Famous Quotes & Sayings

Ambrose Bierce

UNDERSTANDING, n. A cerebral secretion that enables one having it to know a house from a horse by the roof on the house. Its nature and laws have been exhaustively expounded by Locke, who rode a house, and Kant, who lived in a horse.

Ambrose Bierce

SIREN, n. One of several musical prodigies famous for a vain attempt to dissuade Odysseus from a life on the ocean wave. Figuratively, any lady of splendid promise, dissembled purpose and disappointing performance.

Ambrose Bierce

ROPE, n. An obsolescent appliance for reminding assassins that they too are mortal. It is put about the neck and remains in place one's whole life long.

Ambrose Bierce

REDEMPTION, n. Deliverance of sinners from the penalty of their sin, through their murder of the deity against whom they sinned . . . . whoso believeth in it shall not perish, but have everlasting life in which to try to understand it.

Ambrose Bierce

RACK, n. An argumentative implement formerly much used in persuading devotees of a false faith to embrace the living truth. As a call to the unconverted the rack never had any particular efficacy, and is now held in light popular esteem.

Ambrose Bierce

Age - That period of life in which we compound for the vices that remain by reviling those we have no longer the vigor to commit.

Ambrose Bierce

Christian - One who follows the teachings of Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.

Ambrose Bierce

Childhood: the period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly of youth - two removes from the sin of manhood and three from the remorse of age.

Ambrose Bierce

Love: A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by the removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. This disease, like caries and many other ailments, is prevalent only among civilized races living under artificial conditions; barbarous nations breathing pure air and eating simple food enjoy immunity from its ravages. It is sometimes fatal, but more frequently to the physician than to the patient.

Ambrose Bierce

To those who view the voyage of life from the port of departure the bark that has accomplished any considerable distance appears already in close approach to the farther shore.

Ambrose Bierce

Along the road of life are many pleasure resorts, but think not that by tarrying in them you will take more days to the journey. The day of your arrival is already recorded.

Ambrose Bierce

Life - a spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay.

Ambrose Bierce

Ambition. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by friends when dead.

Anthony Hope

In the deep, unwritten wisdom of life there are many things to be learned that cannot be taught. We never know them by hearing them spoken, but we grow into them by experience and recognize them through understanding. Understanding is a great experience in itself, but it does not come through instruction.

Anthony Hopkins

My life is not my own business.

Anthony Hopkins

I'm more and more convinced that life is a dream. What has happened to me is surely a dream.

Anthony Kiedis

Sometimes life's so much cooler when you just don't know any better and all the painful lessons have not hammered your head open yet.

Alija Izetbegovic

People complain that life is short,for me it seems very long.

Alison Bechdel

It was not a triumphal return. Home, as I had known it, was gone.

Alicia Keys

Love will come find you Just to remind you Of who you are [...] See that's the thing about love [...] Then life It will embrace you Totally amaze you So you don't give up

Alicia Keys

I see what happens when one gets very attached to material things. That's just not what my life is.

Alicia Keys

Good food is an amazing blessing. Whenever you can sit down at a table, eat food that is extremely delicious, and are surrounded by people you love...it's: Wow, life is good.

Alice Sebold

She liked to imagine that when she passed the world looked after her, but she also knew how anonymous she was.

Alice Sebold

There wasn't a lot of bullshit in my heaven.

Alice Sebold

Because horror on Earth is real and it is every day. It is like a flower or like the sun; it cannot be contained.

Alice Walker

Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book, If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for.

Alice Walker

I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering bout the big things and asking bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, the more I love.

Abraham Verghese

You live it forward, but understand it backward.

Abraham Lincoln

Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention.

Ani Difranco

Let's show them all how it's done, let's do it all imperfectly.

Ani Difranco

When everything else seems unclear, at least I'll know I do it for the joy it brings.

Ani Difranco

And this vague little smile is my all purpose expression the meaning of which I will leave to your discretion.

Ani Difranco

I just hope it was okay, I know it wasn't perfect, I hope in the end we can laugh and say it was all worth it.