There never is absolute birth nor complete death, in the strict sense, consisting in the separation of the soul from the body. What we call births are developments and growths, while what we call deaths are envelopments and diminutions.
—Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, 1714
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Quotes
Cows are among the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate tenderness to their young when deprived of them—and, in short, I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures.
—Thomas De Quincey, 1821Love is giving something you haven’t got to someone who doesn’t exist.
—Jacques LacanThe drunken man is a living corpse.
—St. John Chrysostom, c. 390Water astonishing and difficult altogether makes a meadow and a stroke.
—Gertrude Stein, 1914All that we know is nothing can be known.
—Lord Byron, 1812He who would have clear water should go to the fountainhead.
—Italian proverbOne doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
—André Gide, 1926The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull.
—Dean Acheson, 1970After midnight the moon set and I was alone with the stars. I have often said that the lure of flying is the lure of beauty, and I need no other flight to convince me that the reason flyers fly, whether they know it or not, is the aesthetic appeal of flying.
—Amelia Earhart, 1935Fear is the foundation of most governments.
—John Adams, 1776Whatever the apparent cause of any riots may be, the real one is always want of happiness.
—Thomas Paine, 1792Gambling is the child of avarice, the brother of iniquity, and the father of mischief.
—George Washington, 1783