Corrections log
When we find, or a reader reports, that a quote's wording or author is wrong, we fix it and record the change here. Old addresses keep working: a renamed author's old page redirects to the new one. To report a mistake, use the correction form, or the Report button beside any quote. How we decide is set out in our editorial policy.
Recent corrections
Source review, October 2026
Every quote was compared with published sources (see how we check). 5,494 quotes now carry an origin label: 5,058 verified, 15 paraphrased, 225 disputed and 196 misattributed. These changes were made at the same time:
Author names corrected (17)
Charles Davenport→ Charles Davenant.Edward II→ Edward III.Paul Erlich→ Paul R. Ehrlich.David Gilmore→ David Gilmour.Ben Johnson→ Ben Jonson.Mary Evans→ Mari Evans.Alain Chartier→ Alain (Émile Chartier).- Thomas Wolfe.
Joyce Carey→ Joyce Cary.Steve Leonard→ Stew Leonard.Randolph Churchill→ Charles Churchill.Helen Terry→ Ellen Terry.Thomas A. Bennett→ Arnold Bennett.John Bentham→ Jeremy Bentham.William Arthur→ William A. Ward.Bruce Burton→ Bruce BartonLord Kelvin→ Ernest Rutherford.
Quotes credited to the right person (27)
- “Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self…”:
Thomas A. Bennett→ Arnold Bennett - “Be England what she will, with all her faults she is my country still.”:
Randolph Churchill→ Charles Churchill - “What is a diary as a rule? A document useful to the person who keeps it. Dull to the contemporary who reads it and…”:
Helen Terry→ Ellen Terry - “The notion that the public accepts or rejects anything in modern art is merely romantic fiction. The game is completed…”:
Thomas Wolfe→ Tom Wolfe - “A man of eighty has outlived probably three new schools of painting, two of architecture and poetry and a hundred in…”:
Joyce Carey→ Joyce Cary - “Le Corbusier was the sort of relentlessly rational intellectual that only France loves wholeheartedly, the logician…”:
Thomas Wolfe→ Tom Wolfe - “The modern picture of the artist began to form: The poor, but free spirit, plebeian but aspiring only to be classless,…”:
Thomas Wolfe→ Tom Wolfe - “A novel points out that the world consists entirely of exceptions.”:
Joyce Carey→ Joyce Cary - “For good or ill, your conversation is your advertisement. Every time you open your mouth you let men look into your…”:
Bruce Burton→ Bruce Barton - “If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would…”:
Harry Weinberger→ Gerald Weinberg - “Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure... they govern us in all we…”:
John Bentham→ Jeremy Bentham - “Not even the most powerful organs of the press, including Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times, can discover a new…”:
Thomas Wolfe→ Tom Wolfe - “A cult is a religion with no political power.”:
Thomas Wolfe→ Tom Wolfe - “Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs.”:
Thomas Wolfe→ Tom Wolfe - “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.…”:
William Arthur→ William A. Ward - “The deep, deep peace of the double-bed after the hurly-burly of the chaise-lounge.”:
Patrick Campbell→ Mrs Patrick Campbell - “Those who would make us feel, must feel themselves.”:
Randolph Churchill→ Charles Churchill - “A liberal is a conservative who has been arrested.”:
Thomas Wolfe→ Tom Wolfe - “Things refuse to be mismanaged long.”:
Saying→ Ralph Waldo Emerson - “Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge.”:
Motto→ William Shakespeare - “No mind, however loving, could bear to see plainly into all the recess of another mind.”:
Thomas A. Bennett→ Arnold Bennett - “We are always acting on what has just finished happening. It happened at least 1/30th of a second ago. We think we're…”:
Thomas Wolfe→ Tom Wolfe - “The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts.”:
Paul Ehrlich→ Paul R. Ehrlich - “All science is either physics or stamp collecting.”:
Lord Kelvin→ Ernest Rutherford - “No statesmen ever will find it worth his pains, to tax our labor and excise our brain.”:
Randolph Churchill→ Charles Churchill - “Rule number one: The customer is always right. Rule number two: If the customer is wrong, see rule number one!”:
Steve Leonard→ Stew Leonard - “We never shall have any more time we have, and we have always had, all the time there is.”:
Thomas A. Bennett→ Arnold Bennett
Wording restored to the original (589)
The popular version had drifted from what the author actually wrote. Each quote now uses the wording of its source.
