A dog starved at his master’s gate / Predicts the ruin of the state.
—William Blake, 1807
Archive
Quotes
Fire destroys that which feeds it.
—Simone Weil, c. 1940You can’t find the soul with a scalpel.
—Gustave Flaubert, c. 1880A jest breaks no bones.
—Samuel Johnson, 1781Nobody works as hard for his money as the man who marries it.
—Kin HubbardPlay, wherein persons of condition, especially ladies, waste so much of their time, is a plain instance to me that men cannot be perfectly idle; they must be doing something, for how else could they sit so many hours toiling at that which generally gives more vexation than delight to people whilst they are actually engaged in it?
—John Locke, 1693The law’s made to take care o’ raskills.
—George Eliot, 1860Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.
—Oscar Wilde, 1891Who sleepeth with dogs shall rise with fleas.
—John Florio, 1578By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
—Confucius, c. 500 BCThe world is wearied of statesmen whom democracy has degraded into politicians.
—Benjamin Disraeli, 1870Africa has her mysteries, and even a wise man cannot understand them. But a wise man respects them.
—Miriam Makeba, 1988’Tis a portentous sign / When a man sweats and at the same time shivers.
—Plautus, c. 180 BC