Wit & Wisdom

“Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate of people other than your own comes first.” Charles de Gaulle, quoted in The Washington Post

“Importance in literature is unimportant. Good writing matters, and only good writing.” Kingsley Amis, quoted in The Daily Telegraph

“Everything we can’t bear in this world, some day we find in one person, and love it all at once.” Novelist Djuna Barnes, quoted in The New York Times

“The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.” Cosmologist Carl Sagan, quoted on Theday.com

“The human mind is programmed for survival, not for truth.” Philosopher John Gray, quoted in The New Republic

“The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.” Bette Midler, quoted in The Seattle Times

“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” Physicist Niels Bohr, quoted in the Harvard Business Review

“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Carrie Fisher, quoted on The Christian Post

Statistic of the week

Britons are getting through a million more disposable coffee cups a day than they were two years ago, despite the industry’s 2016 pledge to do more to tackle the waste problem. Almost three billion single-use cups will be sold in the UK this year, up from 2.5 billion in 2016.