All men naturally desire knowledge. An indication of this is our esteem for the senses; for apart from their use we esteem them for their own sake, and most of all the sense of sight. Not only with a view to action, but even when no action is contemplated, we prefer sight, generally speaking, to all the other senses. The reason of this is that of all the senses sight best helps us to know things, and reveals many distinctions. ~Aristotle
#quotes #aristotle #knowledge

In many ways, theatre is more rewarding for a writer. I used to think it was like painting a wall - that when the play is finished, it's done; but now I realise it's more like gardening; you plant the thing, then you have to constantly tend it. You're part of a thing that's living. ~Lee Hall
#quotes #lee-hall #gardening #theatre

I admit that, my wife is outspoken, but by whom? ~Sam Levenson
#quotes #sam-levenson #wife

Fortune is blind, but not invisible. ~French Proverb
#proverbs #french-proverbs #fortune

If Darwin could see what we now see, what we now know about the ocean, about the atmosphere, about the nature of life, as we now understand it, about the importance of microbes. I think he would just beam with joy that many of the thoughts and the glimpses of the majesty of life on Earth that he had during his life, now magnified many times over. ~Sylvia Earle
#quotes #sylvia-earle #darwin

Any fool can write a novel but it takes real genius to sell it. ~J. G. Ballard
#quotes #j-g-ballard #writing #selling

I was never one to go up to someone as a five- or six-year-old and say, "Hello, my name's Paul, will you be my friend?" But I found if I did an impression of the PE teacher or whatever and people laughed, then they did like me, and so then they started talking to me, rather than me making the initial overture and then maybe being rebuffed. ~Paul Merton
#quotes #paul-merton #teaching

If a secret history of books could be written, and the author's private thoughts and meanings noted down alongside of his story, how many insipid volumes would become interesting, and dull tales excite the reader! ~William Makepeace Thackeray
#quotes #william-makepeace-thackeray #writing #history #books

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. ~Zen Proverb
#proverbs #zen-proverbs #buddhism

Young people have many pleasures and many sorrows, because they only have themselves to think of, so every wish and every notion assume importance; every pleasure is tasted to the full, but also every sorrow, and many who find that their wishes cannot be fulfilled, immediately put an end to their lives. ~Hermann Hesse
#quotes #hermann-hesse #thinking #pleasure #sorrow #youth

Knowing that you are completely forgiven destroys the power of sin in your life. ~Joseph Prince
#quotes #joseph-prince #forgiveness

Truth becomes disagreeable to the fool only. ~Arabic Proverb
#proverbs #arabic-proverbs #truth #stupidity

How much money you get, depends on lots of extraneous things. It depends on how good you are at turning poetry into a marketable product, which is something it was never supposed to be. That's why many people suppose that the better the poet you are the lower your income should be, and that's probably true. ~Robert Bringhurst
#quotes #robert-bringhurst #writing #poetry #money

There will be many times in your lives; at school, and more particularly when you are a grown up; when people will distract or divert you from what needs to be done. You may even welcome the distraction. But if you use it as an excuse for not doing what you suppose to do, you can blame no one but yourself. If you truly wish to accomplish something, you should allow nothing to stop you, and chances are you'll succeed. ~Julie Andrews
#quotes #julie-andrews #action #distraction

If you are too busy to laugh, you are too busy. ~Proverb
#proverbs #laughing

Water which is too pure has no fish. ~Zen Proverb
#proverbs #zen-proverbs #buddhism #purity

We grow too soon old and too late smart. ~Dutch Proverb
#proverbs #dutch-proverbs #time #age #wisdom

Flattery makes friends and truth makes enemies. ~Spanish Proverb
#proverbs #spanish-proverbs #flattery #truth

The rose has thorns only for those who would gather it. ~Chinese Proverb
#proverbs #chinese-proverbs

Good advice is often annoying, bad advice never. ~French Proverb
#proverbs #french-proverbs #advice

A little too late, is much too late. ~German Proverb
#proverbs #german-proverbs

Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped. ~Chinese Proverb
#proverbs #chinese-proverbs

If you think you're too small to make a difference, you haven't spent a night with a mosquito. ~African Proverb
#proverbs #african-proverbs #change

Nothing like the road to rub all the sand out of your soul. ~John Clellon Holmes
#quotes #john-clellon-holmes #soul

It is better to sit down than to stand, it is better to lie down than to sit, but death is the best of all. ~Indian Proverb
#proverbs #indian-proverbs #death