Common Wisdoms

A friendly word does not cost anything and yet it is the most beautiful gift. attributed to Daphne du Maurier - English writer (1907-1989), Quotations book 2012

Anyone who doesn"t believe in miracles isn"t a realist. .כל [יהודי] שאינו מאמין בנסים אינו ריאליסטי David Ben-Gurion - born David Grün, Israeli politician, 1948-1953 and 1955-1963 Premie Minister (1886-1973), quoted in "Years of Crisis Years of Hope" (1973), Quotations book 2022

Better is the enemy of good. French proverb Le mieux est l"ennemi du bien. proverbe français

Beware of bankers. Freedom is priceless. French bon mot Méfiez-vous des banquiers. La liberté n"a pas de prix. bon mot français

Broadly speaking, short words are best, and the old words, when short, are best of all. Sir Winston L. Churchill – British politician, 1940-45 and 1951-55 Prime Minister, Nobel Prize in literature 1953 (1874-1965), from his speech on receiving the "London Times Literary Award" (November 2, 1949), Quotations book 2022

Imagine […] that every morning when you wake up, a bank would open an account in your name containing 86,400 $. There were only two rules: The first rule is that everything you fail to spend is taken from you that night. You can’t cheat, you can’t switch the unspent money to another account: you can only spend it. But when you wake next morning, and every morning after that, the bank opens a...

Every smile you send out comes back to you twice over. proverb

No democracy has ever been inflicted by a famine, and no two democracies have ever made war on each other. Johan Norberg – Swedish writer (b. 1973), from his film "Globalisation Is Good" (2003), Quotations book 2021

The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life. attributed to Rabindranath Tagore - born Robindronath Thakur, Bengali poet, Nobel Prize in literature 1913 (1861-1941), Quotations book 2021

If there were only one truth, you couldn't paint a hundred canvases on the same theme. Pablo Picasso - born Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso, Spanish artist (1881-1973), quoted by Daniel J. Robbins (American art historian, art critic, and curator,, 1932-1995) in "Picasso's Vollard suite" (1979) Aunque...

One day you will figure out, that it is harder to be kind than to be clever. Lawrence Preston Gise - American admin assistant (1915-1995), to his then ten-year-old grandson Jeffrey P. "Jeff" Bezos (American company founder: Amazon, b. 1964), after the younger has calculated to his grandmother Mattie Strait Gise (1915-1977), how much she shortens her life through smoking

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is a beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it. Life is a dream, realize it. life is a challenge, meet it. life is a duty, complete it. life is a game, play it. life is costly, care for it. life is wealth, keep it. life is love, enjoy it. life is mystery, know it. life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is a sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing...

Freedom is not fun. ... It is responsible choice. Peter F. Drucker - Austrian-born American management expert (1909-2005), from "The Future of Industrial Man" (1942), Quotations book 2020

Haec enim est una virtus non solum maxima sed etiam mater virtutum. [Gratitude] is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues. Marcus Tullius Cicero - Roman politician (106-43 B.C.), from his oratio "Pro Cn. Plancio" (54 B. C.), Quotations book 2020

Luxury is not the opposite of poverty. It is the opposite of vulgarity. Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel - French Fashion designer and businesswoman (1883-1971), during an interview with Georg Stefan Troller in "Pariser Gespräche" (1968)

The more integrity we have and keep, the simpler and nobler that destiny is likely to be. Glosse, gloss on views of George Santayana - born Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, Spanish-born American philosopher (1863-1952), could not be verified by experts at the Santayana Edition

You may be taller than me but then you have a bigger shadow. Wang Qishan – Chinese politician, since 2018 Vice President (b. 1948), in a dialogue with Professor Klaus Schwab at the World Economic Forum in Davos (24.01.2019)

The best stories start with courage. proverb - Quotations book 2019

It is madness to hate all roses because you got scratched with one thorn. To give up on your dreams because one didn"t come true. To give up on your effords because one has failed … There will be always another opportunity, another friend, another love, a new force. For every end there is always a new beginning. Meditation in accordance with the novel "The Little Prince" (1943) by Antoine de...