In settling an island, the first building erected by a Spaniard will be a church, by a Frenchman a fort, by a Dutchman a warehouse, and by an Englishman an alehouse.
—Francis Grose, 1787
Archive
Quotes
Luck takes the step that no one sees.
—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BCYou can put wings on a pig, but you don’t make it an eagle.
—Bill Clinton, 1996People who’ve drunk neat wine don’t care a damn.
—Hipponax, c. 550 BCNo nation was ever ruined by trade.
—Benjamin Franklin, 1774The three little sentences that will get you through life. Number 1: Cover for me. Number 2: Oh, good idea, Boss! Number 3: It was like that when I got here.
—Nell Scovell, 1991History does not merely touch on language, but takes place in it.
—Theodor Adorno, c. 1946The more sifted, the finer the flour; the more often repeated, the rougher the gossip.
—Korean proverbBereavement is a darkness impenetrable to the imagination of the unbereaved.
—Iris Murdoch, 1974A broken friendship may be soldered but will never be sound.
—Thomas Fuller, 1732I used to think that everyone was just being funny. But now I don’t know. I mean, how can you tell?
—Andy Warhol, 1970Technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more technology possible.
—Alvin Toffler, 1970The distinction between children and adults, while probably useful for some purposes, is at bottom a specious one, I feel. There are only individual egos, crazy for love.
—Donald Barthelme, 1964