Revolution can never be forecast; it cannot be foretold; it comes of itself. Revolution is brewing and is bound to flare up.
—Vladimir Lenin, 1918
Archive
Quotes
Money speaks sense in a language all nations understand.
—Aphra Behn, 1677Never greet a stranger in the night, for he may be a demon.
—Babylonian Talmud, c. 600Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.
—Denis Diderot, 1774Plagues are as certain as death and taxes.
—Richard Krause, 1982Never trust her at any time when the calm sea shows her false alluring smile.
—Lucretius, c. 60 BCLanguage ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers.
—George Orwell, 1944My people and I have come to an agreement that satisfies us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.
—Frederick the Great, c. 1770If you read somebody’s diary, you get what you deserve.
—David Sedaris, 2004I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.
—Anaïs Nin, 1950Abstainer, n. A weak man who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1906The important thing, I think, is not to be bitter. You know, if it turns out that there is a God, I don’t think that he’s evil. I think that the worst thing you could say about him is that basically he’s an underachiever. After all, you know, there are worse things in life than death.
—Woody Allen, 1975The great difficulty lies in trying to transpose last night’s moment to a day which has no knowledge of it.
—Zora Neale Hurston, 1942