When a female guest said to him at dinner “You sir, are drunk”, he replied “You madam are ugly, but tomorrow I will be sober”

My all time favourite, however, is Oscar Wilde’s:

“nobody ever said on his deathbed ‘I should have spent more time at the office'”

Just because I happen to be doing some research on him at the moment, here are some of my favorite quotes from Archilochus (all translated by Guy Davenport). He was an ancient Greek warrior-poet, first translated in the 60’s. He wrote about war the way it truly was (and is); people thought his poems were fabrications. Governments suppressed them — who wants their populace thinking about war as it really is?

“The fox knows many tricks, the hedgehog only one. One good one.”

“Here I lie mournful with desire,

feeble in bitterness of the pain gods inflicted upon me,

stuck through the bones with love.”

“Friends hurt the most.”

“The arrogant puke pride.”

“So thick the confusion,

Even the cowards were brave.”

“To the gods all things are easy. Many times from circumstance of disaster they set upright those who have been sprawled at length on the ground, but often again when men stand planted on firm feat, these same gods will knock them on their backs, and then the evils come, so that a man wanders homeless, destitute, at his wit’s end.”

“I will make nothing better by crying, I will make nothing worse by giving myself what entertainment I can.”

“Some Barbarian is waving my shield, since I was obliged to

leave that perfectly good piece of equipment behind

under a bush. But I got away, so what does it matter?

Let the shield go; I can buy another one equally good.”

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

“Many of you are well enough off that (President Bush’s) tax cuts may have helped you. We are saying tat for America to get back on track, we’re probaly going to cut that short and not give it to you. We are going to have to take things away from you for the common good.”

~~Socialist Hillary Clinton (Fund raising speech, San Francisco; SFgate.com 6/28/2004)

“F**k off! It’s bad enoughthat I have to see you ****-kickers every day, I’m not going to talk to you too! Just do your G**Damn job and keep your mouth shut.”

~~Hillary Clinton to her State Trooper body guards after htey geeted her with “Good Morning.” (Quoted from the book “American Evita.” by Christopher Anderson, pg. 90)

“Where’s the C*ck sucker?”

~~Hillery Clinton (pg. 5 Hillary shouting at a Secret Service Officer, in the book, “The Truth About Hillary.” by Edward Klein)

Pick one! My favorite is Lincoln’s

You get out of life what you put into it.

You make your own happiness.

The grass is always greener on the other side! (and speaking from a lifetime of experiences, that is so true!)

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. -Wayne Dyer

“BLessed are the cracked,

for they let in the light.”

It is so true……

” a sharp tongue can cut your tr oat”.