Laughter always arises from a gaiety of disposition, absolutely incompatible with contempt and indignation.
—Voltaire, 1736
Archive
Quotes
Petty laws breed great crimes.
—Ouida, 1880Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury—to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
—Albert Einstein, 1931Night is torment. That is why people go to sleep. To avoid clear sight and torment.
—Dorothy M. Richardson, 1923Like a broken gong be still, be silent. Know the stillness of freedom where there is no more striving.
—Siddhartha Gautama, c. 500 BCYour worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded.
—The Dhammapada, c. 400 BCDo not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
—Book of Proverbs, c. 150 BCSic semper tyrannis! The South is avenged.
—John Wilkes Booth, 1865By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class.
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1955Television has made dictatorship impossible, but democracy unbearable.
—Shimon Peres, 1995That which the sober man keeps in his breast, the drunken man lets out at the lips. Astute people, when they want to ascertain a man’s true character, make him drunk.
—Martin Luther, 1569War is fear cloaked in courage.
—William Westmoreland, 1966I work for a government I despise for ends I think criminal.
—John Maynard Keynes, 1917