Laurence J. Peter

"Against logic there is no armor like ignorance."

- Laurence J. Peter, teacher and hierarchiologist

Charles Dickens

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another."

- Charles Dickens, author

H. L. Mencken

"A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin."

- H. L. Mencken, journalist, editor, satirist, critic

Benjamin Disraeli

"To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge."

- Benjamin Disraeli, British politician

Robert Frost

"I never dared to be radical when young
For fear it would make me conservative when old."

- Robert Frost, poet

Dorothy Parker

"The best way to keep children home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant--and let the air out of the tires."

- Dorothy Parker, poet and satirist

Friedrich Nietzsche

"The visionary lies to himself, the liar only to others."

- Friedrich Nietzsche, scholar, philosopher and developmental critic

Publilius Syrus

"A suspicious mind always looks on the black side of things."

- Publilius Syrus, ancient Roman writer

J. K. Rowling

"People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right."

- J. K. Rowling, "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince"

Seneca

"All art is an imitation of nature."

- Seneca, ancient Roman orator and writer

Voltaire

"A witty saying proves nothing."

- Voltaire, writer and philosopher

Joyce Carol Oates

"The worst cynicism: a belief in luck."

- Joyce Carol Oates, author, playwright, poet, literary critic

Will Rogers

"Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate; now what's going to happen to us with both a Senate and a House?"

- Will Rogers, comedian, actor, social commentator

Douglas Adams

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

- Douglas Adams, author and dramatist

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The people fancy they hate poetry, and they are all poets and mystics."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist, philosopher, poet

Ronald Reagan

"Facts are stupid things."

- Ronald Reagan, former US president

Confucius

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

- Confucius, philosopher and social activist

W. Somerset Maugham

"Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it."

- W. Somerset Maugham, playwright and author

John Updike

"'How can we not protest?' Horwendil said to her, impulsive in turn. 'Sent from the abode of angels to live on this earth among beasts and filth, and sentenced to death in a misery of foreknowing!'"

- "Gertrude and Claudius" by John Updike

Cicero

"Everyone has the obligation to ponder well his own specific traits of character. He must also regulate them adequately and not wonder whether someone else's traits might suit him better. The more definitely his own a man's character is, the better it fits him."

- Cicero, ancient Roman orator, politician and author

George Santayana

"An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world."

- George Santayana, philosopher, poet, author

Groucho Marx

"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others."

- Groucho Marx, actor and comedian

Kahlil Gibran

"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need."

- Kahlil Gibran, artist, poet, writer

Aristotle

"Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope."

- Aristotle, philosopher

John Steinbeck

"Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other"

- 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck

Theodore Roosevelt

"A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user."

- Theodore Roosevelt, former president of the USA

Ambrose Bierce

"Brain: an apparatus with which we think we think."

- "The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce, journalist, author, satirist

Francis Bacon

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."

- Francis Bacon, philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, author

Jane Austen

"I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them."

- Jane Austen, author

Homer

"I detest that man who hides one thing in the depths of his heart, and speaks for another."

- Homer, ancient Greek epic poet