The period of a [Persian] boy’s education is between the ages of five and twenty, and he is taught three things only: to ride, to use the bow, and to speak the truth.
—Herodotus, c. 440 BC
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Quotes
On the loftiest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own rump.
—Michel de Montaigne, 1580Nowadays three witty turns of phrase and a lie make a writer.
—G.C. Lichtenberg, c. 1780The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.
—Edward VIII, 1957Ridicule often checks what is absurd, and fully as often smothers that which is noble.
—Walter Scott, 1823Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.
—Joseph Stalin, 1934Civilization, as we know it, is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.
—Arnold Toynbee, 1948Whatever the apparent cause of any riots may be, the real one is always want of happiness.
—Thomas Paine, 1792Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
—George W. Bush, 2004Methinks the human method of expression by sound of tongue is very elementary and ought to be substituted for some ingenious invention which should be able to give vent to at least six coherent sentences at once.
—Virginia Woolf, 1899You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.
—Mario Cuomo, 1985Despotism subjects a nation to one tyrant—democracy to many.
—Marguerite Gardiner, 1839Life is a farce, and should not end with a mourning scene.
—Horace Walpole, 1784