Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Why should the peculiarities of human consciousness be the narrow standard by which other creatures are judged?
'My lige lady, generally,' quod he, 'Wommen desyren to have sovereyntee As well over hir housbond as hir love.'
He that hath a head of waxe must not walke in the sunne. [He that hath a head of wax must not walk in the sun.]
Go not for every grief to the physician, nor for every quarrell to the lawyer, nor for every thirst to the pot.
Enrich my heart, mouth, hands in me, With faith, with hope, with charity, That I may run, rise, rest with Thee.
A servant with this clause Makes drudgery divine; Who sweeps a room as forThy laws Makes it and th'action fine.
Send a wise man on an errand, and say nothing unto him. [Send a wise man on an errand, and say nothing to him.]
Don't ask who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.
Exhaust the little moment. Soon it dies. And be it gash or gold it will not come again in this identical guise.
A poet is someone Who can pour Light into a spoon, Then raise it To nourish Your beautiful parched, holy mouth.
There is an ambush everywhere from the army of accidents; therefore the rider of life runs with loosened reins.
I have never seen an ass who talked like a human being, but I have met many human beings who talked like asses.
No one is so accursed by fate, no one so utterly desolate, but some heart though unknown responds unto his own.
Time, like a preacher in the days of the Puritans, turned the hour-glass on his high pulpit, the church belfry.
I have no desire to walk on water," said Siddhartha. "Let the old shamans satisfy themselves with such skills".
Whoever happens to give birth to mischievous children lives always with unending grief in his spirit and heart.
Of what use are laws, inoperative through public immortality? [Lat., Quid leges sine moribus Vanae proficiunt?]
The one who cannot restrain their anger will wish undone, what their temper and irritation prompted them to do.
She - philosophy is equally helpful to the rich and poor: neglect her, and she equally harms the young and old.
Grammatici certant et adhuc sub iudice lis est. - Grammarians dispute, and the case it still before the courts.
Shakespeare tells the same stories over and over in so many guises that it takes a long time before you notice.
The one close to me now; even my own body--these too will soon become clouds, floating in different directions.
Most learned of the fair, most fair of the learned. [Lat., Delle belle eruditissima, delle erudite bellissima.]
There is nothing but death Our affections can sever, And till life's latest breath Love shall bind us for ever.
The time comes when our hearts sink utterly; When we remember Deirdre and her tale, And that her lips are dust.
For there's nothing we read of in torture's inventions, Like a well-meaning dunce, with the best of intentions.
I love my funny poems, but I'd rather break your heart. And if I can do both in the same poem, that's the best.
True realism consists in revealing the surprising things which habit keeps covered and prevents us from seeing.
The poet is at the disposal of the night. His role is humble, he must clean house and await its due visitation.
Clarity is the most important thing to me - in thinking - and so I try in the books to be as clear as possible.
Part of the strength of Pollock and Rothko's art, in fact, is this doubt as to whether art may be there at all.
Errors like straws upon the surface flow, Who would search for pearls to be grateful for often must dive below.
Nothing is finer for the purposes of great productions than a very gradual ripening of the intellectual powers.
With diadem and sceptre high advanced, The lower still I fall; only supreme In misery; such joy ambition finds.
Nothing lovelier can be found In woman, than to study household good, And good works in her husband to promote.
And as an ev'ning dragon came, Assailant on the perched roosts And nests in order rang'd Of tame villatic fowl.
An ethical man doesn't need a consensus of his allies in order to act against something he finds reprehensible.
Unfortunately, a human being is able to comprehend only that amount of evil which he is able to commit himself.
Translation is not original creation - that is what one must remember. In translation, some loss is inevitable.
Poetry is a kind of gasp, and there it is, a spark on the page. Fiction, on the other hand, is like swamp fire.
Our prayers should be for a sound mind in a healthy body. [Lat., Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano.]
The truth of love is the truth of the universe: it is the lamp of the soul that reveals the secrets of darkness
The world will die, but I shall not die.If God dies, then I will die;If he does not die, then why should I die?
The stone neither speaks nor gives anything. Therefore its service is fruitless and its worship is of no avail.
Novels are the Socratic dialogues of our time. Practical wisdom fled from school wisdom into this liberal form.
Life is writing. The sole purpose of mankind is to engrave the thoughts of divinity onto the tablets of nature.
The ordinary activities I find most compatible with contemplation are walking, baking bread, and doing laundry.
Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.
In every winter's heart there is a quivering spring, and behind the veil of each night there is a shining dawn.
Seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line. For self is a sea boundless and measureless.