Ad Familiares IX, 4
Cicero, Roman statesman (106–43 BC)
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Stand a little less between me and the sun.
[On being asked by Alexander the Great what he could do for him]
Diogenes, Greek philosopher (412–323 BC)
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Hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.
Francis Bacon, English philosopher, statesman and essayist (1561–1626)
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Be wisely worldly, but not worldly wise.
Francis Quarles, English poet (1592–1644)
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Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!
Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (1882)
Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and writer (1844–1900)
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Simplicity is light, carefree, neat and loving — not a self-punishing ascetic trip.
A Place in Space (1995)
Gary Snyder, American poet (1930–)
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Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get.
Man and Superman (1903)
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856–1950)
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We must consult our means rather than our wishes.
George Washington, 1st president of the US (1732–1799)
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One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.
GK Chesterton, English writer (1874–1936)
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Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work.
Gustave Flaubert, French writer (1821–1880)
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This is the precept by which I have lived: prepare for the worst; expect the best; and take what comes.
Hannah Arendt, American-German philosopher (1906–1975)
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Up with your damned nonsense will I put twice, or perhaps once, but sometimes always, by God, never.
Hans Richter, Hungarian-born conductor and painter (1888–1976)
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Live all you can: it’s a mistake not to. It doesn’t matter what you do in particular, so long as you have had your life. If you haven’t had that, what have you had?
Henry James, American writer (1843–1916)
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Never trust the man who tells you all his troubles but keeps from you all his joys.
Jewish proverb
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Meetings are a great trap … However, they are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.
Ambassador’s Journal (1969)
JK Galbraith, Canadian economist (1908–2006)
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Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and statesman (1749–1832)
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Praising all alike is praising none.
A Letter To A Lady
John Gay, English poet (1685–1732)
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Nor love thy life, nor hate; but what thou liv’st live well, how long or short permit to heaven.
Paradise Lost (1667)
John Milton, English poet (1608–1674)
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Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.
John Wesley, English cleric (1703–1791)
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Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.
Jonathan Swift, Irish poet and satirist (1667–1745)
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A thick skin is a gift from God.
Konrad Adenauer, chancellor of Germany (1876–1967)
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Civility costs nothing and buys everything.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (1689–1762)
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The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.
Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer (1828–1910)
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If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.
Lewis Carroll, English writer (1832–1898)
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A proverb is one man’s wit and all men’s wisdom.
Lord John Russell, prime minister of the UK (1792–1878)
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Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.
Maori proverb
