It has always been my practice to cast a long paragraph in a single mold, to try it by my ear, to deposit it in my memory, but to suspend the action of the pen till I had given the last polish to my work.
—Edward Gibbon, c. 1790
Archive
Quotes
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
—Theodore Roosevelt, 1903There be beasts that, at a year old, observe more, and pursue that which is for their good more prudently, than a child can do at ten.
—Thomas Hobbes, 1651All successful revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door. The violence of revolutions is the violence of men who charge into a vacuum.
—John Kenneth Galbraith, 1977Imagination is the secret and marrow of civilization. It is the very eye of faith.
—Henry Ward Beecher, 1887Fame is no sanctuary from the passing of youth. Suicide is much easier and more acceptable in Hollywood than growing old gracefully.
—Julie Burchill, 1986Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.
—J. Paul GettyEvery gift has a personality—that of its giver.
—Nuruddin Farah, 1992If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
—Voltaire, 1764It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.
—Thomas Hardy, 1874Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.
—Anatole France, 1881It costs a lot to make a person look this cheap.
—Dolly Parton, 1994I 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. 1950