The brightest light burns the quickest.
—Olive Beatrice Muir, 1900
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Quotes
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
—Mao Zedong, 1938You can’t find the soul with a scalpel.
—Gustave Flaubert, c. 1880Man has here two and a half minutes—one to smile, one to sigh, and half a one to love; for in the midst of this minute he dies.
—Jean Paul, 1795I think heaven will not be as good as earth, unless it bring with it that sweet power to remember, which is the staple of heaven here.
—Emily Dickinson, 1879The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes “sightseeing.”
—Daniel Boorstin, 1961Someone who knows too much finds it hard not to lie.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1947Almsgiving tends to perpetuate poverty; aid does away with it once and for all.
—Eva Perón, 1949Music is our myth of the inner life.
—Susanne K. Langer, 1942Without music life would be a mistake.
—Friedrich Nietzsche, 1889I prefer liberty with unquiet to slavery with quiet.
—Sallust, c. 35 BCPut national causes first and personal grudges last.
—Sima Qian, c. 91 BCNothing is so easy as to deceive one’s self; for what we wish, that we readily believe.
—Demosthenes, 349 BC