Library
Library Update: quotes archive
The Library Update is emailed each month to subscribers. Each issue contains an interesting or humourous quote. Subscribe to the Library Update.
- no.22
- We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don't know. - W. H. Auden, US (English-born) critic & poet (1907 - 1973).
- no.21
- When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set. -Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976)
- no.20
- Without music, life would be a mistake. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and scholar (1844-1900)
- no.19
- Life is rather like a yacht in the Caribbean. It's alright if you've got one. -Graham Chapman, comedian, writer, actor, author (1941-1989)
- no.18
- We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like? -Jean Cocteau, author and painter (1889-1963)
- no.17
- Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sought. -Matsuo Basho, poet (1644-1694)
- no.16
- There are none so sour as those who are sweet to order. -Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues, essayist (1715-1747)
- no.15
- It is useless to tear our hair when we are in grief, since sorrow is not cured by baldness. -Bion of Borysthenes, Greek philosopher, (c. 325 – c. 250 BC)
- no.14
- No amount of belief makes something a fact. -James Randi, magician and skeptic (1928-)
- no.13
- Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you make the whole trip that way. -Cory Doctorow, author and journalist (1971-)
- no.12
- Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race. -H.G. Wells, writer (1866-1946)
- no.11
- Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow. – Maria Mitchell, astronomer (1818-1889)
- no.10
- Curious that we spend more time congratulating people who have succeeded than encouraging people who have not. -Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and author (1958-)
- no.9
- Euphemism is a euphemism for lying. -Bobbie Gentry, singer and songwriter (1944-)
- no.8
- Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world. - Dave Barry, columnist (1947 -)
- no.7
- I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers. - A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
- no.6
- Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except the best. -Henry van Dyke, poet (1852-1933)
- no.5
- You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty. -Jessica Mitford, author, journalist, and civil rights activist (1917-1996)
- no.4
- The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there. -Robert M. Pirsig, author and philosopher (1928-2017)
- no.3
- If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers. -Thomas Pynchon, novelist (1937-)
- no.2
- Creativity is a combination of discipline and a childlike spirit. - Robert Greene, author (1959-)
- no.1
- The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. For this task, it has a rudimentary nervous system. When it finds its spot and takes root, it doesn't need its brain anymore, so it eats it. It's rather like getting tenure. -Daniel Dennett, philosopher, writer, and professor (1942-)