Show all 589 rewordings
- A. E. Housman
Was:
“Here dead lie we because we did not choose to live and shame the land from which we sprung. Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose; but young men think it is, and we were young.”Now: “Here dead we lie because we did not choose To live and shame the land from which we sprung. Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose; But young men think it is, and we were young.” - Abraham Cowley
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“Nothing is to come, and nothing past: But an eternal now, does always last.”Now: “Nothing is there to come, and nothing past, But an eternal now does always last.” - Abraham Lincoln
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“Military glory --the attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood.”Now: “Military glory, — that attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood.” - Abraham Lincoln
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“The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.”Now: “The way for a young man to rise, is to improve himself every way he can, never suspecting that any body wishes to hinder him.” - Adam Smith
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“To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers, but extremely fit for a nation that is governed by shopkeepers.”Now: “To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers.” - Albert Einstein
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“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery everyday. Never lose a holy curiosity.”Now: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy curiosity. ... Don't stop to marvel.” - Albert Einstein
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“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.”Now: “Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions that differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.” - Albert Einstein
Was:
“Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury -- to me these have always been contemptible. I assume that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best for both the body and the mind”Now: “Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury – to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.” - Albert Einstein
Was:
“The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.”Now: “The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of every day [sic] thinking.” - Albert Einstein
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“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the Gods.”Now: “Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” - Albert Schweitzer
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“Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace.”Now: “Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” - Aldous Huxley
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“Most human beings have an infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”Now: “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.” - Aldous Huxley
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“Facts don't cease to exist because they are ignored.”Now: “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” - Aldous Huxley
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“So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, the Caesars and Napoleons will arise to make them miserable.”Now: “So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly rise and make them miserable.” - Alexander Pope
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“A person who is too nice an observer of the business of the crowd, like one who is too curious in observing the labor of bees, will often be stung for his curiosity.”Now: “A person who is too nice an observer of the business of the crowd, like one who is too curious in observing the labour of the bees, will often be stung for his curiosity.” - Alexander Pope
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“To be angry is to revenge the faults of others on ourselves.”Now: “To be angry, is to revenge the fault of others upon ourselves.” - Alexander Pope
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“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring; There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain; And drinking largely sobers us again.”Now: “A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring: There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain, And drinking largely sobers us again.” - Alexander Pope
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“Our passions are like convulsion fits, which, though they make us stronger for a time, leave us the weaker ever after.”Now: “Our passions are like convulsion-fits, which, though they make us stronger for the time, leave us the weaker ever after.” - Alexander Pope
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“A man should never be ashamed to own that he is wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.”Now: “A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.” - Alexander Pope
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“One who is too wise an observer of the business of others, like one who is too curious in observing the labor of bees, will often be stung for his curiosity.”Now: “A person who is too nice an observer of the business of the crowd, like one who is too curious in observing the labour of the bees, will often be stung for his curiosity.” - Alice Meynell
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“A child is beset with long traditions. And his infancy is so old, so old, that the mere adding of years in the life to follow will not seem to throw it further back -- it is already so far.”Now: “A child is beset with long traditions. And his infancy is so old, so old, that the mere adding of years in the life to follow will not seem to throw it back—it is already so far.” - Alice Meynell
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“It is easy to replace man, and it will take no great time, when Nature has lapsed, to replace Nature.”Now: “It is easy to replace man, and it will take no great time, where Nature has lapsed, to replace Nature.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Bore -- a person who talks when you wish him to listen.”Now: “Bore, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Egotist. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me.”Now: “Egotist, n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“To apologize is to lay the foundation for a future offense.”Now: “Apologize, v. To lay the foundation for a future offense.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Happiness is an agreeable sensation, arising from contemplating the misery of others.”Now: “Happiness, n. An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“An optimist is a proponent of the doctrine that black is white.”Now: “Optimist, n. A proponent of the doctrine that black is white.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“The gambling known as business looks with severe disfavor on the business known as gambling.”Now: “The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Learning. The kind of ignorance distinguishing the studious.”Now: “Learning, n. The kind of ignorance distinguishing the studious.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Admiration; is our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.”Now: “Admiration, n. Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Pray. To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.”Now: “Pray, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Saint. A dead sinner revised and edited.”Now: “Saint, n. A dead sinner, revised and edited.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Patience. A minor form of despair disguised as a virtue.”Now: “Patience, n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Politeness -- The most acceptable hypocrisy.”Now: “Politeness, n. The most acceptable hypocrisy.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“A prejudice is a vagrant opinion without visible means of support.”Now: “Prejudice, n. A vagrant opinion without visible means of support.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Erudition. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.”Now: “Erudition, n. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Backbite. To ''speak of a man as you find him'' when he can't find you.”Now: “Backbite, v.t. To speak of a man as you find him when he can't find you.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Success is the one unpardonable sin against one's fellows.”Now: “Success, n. The one unpardonable sin against one's fellows.” - Ambrose Bierce
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“Bride. A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.”Now: “Bride, n. A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.” - Amy Carmichael
