Favourite Quotes

[Louanne Learning]

Share some wisdom.

Post quotes that struck a chord with you.

 

[Louanne Learning]

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

― Anton Chekhov

 

[JLT]

You beat me to it, Louanne!
But I'll put in my bit, a quote from my favorite author:

"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."
--Mark Twain

 

[Louanne Learning]

I'd be interested in hearing what you all think this quote means:

“It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.”

― George Orwell, 1984

 

[Rath Darkblade]

It sounds like verbal irony. There is beauty to destruction because, although a word is destroyed, another one is create to replace it.

When no words exist with which to express disloyal thoughts, thought crime would become impossible, and the Revolution would be complete. It's a terrible thought.
============
And here's one of my favourite quotes:

"Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages."
(Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters)

 

[Louanne Learning]

Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages."

Retirement is pretty good, too.

 

[JLT]

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

― Anton Chekhov

"And the night is black and still now
On the hills where the angels sing
Ain't it funny how an old broken bottle
Looks just like a diamond ring
And it's far, far from me."

--John Prine, whose lyrics often approach great poetry

 

[JLT]

I'd be interested in hearing what you all think this quote means:

“It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.”

― George Orwell, 1984

It means the language is still alive, sloughing off what's not longer useful and creating new words to fit new realities, IMO.

Which brings me to Benjamin Dreyer's opinion of the word "peruse"'

I've given up on the word "peruse," because a word that's used to mean both "read thoroughly and carefully" and "glance at cursorily" is as close to useless as a word can be.

.

 

[GrahamLewis]

"The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid. Turn to her straightaway."

Sign in a Yugoslavian hotel, cited by Bill Bryson in his history of the English language, The Mother Tongue.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

English is hard, OK...?

 

[Louanne Learning]

It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. Obviously those two modes of thought are in some tension. But if you are able to exercise only one of these modes, whichever one it is, you’re in deep trouble.

~ Carl Sagan

 

[Rigor Mortis]

This one is a bit long:
The Tuesday scowls, the Wednesday growls, the Thursday curses, the Friday howls, the Saturday snores, the Sunday yawns, the Monday morns, the Monday morns. The whacks, the moans, the cracks, the groans, the welts, the squeaks, the belts, the shrieks, the pricks, the prayers, the kicks, the tears, the skelps, and the yelps. And the poor old lousy old earth, my earth and my father's and my mother's and my father's father's and my mother's mother's and my father's mother's and my mother's father's and my father's mother's father's and my mother's father's mother's and my father's mother's mother's and my mother's father's' father's and my father's father's mother's and my mother's mother's father's and my father's father's father's and my mother's mother's mother's and other people's fathers' and mothers' and fathers' fathers' and mothers' mothers' and fathers' mothers' and mothers' fathers' and fathers' mothers' fathers' and mothers' fathers' mothers' and fathers' mothers' mothers' and mothers' fathers' fathers' and fathers' fathers' mothers' and mothers' mothers' fathers' and fathers' fathers' fathers' and mothers' mothers' mothers'. An excrement.

Beckett in Watt

 

[JLT]

Something I probably posted on the old forum, but worth repeating for the newcomers:

"I'd rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned."
--Richard Feinmann

“Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night

​

 

[GrahamLewis]

"Experiencing the innermost core of their existence is embarrassing to a lot of people. Many people try to find a spiritual path where they do not have to face themselves but where they can still liberate themselves -- liberate themselves from themselves, in fact. In truth, that is impossible."

Chogyam Trungpa, Smile at Fear.

 

[Louanne Learning]

This one is a bit long:
The Tuesday scowls, the Wednesday growls, the Thursday curses, the Friday howls, the Saturday snores, the Sunday yawns, the Monday morns, the Monday morns. The whacks, the moans, the cracks, the groans, the welts, the squeaks, the belts, the shrieks, the pricks, the prayers, the kicks, the tears, the skelps, and the yelps. And the poor old lousy old earth, my earth and my father's and my mother's and my father's father's and my mother's mother's and my father's mother's and my mother's father's and my father's mother's father's and my mother's father's mother's and my father's mother's mother's and my mother's father's' father's and my father's father's mother's and my mother's mother's father's and my father's father's father's and my mother's mother's mother's and other people's fathers' and mothers' and fathers' fathers' and mothers' mothers' and fathers' mothers' and mothers' fathers' and fathers' mothers' fathers' and mothers' fathers' mothers' and fathers' mothers' mothers' and mothers' fathers' fathers' and fathers' fathers' mothers' and mothers' mothers' fathers' and fathers' fathers' fathers' and mothers' mothers' mothers'. An excrement.

Beckett in Watt

It's very musical. It reminds me of the old quote, "Celts don't talk, they sing." (I think Samuel Johnson said it.)