If a parricide is more wicked than anyone who commits homicide—because he kills not merely a man but a near relative—without doubt worse still is he who kills himself, because there is none nearer to a man than himself.
—Saint Augustine, c. 420
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Quotes
The history of the world is the record of the weakness, frailty, and death of public opinion.
—Samuel Butler, c. 1902Why is a ship under sail more poetical than a hog in a high wind? The hog is all nature, the ship is all art.
—Lord Byron, 1821In every human breast, God has implanted a principle, which we call love of freedom; it is impatient of oppression and pants for deliverance.
—Phillis Wheatley, 1774Some folks want their luck buttered.
—Thomas Hardy, 1886The moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to.
—Carl Sandburg, 1934There are people whom one loves immediately and forever. Even to know they are alive in the world with one is quite enough.
—Nancy Spain, 1956God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.
—Martin LutherNothing is more narrow-minded than chauvinism or racial hatred. To me all men are equal; there are flatheads everywhere and I despise them all equally.
—Karl Kraus, 1909Will and energy sometimes prove greater than either genius or talent or temperament.
—Isadora Duncan, c. 1902There are truths that prove their discoverers witless.
—Karl Kraus, 1909The great difficulty in education is to get experience out of ideas.
—George Santayana, 1905Can you take your country with you on the soles of your shoes?
—Georg Büchner, 1835