Wit & Wisdom

“It’s wrong to have an ideal view of the world. That’s where the mischief starts.” V.S. Naipaul, quoted in the London Evening Standard “When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth.” George Bernard Shaw, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle “Housing is not a question of conservatism or socialism, it’s a question of humanity.” Harold Macmillan, quoted in The Times “Reality is a cliché from which we escape by metaphor.” Wallace Stevens, quoted in The Guardian “The merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity.” Thomas Carlyle, quoted on The Browser “I could not live without champagne. In victory I deserve it. In defeat I need it.” Winston Churchill, quoted in The Observer “What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.” Lao Tzu, quoted on goodreads.com “One man’s dirty trick is another man’s civic participation.” Political strategist Roger Stone, quoted in the San Antonio Express-news “Never interfere with an enemy when he’s in the process of destroying himself.” Napoleon, quoted in The Guardian