It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.
—Thucydides, 410 BC
Archive
Quotes
Comedy, like sodomy, is an unnatural act.
—Marty Feldman, 1969I won’t be happy till I’m as famous as God.
—Madonna, c. 1985Other nations use “force”; we Britons alone use “might.”
—Evelyn Waugh, 1938I have often repented speaking, but never of holding my tongue.
—Xenocrates, c. 350 BCSome are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need—a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.
—Jerome K. Jerome, 1889One should always have one’s boots on and be ready to leave.
—Michel de Montaigne, 1580There is something stirring in the way civilization gapes like a savage at the achievements of nature.
—Karl Kraus, 1909Revolution can never be forecast; it cannot be foretold; it comes of itself. Revolution is brewing and is bound to flare up.
—Vladimir Lenin, 1918I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way.
—John Paul Jones, 1778Reality is always the foe of famous names.
—Petrarch, 1337As usual, what we call “progress” is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance.
—Havelock Ellis, 1914