Famous Quotes & Sayings

H. G. Wells

Things that would have made fame of a less clever man seemed tricks in his hands. It is a mistake to do things too easily.

H. L. Mencken

What are the hallmarks of a competent writer of fiction? The first, it seems to me, is that he should be immensely interested in human beings, and have an eye sharp enough to see into them, and a hand clever enough to draw them as they are. The second is that he should be able to set them in imaginary situations which display the contents of their psyches effectively, and so carry his reader swiftly and pleasantly from point to point of what is called a good story.

Grant Morrison

I couldn't think of one clever way to stop this guy, so I just trusted to mindless violence.

Georg C. Lichtenberg

A clever child brought up with a foolish one can itself become foolish. Man is so perfectible and corruptible he can become a fool through good sense.

Georg C. Lichtenberg

We are obliged to regard many of our original minds as crazy at least until we have become as clever as they are.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Seducing one's neighbor to a good opinion and then afterwards believing devoutly in this neighbor's opinion--who can match women in this clever ploy?

I don't see them budging on this peaceful use issue. It was clever on their part.

I am very pleased with my players. We spoke in our preparation about the emotion of the event and we knew full well that the kitchen sink would come out in the first 20 minutes. My players played with very cool heads and played some clever rugby.

I am not a learned Pandit, I am not clever or wise. I do not wander; I am not deluded by doubt.

Samuel Butler

There is no bore like a clever bore.

Will Durant

One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.

A. S. Byatt

Why do we take pleasure in gruesome death, neatly packaged as a puzzle to which we may find a satisfactory solution through clues - or if we are not clever enough, have it revealed by the all-powerful tale-teller at the end of the book? It is something to do with being reduced to, and comforted by, playing by the rules.

Michael Young

Today we frankly recognize that democracy can be no more than aspiration, and have rule not so much by the people as by the cleverest people; not an aristocracy of birth, not a plutocracy of wealth, but a true meritocracy of talent.

Elaine Stritch

Making clever speeches takes a lot of work and a lot of time.

A. N. Wilson

The really clever people now want to be lawyers or journalists.

A. A. Milne

Pooh hasn't much Brain, but he never comes to any harm. He does silly things and they turn out right. There's Owl. Owl hasn't exactly got Brain, but he Knows Things. He would know the Right Thing to Do when Surrounded by Water. There's Rabbit. He hasn't Learnt in Books, but he can always Think of a Clever Plan. There's Kanga. She isn't Clever, Kanga isn't, but she would be so anxious about Roo that she would do a Good Thing to Do without thinking about it. And then there's Eeyore. And Eeyore is so miserable anyhow that he wouldn't mind about this.

A. A. Milne

But now I am six. And I'm clever as clever. And now I think I'll stay six now forever and ever.

A. A. Milne

When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three I was hardly me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever, So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

Aeschylus

[Hermes addresses Prometheus :] To you, the clever and crafty, bitter beyond all bitterness, who has sinned against the gods in bestowing honors upon creatures of a day--to you, thief of fire, I speak.

Agatha Christie

They tried to be too clever---and that was their undoing.

Adrian Rogers

When you educate without the Holy Spirit, you only get a clever devil.

Ludwig von Mises

The state is the only institution entitled to apply coercion and compulsion and to inflict harm upon individuals. This tremendous power cannot be abandoned to the discretion of some men, however competent and clever they may deem themselves. It is necessary to restrict its application. This is the task of the laws.

Dalia Mogahed

I don't think there's any clever way for the establishment to take Donald Trump down. It's very simple. Another candidate is going to have to find a way either to out-maneuver him, or to just frankly beat him in the argument.

David Levithan

You can't actually have a romance between friends. That sort of defeats the definition of the word "romance." The word you're looking for is "love." It's a love between friends, just as there's also love between lovers, or possible lovers, or even ex-lovers. Same holds true for "bromance" - it's just a clever word used to avoid the word love, for straight boys who don't want that old-fashioned taint of gayness. Dudes, you love each other. Deal with it.

David Ogilvy

Don’t just create content to get credit for being clever — create content that will be helpful, insightful, or interesting for your target audience.

The governor is engaging in very clever politics. By introducing a massive infrastructure bond, freezing (higher education) tuition hikes, he is taking food off the Democrats' table in November. And in true 'Godfather' style, he's making them offers they can't refuse.

Clement Attlee

I just love Chinese food. My favourite dish is number 27

Clement Attlee

A lot of clever people have got everything except judgement

Cornelia Funke

There was another reason [she] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar voices, friends that never quarreled with her, clever, powerful friends -- daring and knowledgeable, tried and tested adventurers who had traveled far and wide. Her books cheered her up when she was sad and kept her from being bored.

Cornel West

Clever gimmicks of mass distraction yield a cheap soulcraft of addicted and self-medicated narcissists.

Peter McWilliams

People who want to appear clever rely on memory. People who want to get things done make lists.

Orson Scott Card

I need you to be clever, Bean. I need you to think of solutions to problems we haven't seen yet. I want you to try things that no one has ever tried because they're absolutely stupid.

Kurt Vonnegut

How embarrassing to be human.