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“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”Now: “One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving” - Anais Nin
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“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish it's source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing.”Now: “Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source, it dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds, it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings, but never of natural death.” - Andrew Grove
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“Just as you would not permit a fellow employee to steal a piece of office equipment, you shouldn't let anyone walk away with the time of his fellow managers.”Now: “Just as you would not permit a fellow employee to steal a piece of office equipment worth $2,000, you shouldn't let anyone walk away with the time of his fellow managers.” - Andrew Jackson
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“The brave man inattentive to his duty, is worth little more to his country than the coward who deserts in the hour of danger.”Now: “The brave man inattentive to his duty, is worth little more to his country, than the coward who deserts her in the hour of danger.” - Aneurin Bevan
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“We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over.”Now: “We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down.” - Anne Bradstreet
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“Authority without wisdom is like a heavy ax without an edge, fitter to bruise than to polish.”Now: “Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish.” - Anthony Trollope
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“And above all things, never think that you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning”Now: “Above all things, never think that you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you very much at your own reckoning.” - Anthony Trollope
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“Book love... is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasure that God has prepared for His creatures.”Now: “Book love, my friends, is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasure that God has prepared for His creatures.” - Anthony Trollope
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“He must have known me if he had seen me as he was wont to see me, for he was in the habit of flogging me constantly. Perhaps he did not recognize me by my face.”Now: “He must have known me had he seen me as he was wont to see me, for he was in the habit of flogging me constantly. Perhaps he did not recognise me by my face.” - Anton Chekhov
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“If you are afraid of loneliness, don't marry.”Now: “If you are afraid of loneliness, do not marry.” - Antonin Artaud
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“It is thus that the few rare lucid well-disposed people who have had to struggle on the earth find themselves at certain hours of the day or night in the depth of certain authentic and waking nightmare states, surrounded by the formidable suction, the formidable oppression of a kind of civic magic which will soon be seen appearing openly in social behavior.”Now: “It is thus that the few rare lucid well-disposed people who have had to struggle on the earth find themselves at certain hours of the day or night in the depth of certain authentic and waking nightmare states, surrounded by the formidable suction, the formidable tentacular oppression of a kind of civic magic which will soon be seen appearing openly in social behavior.” - Aphra Behn
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“There is no sinner like a young saint.”Now: “There's no sinner like a young saint.” - Arie de Geus
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“The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be only sustainable competitive advantage.”Now: “The ability to learn faster than competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.” - Artemus Ward
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“Let us all be happy, and live within our means, even if we have to borrow the money to do it with.”Now: “Let us all be happy and live within our means, even if we have to borrer [sic] money to do it with.” - Arthur Miller
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“Nobody dast blame this man. For a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life. He don't put a bolt to a nut, he don't tell you the law or give you medicine. He's a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back -- that's an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you're finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.”Now: “Nobody dast blame this man. Willy was a salesman. And for a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life. He don't put a bolt to a nut, he don't tell you the law or give you medicine. He's a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back — that's an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you're finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.” - Benjamin Disraeli
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“There is no greater index of character so sure as the voice.”Now: “There is no index of character so sure as the voice.” - Benjamin Disraeli
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“I have brought myself, by long meditation, to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment.”Now: “I have brought myself, by long meditation, to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will that will stake even existence for its fulfilment.” - Benjamin Disraeli
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“On the education of the people of this country the fate of the country depends.”Now: “Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends.” - Benjamin Disraeli
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“We moralize among ruins.”Now: “We moralise among ruins.” - Benjamin Disraeli
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“Finality is not the language of politics.”Now: “Finality, Sir, is not the language of politics.” - Benjamin Franklin
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“If you desire many things, many things will seem few.”Now: “If you desire many things, many things will seem but a few.” - Bert Leston Taylor
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“A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you.”Now: “A bore is a man who, when you ask how he is, tells you.” - Bertrand Russell
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“The good life is one inspired by life and guided by knowledge.”Now: “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” - Bertrand Russell
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“We have in fact, two kinds of morality, side by side: one that we preach, but do not practice, and another that we practice, but seldom preach.”Now: “We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side; one which we preach but do not practise, and another which we practise but seldom preach.” - Bertrand Russell
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“A process which led from the amoebae to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously a progress -- though whether the amoebae would agree with this opinion is not known.”Now: “A process which led from the amœba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously a progress – though whether the amœba would agree with this opinion is not known.” - Billie Holiday
Was:
“If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you're out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung. If you think you need stuff to play music or sing, you're crazy. It can fix you so you can't play nothing or sing nothing.”Now: “If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you’re out of your mind. There are more kicks the fuck to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung. If you think you need stuff to play music or sing, you’re crazy. It can fix you so you can’t play nothing or sing nothing.” - Black Elk
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“Grown men can learn from very little children for the hearts of little children are pure. Therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.”Now: “Grown men may learn from very little children, for the hearts of little children are pure, and, therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.” - Black Elk
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“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes from within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men.”Now: “The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka , and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.” - Booker T. Washington
