The collection / 43 fragments

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Passages, proverbs, and questions carried across the ages.

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43 results · Page 1 of 2Play this collection ▷

01Undated

From 'the lesson of the moth':and before i could argue himout of his philosophyhe went and immolated himselfon a patent cigar lighteri do not agree with himmyself i would rather havehalf the happiness and twicethe longevitybut at the same time i wishthere was something i wantedas badly as he wanted to fry himself

Don Marquis / quote

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02Undated

Publishing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.

Don Marquis / quote

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03Undated

i have had my ups and downsbut wotthehell wotthehellyesterday sceptres and crownsfried oysters and velvet gownsand today i herd with bumsbut wotthehell wotthehelli wake the world from sleepas i caper and sing and leapwhen i sing my wild free tunewotthehell wotthehellunder the blear eyed mooni am pelted with cast off shoonbut wotthehell wotthehell

Don Marquis / quote

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04Undated

If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that's read by persons who move their lips when they're reading to themselves.

Don Marquis / quote

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05Undated

With regard to ghosts, while we have never believed in them, we have always been afraid of them.

Don Marquis / quote

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06Undated

fire is beautifuland we know that if we gettoo close it will kill usbut what does that matterit is better to be happy for a momentand be burned up with beautythan to live a long timeand be bored all the while

Don Marquis / quote

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07Undated

When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?

Don Marquis / quote

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08Undated

Every honorable man is forced to yield to blackmail once or twice in his life, just for the sake of keeping peace in the community.

Don Marquis / quote

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09Undated

If a child shows himself to be incorrigible, he should be decently and quietly beheaded at the age of twelve, lest he grow to maturity, marry, and perpetuate his kind.

Don Marquis / quote

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10Undated

you want to knowwhether i believe in ghostsof course i do not believe in themif you had knownas many of them as i haveyou would notbelieve in them either

Don Marquis / quote

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11Undated

Ideas pull the trigger, but instinct loads the gun.

Don Marquis / quote

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12Undated

An optimist is a man who has never had much experience.

Don Marquis / quote

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13Undated

it wont be long now it wont be longman is making deserts of the earthit wont be long nowbefore man will have used it upso that nothing but antsand centipedes and scorpionscan find a living on it....what man calls civilizationalways results in deserts....men talk of money and industryof hard times and recoveriesof finance and economicsbut the ants wait and the scorpions waitfor while men talk they are making deserts all the timegetting the world ready for the conquering antdrought and erosion and desertbecause men cannot learn....it wont be long now it wont be longtill earth is barren as the moonand sapless as a mumbled bone

Don Marquis / quote

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14Undated

justice...is not inherent in the universe and what man has put there he uses when he uses it at all strictly for his own purposes the world is so sad that the only way to live with it is to laugh at it

Don Marquis / quote

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15Undated

A pessimist is a person who has had to listen to too many optimist.

Don Marquis / quote

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16Undated

they thought they were heroes when they were only cinders in the eye of humanity too many creatures both insects and humans estimate their own value by the amount of irritation they are able to cause greater personalities than themselves

Don Marquis / quote

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17Undated

An idea isn't responsible for the people who believe in it.

Don Marquis / quote

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18Undated

my master is the same as godwhen he thumps with his handpeople bring us hamburg steaksat any eating stand "pete s holiday

Don Marquis / quote

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19Undated

In order to influence a child, one must be careful not to be that child's parent or grandparent.

Don Marquis / quote

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20Undated

It is better to be happy for the moment and be burned up with beauty than to live a long time and be bored all the while.

Don Marquis / quote

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21Undated

Pity the meek for they shall inherit the earth.

Don Marquis / quote

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22Undated

This is another day! Are its eyes blurred With maudlin grief for any wasted past? A thousand thousand failures shall not daunt! Let dust clasp dust death death I am alive!

Don Marquis / quote

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23Undated

There is nothing we like to see so much as the gleam of pleasure in a person's eye when he feels that we have sympathized with him understood him interested ourself in his welfare. At these moments something fine and spiritual passes between two friends. These moments are the moments worth living.

Don Marquis / quote

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24Undated

Ours is a world where people don't know what they want and are willing to go through hell to get it.

Don Marquis / quote

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