He that raises a large family, does indeed, while he lives to observe them, stand…a broader mark for sorrow; but then he stands a broader mark for pleasure too.
—Benjamin Franklin, 1786
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Quotes
Eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep, eight hours for what we will.
—Slogan of the National Labor Union of the United States, 1866I 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. 1950The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 500 BCEvery tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond.
—Miguel de Cervantes, 1605The men of today are born to criticize; of Achilles they see only the heel.
—Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, 1880People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.
—Edmund Burke, 1790Friendship itself will not stand the strain of very much good advice for very long.
—Robert Wilson Lynd, 1924The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do.
—B.F. Skinner, 1969The Revolution is made by man, but man must forge his revolutionary spirit from day to day.
—Che Guevara, 1968Are we not ourselves nature, nature without end?
—Stanisław Lem, 1961What is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?
—Marcus Tullius Cicero, 46 BCThe most hateful torment for men is to have knowledge of everything but power over nothing.
—Herodotus, c. 425 BC