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“There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, simple and useful life.”Now: “There is no power on earth, that can neutralize the influence of a high, pure, simple and useful life.” - Booker T. Washington
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“No man, who continues to add something to the material, intellectual and moral well-being of the place in which he lives, is left long without proper reward.”Now: “No man who continues to add something to the material, intellectual, and moral well-being of the place in which he lives is long left without proper reward.” - Brigham Young
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“Never let a day pass that you will have cause to say, I will do better tomorrow.”Now: “Never let a day so pass that you will have cause to say, "I will live better to-morrow,"” - C. Northcote Parkinson
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“Expenditures rise to meet income.”Now: “Expenditure rises to meet income.” - C. S. Lewis
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“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you.”Now: “A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” - Carl Jung
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“Good. There are many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.”Now: “[T]here are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word "happy" would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” - Carl Sandburg
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“I am an idealist. I don't know where I'm going but I'm on my way.”Now: “I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.” - Cat Stevens
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“If you want to sing out, sing out, and if you want to be free, be free, cause there's a million ways to be, you know that there are...”Now: “Well, if you want to sing out, sing out, And if you want to be free, be free. 'Cause there's a million things to be, You know that there are.” - Cesare Pavese
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“No woman marries for money; they are all clever enough, before marrying a millionaire, to fall in love with him first.”Now: “No woman marries for money: they are all clever enough, before marrying a millionaire, to fall in love with him.” - Cesare Pavese
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“We don't remember days; we remember moments.”Now: “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” - Charles Bukowski
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“Show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually clean kitchen, and 8 times out of 9 I'll show you a man with detestable spiritual qualities.”Now: “Show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually clean kitchen, and eight times out of nine I'll show you a man with detestable spiritual qualities.” - Charles Darwin
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“A man who dares to waste one hour of his life has not discovered the value of life.”Now: “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” - Charles De Gaulle
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“How can you govern a country with two hundred and forty six varieties of cheese?”Now: “How can you govern a country that has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?” - Charles Dudley Warner
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“There was never a nation that became great until it came to the knowledge that it had nowhere in the world to go for help.”Now: “There was never a nation great until it came to the knowledge that it had nowhere in the world to go for help.” - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
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“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”Now: “Wisdom is, I suppose, the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” - Charles Lamb
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“Separate from the pleasure of your company, I don't much care if I never see another mountain in my life.”Now: “Separate from the pleasure of your company, I don't much care if I never see a mountain in my life.” - Charles Lamb
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“How a sickness enlarges the dimensions of a man's self to himself! He is his own exclusive object. Supreme selfishness is inculcated in him as his only duty,”Now: “How sickness enlarges the dimensions of a man's self to himself! he is his own exclusive object. Supreme selfishness is inculcated upon him as his only duty.” - Charles Peguy
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“Tyranny is always better organized than freedom.”Now: “Tyranny is always better organised than freedom.” - Charlotte Bingham
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“An isolated outbreak of virginity is a rash on the face of society. It arouses only pity from the married, and embarrassment from the single.”Now: “An isolated outbreak of virginity like Lucinda’s, is a rash on the face of society. It arouses only pity from the married, and embarrassment from the single.” - Christian Dior
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“Women are most fascinating between the ages of thirty-five and forty, after they have won a few races and know how to pace themselves. Since few women ever pass forty, maximum fascination can continue indefinitely.”Now: “Women are most fascinating between the ages of 35 and 40, after they have won a few races and know how to pace themselves. Since few women ever pass 40, maximum fascination can continue indefinitely.” - Christopher Marlowe
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“Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscrib'd one self place; for where we are is Hell, and where Hell is, there must we ever be.”Now: “Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscrib'd In one self place; but where we are is hell, And where hell is, there must we ever be.” - Christopher Marlowe
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“I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but innocence.”Now: “I count religion but a childish toy, And hold there is no sin but ignorance.” - Chuang Tzu
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“Rewards and punishment is the lowest form of education.”Now: “Rewards and punishments are the lowest form of education.” - Cole Porter
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“In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking but now, God knows, anything goes.”Now: “In olden days a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as something shocking But now, Heaven knows, Anything goes.” - Colin Powell
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“The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.”Now: “The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting in above-average effort.” - Cyril Tourneur
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“Joy is a subtle elf; I think one's happiest when he forgets himself.”Now: “joy's a subtle elf, I think man's happiest when he forgets himself.” - D. H. Lawrence
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“We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority.”Now: “We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free from their authority.” - Dag Hammarskjold
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“Life only demands from you the strength that you possess. Only one feat is possible; not to run away.”Now: “Life only demands from you the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible — not to have run away.” - Dag Hammarskjold
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“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only those who keep their eye fixed on the far horizon will find their right road.”Now: “Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road.” - Dan Quayle
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“People that are really weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.”Now: “People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.” - Daniel J. Boorstin
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“A sign of celebrity is often that their name is worth more than their services.”Now: “A sign of a celebrity is often that his name is worth more than his services.” - Dave Barry
Was:
“Although Golf was originally restricted to wealthy Protestants, today its open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.”Now: “Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.” - David Hume
Was:
“He is happy whom circumstances suit his temper; but he Is more excellent who suits his temper to any circumstance.”Now: “He is happy, whose circumstances suit his temper; but he is more excellent, who can suit his temper to any circumstances.” - Dean Acheson
