At the bottom of enmity between strangers lies indifference.
—Søren Kierkegaard, 1850
Archive
Quotes
Nothing is so easy as to deceive one’s self; for what we wish, that we readily believe.
—Demosthenes, 349 BCFew sons are equal to their fathers; most fall short, all too few surpass them.
—Homer, c. 750 BCThe populace may hiss me, but when I go home and think of my money, I applaud myself.
—Horace, c. 25 BCWhat is death? A scary mask. Take it off—see, it doesn’t bite.
—Epictetus, c. 110Fire is a natural symbol of life and passion, though it is the one element in which nothing can actually live.
—Susanne K. Langer, 1942Seafarers go to sleep in the evening not knowing whether they will find themselves at the bottom of the sea the next morning.
—Jean de Joinville, c. 1305My father! The sun is my father, and the earth is my mother, and on her bosom I will recline.
—Tecumseh, 1810A great step toward independence is a good-humored stomach, one that is willing to endure rough treatment.
—Seneca the Younger, c. 60All progress is based upon a universal, innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.
—Samuel Butler, c. 1890The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do.
—B.F. Skinner, 1969The law’s made to take care o’ raskills.
—George Eliot, 1860I don’t believe in total freedom for the artist. Left on his own, free to do anything he likes, the artist ends up doing nothing at all. If there’s one thing that’s dangerous for an artist, it’s precisely this question of total freedom, waiting for inspiration and all the rest of it.
—Federico Fellini, c. 1950