If you find excrement somewhere in the village, the chief was the one who put it there.
—Congolese proverb
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Quotes
Gambling is the child of avarice, the brother of iniquity, and the father of mischief.
—George Washington, 1783I drink for the thirst to come.
—François Rabelais, 1535No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.
—Abraham LincolnA fair complexion is unbecoming to a sailor: he ought to be swarthy from the waters of the sea and the rays of the sun.
—Ovid, c. 1 BCHonesty, for me, is usually the worst policy imaginable.
—Patricia Highsmith, 1960Fear has a smell, as love does.
—Margaret Atwood, 1972My face looks like a wedding cake left out in the rain.
—W.H. Auden, c. 1967Language is a part of our organism and no less complicated than it.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1915What a glut of books! Who can read them? As already, we shall have a vast chaos and confusion of books; we are oppressed with them, our eyes ache with reading, our fingers with turning.
—Robert Burton, 1621Fame is no sanctuary from the passing of youth. Suicide is much easier and more acceptable in Hollywood than growing old gracefully.
—Julie Burchill, 1986I went [to war] because I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want the glory or the pay; I wanted the right thing done.
—Louisa May Alcott, 1863Divine nature gave the fields; human art built the cities.
—Marcus Terentius Varro, c. 70 BC