I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American Poet)
The paradox is really the pathos of intellectual life and just as only great souls are exposed to passions it is only the great thinker who is exposed to what I call paradoxes, which are nothing else than grandiose thoughts in embryo.
—Soren Kierkegaard (Danish Philosopher, Theologian)
Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never tire of it. If we do tire of it, if we lose our curiosity, we have lost something of infinite value, because to a high degree it is curiosity that gives meaning and savour to life.
—Robertson Davies (Canadian Novelist, Playwright)
You can’t start worrying about what’s going to happen. You get spastic enough worrying about what’s happening now.
—Lauren Bacall (American Actress)
When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that person is crazy.
—Dave Barry (American Humorist)
Smiles are the language of love.
—David Hare (British Playwright, Director)
If I had my career over again? Maybe I’d say to myself, speed it up a little.
—James Maitland Stewart (American Film Actor)
Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it. A good writer turns fact into truth; a bad writer will, more often than not, accomplish the opposite.
—Edward Albee (American Playwright)
A “just war” is hospitable to every self-deception on the part of those waging it, none more than the certainty of virtue, under whose shelter every abomination can be committed with a clear conscience.
—Alexander Claud Cockburn (Irish American Journalist)
Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win.
—Nadia Comaneci (Romanian-American Gymnast)
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.
—Julia Ward Howe (American Poet, Author)
There are two great rules of life: never tell everything at once.
—Ken Venturi (American Golfer, Sportscaster)
Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
—Hamilton Wright Mabie (American Essayist, Editor)