The sea receives us in a proper way only when we are without clothes.
—Pliny the Elder, 77
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Quotes
Despotism subjects a nation to one tyrant, democracy to many.
—Marguerite Gardiner, 1839The belly is the teacher of the arts and bestower of invention.
—Persius, c. 55The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.
—Joseph Conrad, 1899Most men employ the first years of their life in making the last miserable.
—Jean de La Bruyère, 1688All the world is topsy-turvy, and it has been topsy-turvy ever since the plague.
—Jack London, 1912There is not so contemptible a plant or animal that does not confound the most enlarged understanding.
—John Locke, 1689The king times are fast finishing. There will be blood shed like water, and tears like mist; but the peoples will conquer in the end.
—Lord Byron, 1821My stern chase after time is, to borrow a simile from Tom Paine, like the race of a man with a wooden leg after a horse.
—John Quincy Adams, 1844The gratitude is greater than the gift.
—Pierre Corneille, 1641Commerce tends to wear off those prejudices which maintain distinction and animosity between nations.
—William Robertson, 1769I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.
—Anaïs Nin, 1950Suffering has its limit, but fears are endless.
—Pliny the Younger, c. 108