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Miscellaneous quotes

973 quotes from 439 people

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I always keep a supply of stimulant handy in case I see a snake⁠—which I also keep handy.
W. C. Fields1880–1946
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey Fiersteinborn 1952Zoggle: Your Mind, p. 323.
In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.
F. Scott Fitzgerald1896–1940The Great Gatsby (1925), Chapter IIIIn context
- Entertainment
Those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make bored.
Ian Fleming1908–1964From Russia with Love (1957), Ch. 11 : The Soft Life
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.
Henry Ford1863–1947
Except for the Marabar Caves⁠—and they are twenty miles off⁠—the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary.
E. M. Forster1879–1970A Passage to India (1924), Part I: Mosque, Chapter IIn context
The most defenseless tenderness and the bloodiest of powers have a similar need of confession. Western man has become a confessing animal.
Michel Foucault1926–1984History of Sexuality (1976–1984), Vol. I, p. 59
When a thing has been said and well said, have no scruple: take it and copy it.
Anatole France1844–1924
All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.
Anatole France1844–1924The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard (1881), Pt. II, ch. 4
- Change
Innocence most often is a good fortune and not a virtue.
Anatole France1844–1924Les Dieux Ont Soif [The Gods Are Thirsty] (1912), ch. XV
- Luck
- Virtue
The greatest changes in social life are wrought imperceptibly, and are only seen from afar.
Anatole France1844–1924The White Stone (1905), Ch. III, p. 135
- Change
- History
Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.
Benjamin Franklin1706–1790
Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade.
Benjamin Franklin1706–1790Poor Richard’s Almanack
If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect.
Benjamin Franklin1706–1790
It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.
Benjamin Franklin1706–1790Poor Richard’s Almanack