Was:
“A memorandum is not written to inform the reader, but to protect the writer.”Now: “A memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer.” - Doris Lessing
Was:
“That's what learning is. You suddenly understand something you understood all your life, but in a new way.”Now: “That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.” - Dorothy Parker
Was:
“All those writers who write about their childhood! Gentle God, if I wrote about mine you wouldn't sit in the same room with me.”Now: “All those writers who write about their own childhood! Gentle God, if I wrote about mine you wouldn't sit in the same room with me.” - Dorothy Parker
Was:
“There's a helluva distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.”Now: “There's a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower
Was:
“Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of his friends.”Now: “Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in blood of his followers and sacrifices of his friends.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower
Was:
“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”Now: “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity.” - E. V. Lucas
Was:
“There can be no defense like elaborate courtesy.”Now: “There can be no defence like elaborate courtesy.” - Edith Wharton
Was:
“I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, and consequently suggests more tugging, and pain, and diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.”Now: “I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, & consequently suggests more tugging, & pain, & diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.” - Edmund Burke
Was:
“Frugality is founded on the principal that all riches have limits.”Now: “Frugality is founded on the principle that all riches have limits.” - Edmund Burke
Was:
“The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind, is curiosity.”Now: “The first and the simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is Curiosity.” - Edmund Burke
Was:
“People will not look forward to posterity who will not look backward to their ancestors.”Now: “People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.” - Edmund Burke
Was:
“People crushed by laws, have no hope but to evade power. If the laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to the law; and those who have must to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous.”Now: “People crushed by law, have no hopes but from power. If laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to laws; and those who have much to hope and nothing to lose, will always be dangerous.” - Edmund Burke
Was:
“Good order is the foundation of all great things.”Now: “Good order is the foundation of all good things.” - Edmund Burke
Was:
“There is a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.”Now: “There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.” - Edwin Hubbel Chapin
Was:
“An aged Christian, with the snow of time upon his head, may remind us that those points of earth are whitest which are nearest to heaven.”Now: “An aged Christian, with the snow of time on his head, may remind us that those points of earth are whitest that are nearest heaven.” - Edwin Hubbel Chapin
Was:
“Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble as when it forgoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.”Now: “[N]ever does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.” - Edwin Hubbel Chapin
Was:
“Poetry is the utterance of deep and heart-felt truth -- the true poet is very near the oracle.”Now: “Poetry is the utterance of truth — deep, heartfelt truth. The true poet is very near the oracle.” - Edwin Hubbel Chapin
Was:
“Objects close to the eye shut out much larger objects on the horizon; and splendors born only of the earth eclipse the stars. So it is with people who sometimes cover up the entire disc of eternity with a dollar, and so quench transcendent glories with a little shining dust.”Now: “Objects close to the eye shut out much larger objects on the horizon; and splendors born only of the earth eclipse the stars. So a man sometimes covers up the entire disk of eternity with a dollar, and quenches transcendent glories with a little shining dust.” - Elbert Hubbard
Was:
“Never explain -- your friends do not need it, and your enemies will not believe you anyway.”Now: “Never explain — your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyhow.” - Elbert Hubbard
Was:
“A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in on the experience.”Now: “A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in the experience.” - Elbert Hubbard
Was:
“Your friend is that man who knows all about you, and still likes you.”Now: “Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.” - Elbert Hubbard
Was:
“The idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all.”Now: “An idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all.” - Elbert Hubbard
Was:
“A pessimist is one who has been compelled to live with an optimist.”Now: “A pessimist is a man who has been compelled to live with an optimist.” - Elbert Hubbard
Was:
“Every spirit makes its house, but as afterwards the house confines the spirit, you had better build well.”Now: “Every spirit makes his own house, but as afterwards the house confines its spirit, you had better build well.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
Was:
“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”Now: “The purpose of life...is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” - Eliza Cook
Was:
“Oh, how cruelly sweet are the echoes that start when memory plays an old tune on the heart!”Now: “How cruelly sweet are the echoes that start When Memory plays an old tune on the heart.” - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Was:
“God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers and thrust the thing we have prayed for in our face, like a gauntlet with a gift in it.”Now: “God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers, And thrusts the thing we have prayed for in our face, A gauntlet with a gift in't.” - Elizabeth Bowen
Was:
“Intimacies between women go backwards, beginning with revelations and ending up in small talk without loss of esteem.”Now: “Intimacies between women go backwards, beginning in revelations and ending up in small talk without loss of esteem.” - Elizabeth Janeway
Was:
“I admire people who are suited to the contemplative life. They can sit inside themselves like honey in a jar and just be. It's wonderful to have someone like that around, you always feel you can count on them. You can go away and come back, you can change your mind and your hairdo and your politics, and when you get through doing all these upsetting things, you look around and there they are, just the way they were, just being.”Now: “I admire people who are suited to the contemplative life, but I am not one of them. They can sit inside themselves like honey in a jar and just be. It's wonderful to have someone like that around, you always feel you can count on them. You can go away and come back, you can change your mind and your hairdo and your politics, and when you get through doing all these upsetting things, you look around and there they are, just the way they were, just being.” - Eric Berne
Was:
“The moment the little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing.”Now: “The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing.” - Eric Hoffer
Was:
“The greatest weariness comes from work not done.”Now: “Our greatest weariness comes from work not done.” - Eric Hoffer
Was:
“When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.”Now: “When people are free to do as we please, they usually imitate each other.” - Ernest Hemingway
Was:
“You write a book like that you're fond of over the years, then you see that happen to it, it's like pissing in your father's beer.”Now: “You write a book like that that you're fond of over the years, then you see that happen to it, it's like pissing in your father's beer.” - Ernest Hemingway
Was:
“There isn't any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The shark are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is shit. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know.”Now: “Then there is the other secret. There isn't any symbolysm [sic]. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The shark are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is shit. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know.” - Ezra Pound
Was:
“Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing. The rest is mere sheep-herding.”Now: “Real education must ultimately be limited to one who INSISTS on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding.” - Ezra Pound
Was:
“But the one thing you should. not do is to suppose that when something is wrong with the arts, it is wrong with the arts ONLY.”Now: “But the one thing you shd. not do is suppose that when something is wrong with the arts, it is wrong with the arts ONLY.” - Ezra Pound
