"It is not my words that I polish, but my ideas."

Joseph Joubert Literature See all quotes by Joseph Joubert →

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“All these philosophers are no more than surgeons.”

“In such times, if you want neither to lie nor to wound, you are reduced to being silent.”

“Fortunately, when he lacks reason he also lacks words.”

“Stars more beautiful to the eyes than the telescope that robs them of their illusions.”

“The punishment of those who have loved women too much is to love them forever.”

“Of what must be said and what must not be said. The importance of knowing.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Repeatedly I took stabs at writing, but the results were so poor that I would tear up the sheets. I was striving for a level of expression that matched those of the novels I read. But I always somehow…"

— Richard Wright

Literature1943–2008

#writing

"It is only the words of the bill that have presidential approval, where that approval is given. It is not to be supposed that in signing a bill the President endorses the whole Congressional Record."

— Robert H. Jackson

Law1892–1954

#writing

"The civil war which was started by the Cadet-Kaledin counter-revolutionary revolt against the Soviet authorities, against the workers’ and peasants’ government, has finally brought the class struggle …"

— Vladimir Lenin

Politics1870–1924

#writing

"Well, first of all, let me say that I have never used Twitter. I noticed that young people — they're very busy with all these electronics. My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone. But …"

— Barack Obama

Politics1961

#Human Nature