The mind is led on, step by step, to defeat its own logic.
—Dai Vernon, 1994
Archive
Quotes
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 350 BCAs peace is of all goodness, so war is an emblem, a hieroglyphic, of all misery.
—John Donne, 1622Reminiscences make one feel so deliciously aged and sad.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1886From hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.
—Herman Melville, 1851More and more I like to take a train. I understand why the French prefer it to automobiling—it is so much more sociable, and of course these days so much more of an adventure, and the irregularity of its regularity is fascinating.
—Gertrude Stein, 1943Appearances often are deceiving.
—Aesop, c. 550 BCFamilies, I hate you! Shut-in homes, closed doors, jealous possessions of happiness.
—André Gide, 1897To desire immortality for the individual is really the same as wanting to perpetuate an error forever.
—Arthur Schopenhauer, 1819He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.
—Francis Bacon, 1625People living deeply have no fear of death.
—Anaïs Nin, 1935One race there is of men, one of gods, but from one mother we both draw our breath.
—Pindar, c. 450 BCRidicule often checks what is absurd, and fully as often smothers that which is noble.
—Walter Scott, 1823