Peace is not the absence of struggle, it is the absence of uncertainty.
Anthony Bloom (1914-2003) English writer, Orthodox cleric [a.k.a. Anthony of Sourozh]
(Attributed)
Genius is the gold in the mine, talent is the miner who works and brings it out.
Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (1789-1849) English socialite, writer
(Attributed)
I think “immoral” is probably the wrong word to use. I prefer the word “unethical.”
Ivan Boesky (b. 1937) American investment banker, inside trader
(Attributed)
In John B. Stewart, Den of Thieves (1991).
Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) Danish physicist
(Attributed)
Also attrib. to Yogi Berra, various humorists, Danish poet Piet Hein ("det er svært at spå - især om fremtiden"), Robert Storm Petersen ("Storm P"), and Markus M. Ronner.
Genius is the capacity to make all possible mistakes in the least amount of time.
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) Danish physicist
(Attributed)
Of course I don’t believe in it. But I understand that it brings you luck whether you believe in it or not.
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) Danish physicist
(Attributed)
When asked why he had a horseshoe on his wall.Variants:
- "Of course I don't believe in such nonsense. However, I've been told that a horseshoe brings you good luck whether you believe in it or not."
- "I believe in no such thing, my good friend. Not at all. I am scarcely likely to believe in such foolish nonsense. However, I am told that a horseshoe will bring you good luck whether you believe in it or not."
Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think.
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) Danish physicist
(Attributed)
If imagination is not set to the task of building a creative life, it busies itself with weaving a web of inner fears and doubts, blame and excuse.
Laurence G. Boldt (b. 1954) American writer, philospher
(Attributed)
MORE: You’d be a fine teacher. Perhaps even a great one.
RICH: And if I was, who would know it?
MORE: You, your pupils, your friends, God. Not a bad public, that.Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
MORE: When a man takes an oath, Meg, he’s holding his own self in his hands, like water. And if he opens his fingers, then he needn’t hope to find himself again.
Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons, Act 2 (1960)
Also in the 1966 screen adaptation.
MORE: If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we’d live like animals or angels in the happy land that needs no heroes. But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all . . . why then perhaps we must stand fast a little — even at the risk of being heroes.
Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
ROPER: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
MORE: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
ROPER: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!
MORE: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down, and you’re just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons, Act I (1967)
When your mother asks, “Do you want a piece of advice?” it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
MORE: I must in fairness add that my taste in music is reputedly deplorable.
HENRY: Your taste in music is excellent. It exactly coincides with my own.
Everyone is guilty at one time or another of throwing out questions that beg to be ignored, but mothers seem to have a market on the supply. “Do you want a spanking or do you want to go to bed?” Don’t you want to save some of the pizza for your brother?” Wasn’t there any change?”
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
Have you any idea how many children it takes to turn off one light in the kitchen? Three. It takes one to say, “What light?” and two more to say, “I didn’t turn it on.”
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
I remember buying a set of black plastic dishes once, after I saw an ad on television where they actually put a blowtorch to them and they emerged unscathed. Exactly one week after I bought them, one of the kids brought a dinner plate to me with a large crack in it. When I asked what happened to it, he said it hit a tree. I don’t want to talk about it.
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
People shop for a bathing suit with more care than they do a husband or wife. The rules are the same. Look for something you’ll feel comfortable wearing. Allow for room to grow.
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with ONLY a loaf of bread are three billion to one.
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
Marriage has no guarantees. If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a Sears battery.
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, “I used everything you gave me.”
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
No one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed. I have known mothers who remake the bed after their children do it because there’s a wrinkle in the spread or the blanket is on crooked. This is sick.
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
I just clipped 2 articles from a current magazine. One is a diet guaranteed to drop 5 pounds off my body in a weekend. The other is a recipe for a 6 minute pecan pie.
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
My theory on housework is, if the item doesn’t multiply, smell, catch on fire or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you?
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) American humorist
(Attributed)
Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.
Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983) Dutch evangelist, concentration camp survivor
Clippings From My Notebook (1982)
It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.
Margaret Wander Bonanno (1950-2021) American writer
(Attributed)
When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.
Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983) Dutch evangelist, concentration camp survivor
(Attributed)
Faith is like radar that sees through the fog — the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see.
Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983) Dutch evangelist, concentration camp survivor
Tramp for the Lord (1974)
I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.
Daniel Boone (c.1734-1820) American pioneer
(Attributed)
Variants:
- "I can't say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days." (J. Faragher, Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer (1993))
- "I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days." (Missouri: A Guide to the "Show Me" State (The WPA Guide to Missouri) (1941)
Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.
Louis E. Boone (1941-2005) American business writer
(Attributed)
Who is blinder than he that will not see?
Andrew Boorde (c.1490-1549) English physician and writer
Breviary of Helthe (1547)
ARTHUR: Merlin, where are you going?
MERLIN: Where do you think? You have a kingdom to rule.
ARTHUR: But how? I don’t know how.
MERLIN: You knew how to draw the sword from the stone.
ARTHUR: That was easy.
MERLIN: Was it? I couldn’t have done it.John Boorman (b. 1933) English film director, writer
Excalibur (1981) [with Rospo Pallenburg]
MERLIN: When a man lies, he murders some part of the world.
John Boorman (b. 1933) English film director, writer
Excalibur (1981) [with Rospo Pallenburg]
Celebrity-worship and hero-worship should not be confused. Yet we confuse them every day, and by doing so we come dangerously close to depriving ourselves of all real models. We lose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous but are famous because they are great. We come closer and closer to degrading all fame into notoriety.
Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004) American historian, professor, attorney, writer
The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, ch. 2, “From Hero to Celebrity: The Human Pseudo-event” (1961)
The hero is known for achievements; the celebrity for well-knownness. The hero reveals the possibilities of human nature. The celebrity reveals the possibilities of the press and media. Celebrities are people who make news, but heroes are people who make history. Time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities.
Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004) American historian, professor, attorney, writer
Parade Magazine, “Who Are Our Heroes?” (by Ponchitta Pierce) (6 Aug. 1995)
I write to discover what I think. After all, the bars aren’t open that early.
Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004) American historian, professor, attorney, writer
In Wall Street Journal (31 Dec 1985)
On why he usually wrote from 6:30 to 8:30 AM.
We easily forget that smog is the price of freedom of our streets from manure, and from the flies and diseases it brought.
Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004) American historian, professor, attorney, writer
(Attributed)
The celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness.
Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004) American historian, professor, attorney, writer
The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, ch. 2 “From Hero to Celebrity: The Human Pseudo-event” (1961)
Truth is like a well-known whore. Everyone knows her, but it is embarrassing to encounter her on the street.
Wolfgang Borchert (1921-1947) German writer
(Attributed)
The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That’s where we come in; we’re computer professionals. We cause accidents.
Nathaniel Borenstein (b. 1957) American research scientist, programmer, writer
Programming As If People Mattered (1991)
Originally a classroom comment, c. 1985, while teaching at Carnegie-Mellon University.
“Boren’s Guidelines” for bureacrats: (1) When in charge, ponder. (2) When in trouble, delegate. (3) When in doubt, mumble.
James H. Boren (1925-2010) American bureaucrat, humorist, speaker
“Bureaucrats Give Agnew the Bird (It’s an Award),” New York Times (8 Nov. 1970)
While money cannot buy happiness, the advantages of poverty have been greatly exaggerated.
Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) Argentine writer
(Attributed)
Any life, however long and complicated it may be, actually consists of a single moment — the moment when a man knows forever more who he is.
Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) Argentine writer
“A Biography of Tadeo Isidoro Cruz”, The Aleph (1949) [tr. Hurley (1998)]
Alt. trans.: "Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment -- the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is."
To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god.
Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) Argentine writer
“The Meeting in a Dream”, Other Inquisitions [Otras Inquisiciones] (1952) [tr. Simms (1964)]
I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.
Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) Argentine writer
“Poema de los Dones”, Dreamtigers [El Hacedor] (1960)
Only the suppressed word is dangerous.
Ludwig Börne (1786-1837) German-Jewish political writer and satirist. [b. Loeb Baruch]
(Attributed)
The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it, seems to me the deepest root of all evil that is in the world.
Max Born (1882-1970) German physicist
Natural Philosophy of Cause and Chance (1964)
Also in My Life and Views (1968), p. 183
Temptation is the fire that brings up the scum of the heart.
Thomas Boston (1676-1732) Scottish clergyman
Human Nature in Its Fourfold State (1721)
The greatest weakness of all is the great fear of appearing weak.
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704) French bishop, theologian
Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture [Politique tirée de l’Écriture sainte] (1709)
(Source)
Alt. trans.: "The greatest weakness of all weaknesses is to fear too much to appear weak."
Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.
Dion Boucicault (1822-1890) Anglo-Irish dramatist, actor [Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot]
London Assurance, II.1 (1841)
We must live as we think, otherwise we shall end up by thinking as we live.
[Cet enseignement, c’est qu’il faut vivre comme on pense, sinon, tôt ou tard, on finit par penser comme on a vécu.]
Paul Bourget (1852-1935) French critic, poet, novelist
The Demon of Noonday [Le Démon de Midi], Epilogue (1914)
Alt. trans.: "This teaching is to live as we think, otherwise, sooner or later, we end up thinking as we lived."
The Night has a thousand eyes,
And the Day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.
The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.Francis William Bourdillon (1852-1921) English poet
“Light,” The Spectator (Oct 1873)
Discretion is the salt, and fancy the sugar of life; the one preserves, the other sweetens it.
Christian Nestell Bovee (1820-1904) American epigrammatist, writer, publisher
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 1, “Discretion” (1862)
(Source)
No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities.
Christian Nestell Bovee (1820-1904) American epigrammatist, writer, publisher
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 1 (1862)
It is some compensation for great evils that they enforce great lessons.
Christian Nestell Bovee (1820-1904) American epigrammatist, writer, publisher
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 1, “Compensation” (1862)
(Source)
Experience isn’t interesting till it begins to repeat itself — in fact, till it does that, it hardly is experience.
Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) Irish author
The Death of the Heart (1938)
Nobody speaks the truth when there is something they must have.
Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) Irish author
The House in Paris (1935)
Some people are molded by their admirations, others by their hostilities.
Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) Irish author
The Death of the Heart (1938)
Jealousy is no more than feeling alone against smiling enemies.
Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) Irish author
The House in Paris (1935)
History is the torch that is meant to illuminate the past to guard us against the repetition of our mistakes of other days. We cannot join in the rewriting of history to make it to conform to our comfort and convenience.
Claude G. Bowers (1878-1958) American journalist, historian, diplomat
My Mission to Spain (1954)
Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful.
George E. P. Box (1919-2013) Anglo-American statistician, quality scientist [George Edward Pelham Box]
Empirical Model Building and Response Surfaces (1987) [with N. R. Draper]
As written on p. 424; earlier in the book (p. 74), it is given as: "Remember that all models are wrong; the practical question is how wrong do they have to be to not be useful."
HAN: You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake, well, this could be it, sweetheart.
LEIA: I take it back.Leigh Brackett (1915-1978) American writer
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) [with Lawrence Kasdan]
LEIA: Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder!
HAN: Who’s scruffy-looking?Leigh Brackett (1915-1978) American writer
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) [with Lawrence Kasdan]
My stories run up and bite me in the leg — I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off.
Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) American writer, futurist, fabulist
The Stories of Ray Bradbury, Introduction, “Drunk and in Charge of a Bicycle” (1980)
If we listened to our intellect we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go in business because we’d be cynical: “It’s gonna go wrong.” Or “She’s going to hurt me.” Or, “I’ve had a couple of bad love affairs, so therefore …” Well, that’s nonsense. You’re going to miss life. You’ve got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down.
Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) American writer, futurist, fabulist
Speech, Brown University (23 Mar 1995)
In Brown Daily Herald (24 Mar 1995)
Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.
Omar Bradley (1893-1981) American general
(Attributed)
This is as true in everyday life as it is in battle: we are given one life and the decision is ours whether to wait for circumstances to make up our mind, or whether to act, and in acting, to live.
Omar Bradley (1893-1981) American general
(Attributed)
Tolerance is important. You never know when you’re the one being tolerated.
Pat Brady (b. 1947) American cartoonist
Rose is Rose (30 Aug. 2001)
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that in the administration of criminal law the end justifies the means — to declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private criminal — would bring terrible retribution.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
Olmstead v. United States, 277 US 438 (1928) [Dissent]
(Source)
In differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
Business — A Profession (1914)
Full and free expression of the right by the citizen is ordinarily also his duty; for its exercise is more important to the Nation than it is to himself. Like the course of the heavenly bodies, harmony in national life is a resultant of the struggle between contending forces. In the frank expression of conflicting opinions lies the greatest promise of wisdom in governmental action.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
Gilbert v. Minnesota, 254 US 325 (1920) [Dissent]
Organization can never be a substitute for initiative and for judgment.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
Business — A Profession (1914)
Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify oppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) [Concur]
What I have desired to do is to make the people of Boston realize that the most important office, and the one which all of us can and should fill, is that of private citizen. The duties of the office of private citizen cannot under a republican form of government be neglected without serious injury to the public.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
Statement to a reporter, Boston Record (14 Apr 1903)
Quoted in Alpheus Thomas Mason, Brandeis: A Free Man's Life (1946).Commonly paraphrased:
- "The most important office is that of the private citizen"
- "The most important political office is that of the private citizen"
Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficial. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greater dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
Olmstead v. United States, 277 US 438 (1928) [Dissent]
(Source)
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
In Cleveland Plain Dealer (15 Oct 1912)
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
(Attributed)
Documentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good; and when it is bad, it is better than nothing.
Dick Brandon (contemp.) American computer scientist and writer
(Attributed)
Always behave like a duck — keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.
Jacob M. Braude (1896-1970) American humorist, writer, jurist
(Attributed)
(also attrib. James Bryant Conant and Lord Barbizon)
There are no simple answers because there are no simple questions. If you think you’re seeing a simple question, it’s not the question that’s simple.
Robert "Bobbo" Bredt (contemp.) American physician
Conversation (c. 1982)
Most people would rather defend to the death your right to say it, than listen to it.
Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be. Because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget to pose, and then who are you?
Fanny Brice (1891-1951) American singer, comedian
(Attributed)
Quoted in Norman Katkov, The Fabulous Fanny, ch. 24 (1952)
This dream is for you, so pay the price.
Make one dream come true, you only live twice.Leslie Bricusse (b. 1931) English songwriter
“You Only Live Twice” (1967)
All I ask is a chance to prove that money can’t make me happy.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #0398
Inform all the troops that communications have completely broken down.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots
It’s not easy taking my problems one at a time when they refuse to get in line.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots
Try to relax and enjoy the crisis.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots
What’s the good of being forgiven, if I have to promise not to do it again?
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #1175
My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots
I don’t understand you. You don’t understand me. What else do we have in common?
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots
If you can’t learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #0702
By doing just a little every day, I can gradually let the task completely overwhelm me.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #1149
To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first, and call whatever you hit the target.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #0572
All I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #2503
I have abandoned my search for truth, and am now looking for a good fantasy.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #0826
People who don’t believe in progress must have forgotten how bad things used to be.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #7841
Incredible as it seems, my life is based on a true story.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #0800
My sources are unreliable, but their information is fascinating.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots, #1085
I either want less corruption, or more chance to participate in it.
Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots