Archive

Quotes

Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.

—Oscar Wilde, 1891

The spirit of revolution, the spirit of insurrection, is a spirit radically opposed to liberty.

—François Guizot, 1830

Necessity knows no law except to conquer.

—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BC

Liberty and democracy are eternal enemies.

—H.L. Mencken, 1925

The play is the tragedy “Man,” And its hero the conqueror worm.

—Edgar Allan Poe, 1843

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.

—Martin Luther

I shall embrace my rival—until I suffocate him.

—Jean Racine, 1669

Business? Why, it’s very simple; business is other people’s money.

—Alexandre Dumas, 1857

Give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with the necessities.

—John Lothrop Motley, 1858

I look for the end of the future, but it never ceases to arrive. 

—Zhuangzi, c. 325 BC

Understanding is a very dull occupation.

—Gertrude Stein, 1937

Television has made dictatorship impossible, but democracy unbearable.

—Shimon Peres, 1995

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.

—Oscar Wilde, 1895