We were not deceived by the professions of the private adventurer, — the louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life, 1860
We were not deceived by the professions of the private adventurer, — the louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life, 1860
I remember an ice cream parlor in Tulsa that had a thing called a pig’s dinner. It was like a very big banana split in a wooden dish made to look like a pig’s trough. If you ate it all they gave you a certificate saying that you ate it all.
—Joe Brainard, I Remember, Notting Hill Editions, 2021 (1975)
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
—George Orwell, 1984, 1949
Os pescadores sabem que o mar é perigoso e que a tempestade é temível, mas nunca consideraram esses perigos razão suficiente para permanecer em terra. Deixam essa prudência àqueles a quem ela agrada. Quando a tempestade chega — quando cai a noite — o que é pior: o perigo ou o medo do perigo? Dá-me a realidade, o próprio perigo.
—Vincent Van Gogh, carta para o seu irmão Theo, 16 de Maio de 1882. Traduzido a partir da autobiografia “Dear Theo”, editada por Irving Stone e Jean Stone em 1995.
Já se sabia que eram tudo balelas, por isso de que servia estar alguém a ralar-se? Sabia quando aplaudir e quando apupar, e chegava!
—George Orwell, 1984, Público 2002 (1949)