Was:
“Any general statement is like a check drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”Now: “Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.” - Finley Peter Dunne
Was:
“A fanatic is a man that does what he thinks the Lord would do if He knew the facts of the case.”Now: “A fanatic is a man that does what he thinks th' Lord wud do if He knew th' facts iv th' case.” - Florence Scovel Shinn
Was:
“The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy.”Now: “The game of life is the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later, with astounding accuracy.” - Florence Scovel Shinn
Was:
“Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement.”Now: “Every great work, every big accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement.” - Fran Lebowitz
Was:
“Life is something you do when you can't get to sleep.”Now: “Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep.” - Fran Lebowitz
Was:
“Remember that as a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.”Now: “Remember that as a teenager you are in the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear the phone is for you.” - Fran Lebowitz
Was:
“Being a woman is of special interest only to aspiring male transsexuals. To actual women it is merely a good excuse not to play football.”Now: “Being a woman is of special interest only to aspiring male transsexuals. To actual women it is simply a good excuse not to play football.” - Francis Bacon
Was:
“They are ill discoverers that think there is no land when they see nothing but sea.”Now: “They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.” - Francis Bacon
Was:
“Hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.”Now: “Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.” - Francis Bacon
Was:
“Silence is the virtue of fools.”Now: “Silence is the virtue of a fool.” - Francis Quarles
Was:
“Let the fear of a danger be a spur to prevent it; he that fears not, gives advantage to the danger.”Now: “Let the fear of a danger be a spur to prevent it: He that fears otherwise, gives advantage to the danger.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
Was:
“Pictures deface walls more often than they decorate them.”Now: “Pictures deface walls oftener than they decorate them.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Was:
“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel in order to be tough.”Now: “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Was:
“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want--which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression gainst any neighbor--anywhere in the world.”Now: “In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation.” - Frantz Fanon
Was:
“When a bachelor of philosophy from the Antilles refuses to apply for certification as a teacher on the grounds of his color I say that philosophy has never saved anyone. When someone else strives and strains to prove to me that black men are as intelligent as white men I say that intelligence has never saved anyone: and that is true, for, if philosophy and intelligence are invoked to proclaim the equality of men, they have also been employed to justify the extermination of men.”Now: “What is there to say? Purely and simply this: When a bachelor of philosophy from Antilles refuses to apply for certification as a teacher on the ground of his color. I say that philosophy has never saved anyone. Wren one else strives and strains to prove to me that black men are as intelligent as white men, I say that intelligence has never saved anyone; and that is true, for, if philosophy and intelligence are invoked to proclaim the equality of men, they have also been employed to justify the extermination of men .” - Frederick W. Faber
Was:
“Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.”Now: “Kindness has converted more sinners than either zeal, eloquence, or learning.” - Frederick W. Faber
Was:
“Kind thoughts are rarer than either kind words or deeds. They imply a great deal of thinking about others. This in itself is rare. But they also imply a great deal of thinking about others without the thoughts being criticisms. This is rarer still.”Now: “Kind thoughts are rarer than either kind words or kind deeds. They imply a great deal of thinking about others. This in itself is rare. But they imply also a great deal of thinking about others without the thoughts being criticisms. This is rarer still.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
Was:
“Madness is something rare in individuals -- but in groups, parties, peoples, ages it is the rule.”Now: “Madness is something rare in individuals — but in groups, parties, peoples, epochs it is the rule.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
Was:
“The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.”Now: “The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous toy.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
Was:
“Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.”Now: “Morality is herd instinct in the individual.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
Was:
“Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood.”Now: “Of all that is written, I love only what a man has written with his own blood.” - Georg C. Lichtenberg
Was:
“Man loves company, even if it is only that of a smoldering candle.”Now: “Man loves company — even if it is only that of a small burning candle.” - George Ade
Was:
“In the city a funeral is just an interruption of traffic; in the country it is a form of popular entertainment.”Now: “In the city a funeral is just an interruption of traffic; in the country it is a form of entertainment.” - George Barrington
Was:
“True patriots we; for be it understood we left our country for our country's good.”Now: “True patriots all; for be it understood We left our country for our country’s good.” - George Bernard Shaw
Was:
“No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect.”Now: “No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it well, ever loses his self-respect.” - George Bernard Shaw
Was:
“The government who robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”Now: “A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” - George Bernard Shaw
Was:
“Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.”Now: “Do not do unto others as you would expect they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.” - George Bernard Shaw
Was:
“You will never have a quiet world until you knock the patriotism out of the human race.”Now: “You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.” - George Bernard Shaw
Was:
“There are no secrets better kept than the secrets everybody guesses.”Now: “There are no secrets better kept than the secrets that everybody guesses.” - George Eliot
Was:
“There is no despair so absolute as that which comes with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and be healed, to have despaired and have recovered hope.”Now: “For there is no despair so absolute as that which comes with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and be healed, to have despaired and to have recovered hope.” - George Eliot
Was:
“There is much pain that is quite noiseless; and vibrations that make human agonies are often a mere whisper in the roar of hurrying existence. There are glances of hatred that stab and raise no cry of murder; robberies that leave man or woman for ever beggared of peace and joy, yet kept secret by the sufferer --committed to no sound except that of low moans in the night, seen in no writing except that made on the face by the slow months of suppressed anguish and early morning tears. Many an inherited sorrow that has marred a life has been breathed into no human ear.”Now: “But these things are often unknown to the world; for there is much pain that is quite noiseless; and vibrations that make human agonies are often a mere whisper in the roar of hurrying existence. There are glances of hatred that stab and raise no cry of murder; robberies that leave man or woman for ever beggared of peace and joy, yet kept secret by the sufferer – committed to no sound except that of low moans in the night, seen in no writing except that made on the face by the slow months of suppressed anguish and early morning tears. Many an inherited sorrow that has marred a life has been breathed in no human ear.” - George Eliot
Was:
“I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I am loved. I am not sure that you are of the same kind. But the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave. This is the world of literature and speech and I shall take leave to tell you that you are very dear.”Now: “I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I am loved. I am not sure that you are of the same kind. But the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave. This is the world of light and speech, and I shall take leave to tell you that you are very dear.” - George Eliot
