the dream of a waking man. Aristotle I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self. Aristotle I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. Aristotle If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost. Aristotle If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature's way. Aristotle In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme. Aristotle In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. Aristotle In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels. Aristotle In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds. Aristotle It is best to rise from life as from a banquet, neither thirsty nor drunken. Aristotle It is Homer who has chiefly taught other poets the art of telling lies skillfully. Aristotle It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought. Aristotle It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world. Aristotle It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle It is unbecoming for young men to utter maxims. Aristotle Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. Aristotle Man is by nature a political animal. Aristotle Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way. Aristotle Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence. Aristotle Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life. Aristotle Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. Aristotle Most people would rather give than get affection. Aristotle Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own. Aristotle My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake. Aristotle Nature does nothing uselessly. Aristotle No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness. Aristotle No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness. Aristotle No notice is taken of a little evil, but when it increases it strikes the eye. Aristotle No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world. Aristotle Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved. Aristotle Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference. Aristotle Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth. Aristotle Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular. Aristotle Politicians also have no leisure, because they are always aiming at something beyond political life itself, power and glory, or happiness. Aristotle Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities. Aristotle Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms. Aristotle Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind. Aristotle That in the soul which is called the mind is, before it thinks, not actually any real thing. Aristotle The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. Aristotle The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain. Aristotle The appropriate age for marriage is around eighteen for girls and thirty-seven for men. Aristotle The best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake. Aristotle The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead. Aristotle The end of labor is to gain leisure. Aristotle The gods too are fond of a joke. Aristotle The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons. Aristotle The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. Aristotle The law is reason, free from passion. Aristotle The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold. Aristotle The moral virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit. Aristotle The more thou dost advance, the more thy feet pitfalls will meet. The Path that leadeth on is lighted by one fire- the light of daring burning in the heart. The more one dares, the more he shall obtain. The more he fears, the more that light shall pale - and that alone can guide. Aristotle The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes. Aristotle The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching. Aristotle The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Aristotle The secret to humor is surprise. Aristotle The soul never thinks without a picture. Aristotle The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. Aristotle The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom. Aristotle The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life - knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live. Aristotle The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal. Aristotle There is no great genius without a mixture of madness. Aristotle There was never a genius without a tincture of madness. Aristotle Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics. Aristotle This is the reason why mothers are more devoted to their children than fathers: it is that they suffer more in giving them birth and are more certain that they are their own. Aristotle Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well. Aristotle Those who excel in virtue have the best right of all to rebel, but then they are of all men the least inclined to do so. Aristotle Thou wilt find rest from vain fancies if thou doest every act in life as though it were thy last. Aristotle To run away from trouble is a form of cowardice and, while it is true that the suicide braves death, he does it not for some noble object but to escape some ill. Aristotle To the query, ''What is a friend?'' his reply was ''A single soul dwelling in two bodies.'' Aristotle Tragedy is thus a representation of an action that is worth serious attention, complete in itself and of some amplitude... by means of pity and fear bringing about the purgation of such emotions. Aristotle We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action. Aristotle We make war that we may live in peace. Aristotle We must no more ask whether the soul and body are one than ask whether the wax and the figure impressed on it are one. Aristotle We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time. Aristotle Well begun is half done. Aristotle What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. Aristotle What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do. Aristotle What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions. Aristotle Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit. Aristotle Wit is educated insolence. Aristotle Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods. Aristotle You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. Aristotle Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope. Aristotle

A lost battle is a battle one thinks one has lost. Jean-Paul Sartre Acting is a question of absorbing other people's personalities and adding some of your own experience. Jean-Paul Sartre Acting is happy agony. Jean-Paul Sartre Everything has been figured out, except how to live. Jean-Paul Sartre Fascism is not defined by the number of its victims, but by the way it kills them. Jean-Paul Sartre Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you. Jean-Paul Sartre Generosity is nothing else than a craze to possess. All which I abandon, all which I give, I enjoy in a higher manner through the fact that I give it away. To give is to enjoy possessively the object which one gives. Jean-Paul Sartre Hell is other people. Jean-Paul Sartre I confused things with their names: that is belief. Jean-Paul Sartre It disturbs me no more to find men base, unjust, or selfish than to see apes mischievous, wolves savage, or the vulture ravenous. Jean-Paul Sartre It is only in our decisions that we are important. Jean-Paul Sartre Life begins on the other side of despair. Jean-Paul Sartre Life has no meaning the moment you loose the illusion of being eternal. Jean-Paul Sartre Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. Jean-Paul Sartre Man is not the sum of what he has already, but rather the sum of what he does not yet have, of what he could have. Jean-Paul Sartre Neither sex, without some fertilization of the complimentary characters of the other, is capable of the highest reaches of human endeavor. Jean-Paul Sartre Once you hear the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish it from a defeat. Jean-Paul Sartre One is still what one is going to cease to be and already what one is going to become. One lives one's death, one dies one's life. Jean-Paul Sartre Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat. Jean-Paul Sartre She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. Jean-Paul Sartre The existentialist says at once that man is anguish. Jean-Paul Sartre The poor don't know that their function in life is to exercise our generosity. Jean-Paul Sartre Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do. Jean-Paul Sartre To eat is to appropriate by destruction. Jean-Paul Sartre Total war is no longer war waged by all members of one national community against all those of another. It is total... because it may well involve the whole world. Jean-Paul Sartre When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die. Jean-Paul Sartre Words are loaded pistols. Jean-Paul Sartre