As a matter of selective necessity, man is an agent. He is, in his own apprehension, a centre of unfolding impulsive activity; "teleological activity." He is an agent seeking in every act the accomplishment of some concrete, objective, impersonal end. By force of being such an agent, he is possessed of a taste for effective work, and a distaste for futile effort. ~Thorstein Veblen
#quotes #thorstein-veblen #human

Brilliant. A very funny and concise explanation of why we men are as we are. If you are male, you should read it and then make your partner read it, so they will no longer hate you but pity you instead. ~Harry Enfield
#quotes #harry-enfield #men

The halls were empty. Charlotte had missed the first bell and would be late, again. Her homeroom teacher would ask her for an excuse and she would say, "Overwhelming feeling of dread." That was going to go over nicely. ~Anne Ursu
#quotes #anne-ursu

A fable is a bridge which leads to truth. Follow it. ~Saudi Proverb
#proverbs #saudi-proverbs #stories

Health care is not about insurance! Health care is about getting treatment. ~P. J. O'Rourke
#quotes #p-j-o-rourke #health #insurance #medicine

In running, it doesn't matter how fast or slow you are relative to anyone else. You set your own pace and you measure your own progress. You can't lose this race because you're not running against anyone else. You're only running against yourself, and as long as you are running, you are winning. ~Amby Burfoot
#quotes #amby-burfoot #sports #marathon

"Hey Pudge," the Colonel said. "What do you think of a truce?" "It reminds me of when the Germans demanded that the U.S. surrender at the Battle of the Bulge," I said. "I guess I'd say to this truce offer what General McAuliffe said to that one: Nuts." ~John Green
#quotes #john-green

To break boundaries interests me. With all the knowledge that is available now in the world, it should be accessible to everyone. You can get so much information on the Internet now, and yet there are so many places in the world where people just don't have the education. ~Melanie Griffith
#quotes #melanie-griffith #education #internet #knowledge

The inspector ate only two of my tiny sandwiches: the first because he had'nt expected it to taste so awful; the second, I think, because he'd thought surely the first must have been a mistake. ~Karen Marie Moning
#quotes #karen-marie-moning #mistakes #eating

The most lasting and pure gladness comes to me from my gardens. ~Lillie Langtry
#quotes #lillie-langtry #gardening #happiness

I don't think that I could ever be a strict dad. I never grew up with anybody strict in my life. I'm not saying I'm a role model by any means or anything. I think the fact that I wasn't told what not to do all the time - my spirit kind of told me things that I shouldn't. I got to develop on my own. It's part of your common sense. ~Randy Houser
#quotes #randy-houser #parenting

You know who is against democracy in the Middle East? The husbands. They got used to their way of life. Now, the traditional way of life must change. Everybody must change. If you don't give equal rights to women, you can't progress. ~Shimon Peres
#quotes #shimon-peres

Hold a true friend with both your hands. ~Nigerian Proverb
#proverbs #nigerian-proverbs #friendship

All artists are anarchists in some way; some more extreme than others, but it is something that I think artists are supposed to do. We are supposed to present a different angle on everything, and I certainly think it is as much as poetry, in my opinion. ~Robert Zemeckis
#quotes #robert-zemeckis #art #thinking

Every place where I played or managed is special to me because of the memories and the friendships that each afforded me. ~Joe Torre
#quotes #joe-torre #friendship #memories #work

If you look back today over the last 25 years, it is a fact that we have had a progressive degeneration of our intelligence community in general; in particular in the field of human intelligence. ~Paul Bremer
#quotes #paul-bremer #intelligence #loss

Even if I had expected it, even if I had known what I was going to do with my life, it would have knocked the wind out of me. When something that violent hits you, you can't help but lose your balance and fall. And after you pick yourself up, you realize you can't trust anybody to save you, not your husband, not your mother, not God. So what can you do to stop yourself from tilting and falling all over again? ~Amy Tan
#quotes #amy-tan #family

We have different forms assigned to us in the school of life, different gifts imparted. All is not attractive that is good. Iron is useful, though it does not sparkle like the diamond. Gold has not the fragrance of a flower. So different persons have various modes of excellence, and we must have an eye to all. ~William Wilberforce
#quotes #william-wilberforce #personality

In the past the great majority of minority voters, in Ohio and other places, that means African American voters, cast a large percentage of their votes during the early voting process. ~John Lewis
#quotes #john-lewis #black #elections #ohio

I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should appear like a fool but be wise. ~Charles de Secondat
#quotes #charles-de-secondat #wisdom #success

I believe that before anything else I'm a human being; just as much as you are... or at any rate I shall try to become one. I know quite well that most people would agree with you, Torvald, and that you have warrant for it in books; but I can't be satisfied any longer with what most people say, and with what's in books. I must think things out for myself and try to understand them. ~Henrik Ibsen
#quotes #henrik-ibsen #human #believe #books #thinking

In some ways it's taken me decades to come clean and make honest work; and still to this day, sometimes I find myself wanting to hide behind my work and deny the more biographical aspects. ~David Knopfler
#quotes #david-knopfler #work #honesty

The term "genre" eventually becomes pejorative because you're referring to something that's so codified and ritualised that it ceases to have the power and meaning it had when it first started. ~Christopher Nolan
#quotes #christopher-nolan

He often wondered whether it were possible to be more possessed by desire for any other woman. The fact was that they functioned well together, and they had a connection as addictive as heroin. ~Steig Larsson
#quotes #steig-larsson #desire #addiction

I have a string of competitiveness in me. It's really strange cause it's not something that I would even expect myself to have, but every now and then it kinda sneaks out, you know. ~Hunter Hayes
#quotes #hunter-hayes #competition