Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Related Quotes

Gore Vidal, fully Eugene Luther Gore Vidal

It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.

History | People | Thought | Will | Think | Thought |

Gore Vidal, fully Eugene Luther Gore Vidal

The behavior of President Bush on 11 September certainly gives rise to not unnatural suspicions.

Good | Little | Past | Present | Thought | World | Thought |

Gore Vidal, fully Eugene Luther Gore Vidal

A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is an ability to articulate human relationships.

Education | Nature |

Gore Vidal, fully Eugene Luther Gore Vidal

Well, it's been the monopolizing of great wealth, which tends to happen in basically unjust societies and undemocratic societies. We have plenty of would-be democrats, would-be liberals, and would-be progressives. But how do you organize? The Democratic Party is a machine to get votes for its people, none of who should probably be elected to the high offices of state. That's all. The Republican Party is fundamentally crooked and might well be outlawed one of these days. Le Pen, you know, in France, who is an out-and-out fascist, the French have managed in some clever way to contain him. I mean, he's always running for president; his votes never seem to show up. I don't know how they do it, but we've got to do that with the Republican base, the religious right. We don't want them running the country. Nobody does. Certainly not the founding fathers. And I think we have to ride herd on them and make sure they do not seize the state.

Thought | Afraid | Thought |

Gore Vidal, fully Eugene Luther Gore Vidal

Well, you have to work out what it is. They are a little splinter. They can't summon many voters at any given time. They are a minority of a minority of a minority. They have everybody buffaloed because the great corporations like them and pay money to their candidates for sheriff and senator. And they're playing big-time politics. Yes, indeed. But the average person doesn't like them. You know, any time I want to get applause — and I lecture across America in state after state after state — when I fear things are getting a little low, I always say, “And another thing: Let us tax all the religions,” I bring down the goddamn house with that. And any politician would if he had sense enough to do it. The people don't like their tax exemption.

Family | Integration | Shame | Thought | Thought |

Gore Vidal, fully Eugene Luther Gore Vidal

Monotheism is easily the greatest disaster to befall the human race.

Lesson | Right | Thought | Thought |

Eustace Budgell

I find but few beards worth taking notice of in the reign of King James the First.

Boys | Education | Genius | Good | Man | Memory | Mind | Nothing | Will |

Eustace Budgell

In short, a private education seems the most natural method for the forming of a virtuous man; a public education for making a man of business. The first would furnish out a good subject for PlatoÂ’s republic, the latter a member for a community overrun with artifice and corruption.

Education | Means | Men | Nothing | Order | Reason | Service | Temper | Think |

Euripedes NULL

For a silence and a chaste reserve is genuine praise, and to remain quiet within the house.

Education |

Eustace Budgell

Avoid disputes as much as possible. In order to appear easy and well-bred in conversation, you may assure yourself that it requires more wit, as well as more good humour, to improve than to contradict the notions of another: but if you are at any time obliged to enter on an argument, give your reasons with the utmost coolness and modesty, two things which scarce ever fail of making an impression on the hearers. Besides, if you are neither dogmatical, nor show either by your actions or words that you are full of yourself, all will the more heartily rejoice at your victory. Nay, should you be pinched in your argument, you may make your retreat with a very good grace. You were never positive, and are now glad to be better informed. This has made some approve the Socratic way of reasoning, where, while you scarce affirm anything, you can hardly be caught in an absurdity; and though possibly you are endeavouring to bring over another to your opinion, which is firmly fixed, you seem only to desire information from him.

Means | Thought | Thought |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

Her heart was broken perhaps, but it was a small inexpensive organ of local manufacture. In a wider and grander way she felt things had been simplified.

Age | Man | Thought | Thought |

Eustace Budgell

In short, nothing is more wanting to our public schools than that the masters of them should use the same care in fashioning the manners of their scholars as in forming their tongues to the learned languages. Wherever the former is omitted, I cannot help agreeing with Mr. Locke, that a man must have a very strange value for words, when, preferring the languages of the Greeks and Romans to that which made them such brave men, he can think it worthwhile to hazard the innocence and virtue of his son for a little Greek and Latin.

Artifice | Education | Good | Man | Method | Public |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

She seemed to say "Look at me. I have done my share. I am beautiful. It is something quite out of the ordinary, this beauty of mine. I am made for delight. But what do I get out of it? Where is my reward?" That was the change in her from ten years ago; that, indeed, was her reward, this haunting, this magical sadness which spoke straight to the heart and struck silence; it was the completion of her beauty."

Purpose | Purpose | Sadness | Thought | Thought |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

You spend the first term at Oxford meeting interesting and exciting people and the rest of your time there avoiding them.

Men | Thought | Thought |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

The truth is that Oxford is simply a very beautiful city in which it is convenient to segregate a certain number of the young of the nation while they are growing up.

Education | People | Trouble |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

ItÂ’s a rather pleasant change when all your life you've had people looking after you, to have someone to look after yourself. Only of course it has to be someone pretty hopeless to need looking after by me.

Thought | World | Thought |

Ezra Pound, fully Ezra Weston Loomis Pound

The intellect is a very nice whirligig toy, but how people take it seriously is more than I can understand.

Care | Individual | Order | Thought | Words | Think | Thought |

Felix Adler

A human being is not to be handled as a tool but is to be respected and revered.

History | Nothing | Thought | Tradition | World | Loss | Think | Thought | Understand |

Ezra Pound, fully Ezra Weston Loomis Pound

The worst mistake I made was that stupid, suburban prejudice of anti-Semitism.

Thought | Troubles | Thought |