On Death
As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.
— Leonardo da Vinci
On Gratefulness
A grateful mind by owing owes not, but still pays, at once indebted and discharg’d.
— John Milton
Nature Deplores a Vacuum, but …
A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with.
— Tennessee Williams
On Government
The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.
— William H. Borah
Failure Is Valuable
Don’t be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid.
— John Keats
Freedom of Speech a Poor Substitute?
People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.
— Soren Kierkegaard
On Keeping a Positive Attitude
I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
— Martha Washington
On Criticism
An important thought for writers:
People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.
— W. Somerset Maugham
On Being Smart
Never seem more learned than the people you are with. Wear your learning like a pocket watch and keep it hidden. Do not pull it out to count the hours, but give the time when you are asked.
— Lord Chesterfield