Anton Chekhov on nature

Lying is the same as alcoholism. Liars prevaricate even on their deathbeds.

A man who doesn’t drink is not, in my opinion, fully a man.

When an actor has money, he doesn’t send letters but telegrams.

Every day, man is making bigger and better fool-proof things, and every day, nature is making bigger and better fools. So far, I think nature is winning.

Albert Einstein1879–1955

Nature does nothing uselessly.

Aristotle384–322 BCPolitics, Book I, 1253a.8

Nature scarcely ever gives us the very best; for that we must have recourse to art.

Baltasar Gracián1601–1658

• Art