Writer, poet, philosopher, sage...one-liner.

Mar 08, 2007

Thursday Thirteen 83:19: Writers' Words

I pulled these from my random quotes file, which I re-found last week. I've got over 300 quotes in there, and I occasionally add one. Quotes that make me think, quotes that make me laugh...those are the keepers.

My quotes come from all over the place; but most of them come from books I've read, or from articles about the authors.

1. The secret of joy in work is contained in one word: excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. — Pearl Buck
   I'm happiest when I can do a good job at whatever I'm doing at the moment. When I'm rushed, or when I know that there's a better way to get things done, I'm very short tempered.
   Pearl S. Buck wrote dozens of novels and short stories, many based on her experiences growing up in Asia.
2. The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action. — Frank Herbert
   Sure, there are problems that only have a single solution. Usually, though, they're rather simple problems. In far too many cases, a person who insists that a problem has only one “real” or “proper” solution either doesn't have all the information or firmly believes that they are superior to anyone else whom the solution would affect.
   Frank Herbert is most well-known for his science fiction. His Dune series was inspired by an article about the slow but unstoppable movement of sand dunes.
3. Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. — Rudyard Kipling
   It's true! Sadly enough, they are also among the most powerful weapons used by mankind.
4. We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another. — Jonathan Swift
   Why is it that something that should help people to reason, help people to think, help people live and work together, draw strength from one another...is so easily and so often used to divide and belittle?
5. Truth and illusion are but mirrored refractions. — C J Cherryh
   C J Cherryh is a science fiction / speculative fiction author. She's written several novels as well as short stories. I could make an entire list of quotes from her books.
6. The fox knows many tricks, the hedgehog only one. One good one. — Archilochus
   Archilochus was a Greek warrior poet and satirist. He is widely credited with creating iambic pentameter.
7. How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven. — Robert A. Heinlein
   And here I thought it determined whether or not we got to be a cat in our next life (good = cat, bad = mouse)
8. Hope is the dream of the waking man. — Aristotle
   
9. She has confused all the learned of Islam, everyone who has studied the psalms, every Jewish Rabbi, every Christian Priest. — Mohiuddin ibn El-Arabi, on Truth
   Mohiuddin ibn El-Arabi was a Sufi poet and mystic in the Middle Ages. He lived in Spain.
10. Interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art. — Susan Sontag
    “I like Byron, I give him a 5, but you can't dance to it.” Just like explaining a joke sucks out all the funny, explaining art takes away some of the awe.
11. Wise people, even though all laws were abolished, would still lead the same life. — Aristophanes
    
12. Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul. — Mark Twain
    Whether our of fear, a wish not to disturb their own comfort, or a combination of reasons, people and societies will cling tenaciously to ideas...even when those ideas either cause harm. We're creatures of habit, though.
    While many of the quotes attributed to Mark Twain probably aren't his, they're good quotes! (Apparently, lots of people started hearing things that just sounded Twain-like, attributed them thusly, and repeated the quite far and wide.)
13. Come up with a really great quote, and your name will live forever. — Anonymous
    Okay...that's not from a famous writer. It just made me laugh.

Other Participants

• a metamorphoself of Gabrielle with sets of contradictory proverbs (well, actually, more like “how we should aspire to act” versus “how most people really act” )
• Fishcreek House with tips for shopping
• Amy's Random Thoughts with foods that remind her of her childhood
• Dog's Eye View with odd things about her and her guide dogs
• Di's Book Blog with birthday memories from her husband's life
• The Zeus Excuse with things that are stupider than catblogging
• Philly Transplant with college mascots and nicknames

Keywords: | writing | Thursday | philosophy | memes |
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