Was:
“It is seldom that the miserable of the world can help regarding their misery as a wrong inflicted by those who are less miserable.”Now: “It is seldom that the miserable can help regarding their misery as a wrong inflicted by those who are less miserable.” - George Farquhar
Was:
“Poetry is a mere drug, Sir.”Now: “Poetry’s a mere drug, Sir.” - George Farquhar
Was:
“There's no scandal like rags, nor any crime so shameful as poverty.”Now: “There is no scandal like rags, nor any crime so shameful as poverty.” - George Herbert
Was:
“The resolved mind hath no cares.”Now: “The resolved minde hath no cares.” - George Herbert
Was:
“One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.”Now: “682. One father is more than a hundred schoole-masters.” - George Herbert
Was:
“Deceive not thy physician, confessor, nor lawyer.”Now: “Deceive not thy physitian, confessor, nor lawyer.” - George Herbert
Was:
“One sword keeps another in the sheath.”Now: “719. One sword keepes another in the sheath.” - George Herbert
Was:
“A dwarf on a giant's shoulders sees the further of the two.”Now: “A dwarf on a giant's shoulders sees farther of the two.” - George Herbert
Was:
“Time is the rider that breaks youth.”Now: “611. Time is the rider that breakes youth.” - George Linnaeus Banks
Was:
“For the cause that lacks assistance, The wrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that I can do.”Now: “For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that I can do.” - George Macdonald
Was:
“Division has done more to hide Christ from the view of all men than all the infidelity that has ever been spoken.”Now: “Division has done more to hide Christ from the view of men than all the infidelity that has ever been spoken.” - George Macdonald
Was:
“Afflictions are but the shadows of God's wings.”Now: “Afflictions are but the shadow of His wings.” - George Mikes
Was:
“Continental people have sex lives; the English have hot-water bottles.”Now: “Continental people have sex life; the English have hot-water bottles.” - George Orwell
Was:
“One cannot really be a Catholic and grown up.”Now: “One cannot really be Catholic & grown-up.” - George Orwell
Was:
“To see what is in front of one's nose requires a constant struggle.”Now: “To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle.” - George Santayana
Was:
“Our dignity is not in what we do, but what we understand.”Now: “Our dignity is not in what we do, but in what we understand.” - George Santayana
Was:
“Let a man once overcome his selfish terror at his own infinitude, and his infinitude is, in one sense, overcome.”Now: “Let a man once overcome his selfish terror at his own finitude, and his finitude is, in one sense, overcome.” - George Santayana
Was:
“I like to walk about among the beautiful things that adorn the world; but private wealth I should decline, or any sort of personal possessions, because they would take away my liberty.”Now: “I like to walk about amidst the beautiful things that adorn the world; but private wealth I should decline, or any sort of personal possessions, because they would take away my liberty.” - George Villiers
Was:
“The world's a forest, in which all lose their way; though by a different path each goes astray.”Now: “The world's a wood, in which all lose their way, Though by a different path each goes astray.” - George Washington
Was:
“To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.”Now: “To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” - Germaine Greer
Was:
“The principle of the brotherhood of man is narcissistic... for the grounds for that love have always been the assumption that we ought to realize that we are the same the whole world over.”Now: “The principle of the brotherhood of man is that narcissistic one, for the grounds for that love have always been the assumption that we ought to realize that we are the same the whole world over.” - Gertrude Stein
Was:
“Everybody gets so much common information all day long that they lose their common sense.”Now: “Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” - Gertrude Stein
Was:
“What is the answer?, [Silence], In that case, what is the question?”Now: “"What is the answer?" [ I was silent ] "In that case, what is the question?"” - Gertrude Stein
Was:
“It is funny the two things most men are proudest of is the thing that any man can do and doing does in the same way, that is being drunk and being the father of their son.”Now: “The two things most men are proudest of is the thing that any man can do and doing does in the same way, that is being drunk and being the father of their son.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton
Was:
“Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.”Now: “[A]rt is limitation. [...] The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton
Was:
“But there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen before we go to Paradise by way of Kensal Green.”Now: “For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen, Before we go to Paradise by way of Kensal Green.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton
Was:
“Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it.”Now: “Truth must of necessity be stranger than fiction ... for fiction is the creation of the human mind, and therefore is congenial to it.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton
Was:
“The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder.”Now: “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.” - Gore Vidal
Was:
“It is the spirit of the age to believe that any fact, no matter how suspect, is superior to any imaginative exercise, no matter how true.”Now: “It is the spirit of the age to believe that any fact, however suspect, is superior to any imaginative exercise, no matter how true.” - H. L. Mencken
Was:
“Love is the delusion that one man or woman differs from another.”Now: “Love is the delusion that one woman differs from another.” - H. L. Mencken
Was:
“Remorse is regret that one waited so long to do it.”Now: “Remorse — Regret that one waited so long to do it.” - H.G. Wells
Was:
“Cynicism is humor in ill health.”Now: “Cynicism is humour in ill health.” - Harold Nicolson
Was:
“To be a good diarist, one must have a snouty, sneaky mind.”Now: “To be a good diarist, one must have a little snouty, sneaky mind.” - Harry Emerson Fosdick
Was:
“Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat.”Now: “Hating people is like burning down your own home to get rid of a rat.” - Havelock Ellis
Was:
“The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands.”Now: “The sun and the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago...had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands.” - Hector Hugh Munro
Was:
“He is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death.”Now: “Waldo is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death.” - Hector Hugh Munro
Was:
“We all know that Prime Ministers are wedded to the truth, but like other wedded couples they sometimes live apart.”Now: “We all know that Prime Ministers are wedded to the truth, but like other married couples they sometimes live apart.” - Helen Keller
Was:
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”Now: “No doubt the reason is that character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” - Helen Keller
Was:
“Many people have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”Now: “Many persons have a wrong of idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” - Henry Codman Potter
Was:
“If there be no nobility of descent in a nation, all the more indispensable is it that there should be nobility of ascent -- a character in them that bear rule, so fine and high and pure, that as men come within the circle of its influence, they involuntarily pay homage to that which is the one pre-eminent distinction, the Royalty of Virtue.”Now: “If there be no nobility of descent, all the more indispensable is it that there should be nobility of ascent, — a character in them that bear rule so fine and high and pure that as men come within the circle of its influence they involuntarily pay homage to that which is the one pre-eminent distinction, the royalty of virtue.” - Henry David Thoreau
Was:
“For many years I was a self-appointed inspector of snowstorms and rainstorms and did my duty faithfully, though I never received payment for it.”Now: “For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snowstorms and rainstorms, and did my duty faithfully, though I never received one cent for it.” - Henry David Thoreau
Was:
“The law will never make men free, it is men that have to make the law free.”Now: “The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free.” - Henry David Thoreau
Was:
“That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.”Now: “That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.” - Henry Ford
Was:
“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.”Now: “Nothing is particularly hard if you subdivide it into small jobs.” - Henry James
Was:
“Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.”Now: “Don't mind anything anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.” - Henry Miller
Was:
“Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not yet understood.”Now: “Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood.” - Henry Miller
Was:
“In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest.”Now: “In this age, which believes that there is a short-cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way, in the long run, is the easiest.” - Henry Miller
Was:
“The man who is forever disturbed about the condition of humanity either has no problems of his own or has refused to face them.”Now: “The man who is forever disturbed about the problems of humanity either has no problems of his own or has refused to face them.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Was:
“Doubtless criticism was originally benignant, pointing out the beauties of a work rather that its defects. The passions of men have made it malignant, as a bad heart of Procreates turned the bed, the symbol of repose, into an instrument of torture.”Now: “Doubtless criticism was originally benignant, pointing out the beauties of a work, rather than its defects. The passions of men have made it malignant, as the bad heart of Procrustes turned the bed, the symbol of repose, into an instrument of torture.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Was:
“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each person's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”Now: “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Was:
“Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present. In is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future, without fear, and a manly heart.”Now: “Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future, without fear, and with a manly heart.” - Henry Ward Beecher
Was:
“Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?”Now: “Where is human nature so weak as in a book store?” - Henry Ward Beecher
Was:
“All words are pegs to hang ideas on.”Now: “All words are pegs to hang ideas upon.” - Hervey Allen
Was:
“Each new generation is a fresh invasion of savages.”Now: “Every new generation...is a fresh invasion of savages.” - Hilaire Belloc
Was:
“I shoot the Hippopotamus with bullets made of platinum, because if I use the leaden one his hide is sure to flatten em.”Now: “I shoot the Hippopotamus With bullets made of platinum, Because if I use leaden ones His hide is sure to flatten 'em.” - Horace Mann
Was:
“Ignorance breeds monsters to fill up the vacancies of the soul that are unoccupied by the verities of knowledge.”Now: “Ignorance breeds monsters to fill up all the vacancies of the soul that are unoccupied by the verities of knowledge.” - Horace Mann
Was:
“Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.”Now: “Habit is a cable. We weave a thread of it every day, and at last we cannot break it.” - Immanuel Kant
Was:
“Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.”Now: “Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.” - Iris Murdoch
Was:
“He was a sociologist; he had got into an intellectual muddle early on in life and never managed to get out.”Now: “Whit Meynell was a sociologist; he had got into an intellectual muddle early on in life and never managed to get out.” - Iris Murdoch
Was:
“All art is a struggle to be, in a particular sort of way, virtuous.”Now: “All art is the struggle to be, in a particular sort of way, virtuous.” - Izaak Walton
Was:
“Angling may be said to be so like the mathematics that it can never be fully learned.”Now: “Angling may be said to be so like the mathematics that it can never be fully learnt.” - J. William Fulbright
Was:
“In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but its effects.”Now: “In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not its taste, but its effect, ...” - James A. Garfield
Was:
“If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.”Now: “If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.” - James Joyce
Was:
“All things are inconstant except the faith in the soul, which changes all things and fills their inconstancy with light, but though I seem to be driven out of my country as a misbeliever I have found no man yet with a faith like mine.”Now: “All things are inconstant except the faith in the soul, which changes all things and fills their inconstancy with light. And though I seem to have been driven out of my country here as a misbeliever I have found no man yet with a faith like mine.” - James Russell Lowell
Was:
“Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or by the handle.”Now: “Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle.” - James Russell Lowell
Was:
“The question of common sense is ''what is it good for?'' A question which would abolish the rose and be answered triumphantly by the cabbage.”Now: “The question of common sense is always "What is it good for?"—a question which would abolish the rose and be answered triumphantly by the cabbage.” - James Russell Lowell
Was:
“Solitude is as needed to the imagination as society is wholesome to the character.”Now: “Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character.” - James Russell Lowell
Was:
“I don't believe in principle, but I do in interest.”Now: “I don't believe in princerple, But oh I du in interest.” - James Russell Lowell
Was:
“It is not the insurrections of ignorance that are dangerous, but the revolts of the intelligence.”Now: “It is not the insurrections of ignorance that are dangerous, but the revolts of intelligence.” - James Russell Lowell
Was:
“Let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never happen.”Now: “Let us be of good cheer, however, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come.” - James Russell Lowell
Was:
“The foolish and the dead never change their opinions.”Now: “The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.” - James Thurber
Was:
“My opposition [To Interviews] lies in the fact that offhand answers have little value or grace of expression, and that such oral give and take helps to perpetuate the decline of the English language.”Now: “My opposition lies in the fact that offhand answers have little value or grace of expression, and that such oral give and take helps to perpetuate the decline of the English language.” - James Thurber
Was:
“A word to the wise is not sufficient if it doesn't make sense.”Now: “A word to the wise is not sufficient if it doesn't make any sense.” - Jane Austen
Was:
“We do not look in our great cities for our best morality.”Now: “We do not look in great cities for our best morality.” - Jane Austen
Was:
“There are certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are of pretty woman to deserve them.”Now: “But there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them.” - Jane Austen
Was:
“Business, you know, may bring you money, but friendship hardly ever does.”Now: “Business, you know, may bring money, but friendship hardly ever does.” - Jane Austen
Was:
“I am afraid that the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.”Now: “"I am afraid", replied Elinor, "that the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety."” - Jane Austen
Was:
“What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.”Now: “What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance.” - Jean Giraudoux
Was:
“The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is the example of the eternal seductiveness of life.”Now: “The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.” - Jean Paul Richter
Was:
“The miracle on earth are the laws of heaven.”Now: “The miracles of earth are the laws of heaven.” - Jean-Paul Sartre
Was:
“All human actions are equivalent... and all are on principle doomed to failure.”Now: “All human activities are equivalent ... and ... all are on principle doomed to failure.” - Jeremy Collier
Was:
“Idleness is an inlet to disorder, and makes way for licentiousness. People who have nothing to do are quickly tired of their own company.”Now: “Idleness is an inlet to disorder, and makes way for licentiousness. People that have nothing to do are quickly tired of their own company.” - Jerome K. Jerome
Was:
“Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life. The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of life. But the love of the old for the old, that is the beginning of things longer.”Now: “Nothing—so it seems to me...is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life. … The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of life. But the love of the old for the old, that is the beginning of—of things longer.” - Joan Baez
Was:
“You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can decide how you're going to live now.”Now: “You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now.” - Johann Kaspar Lavater
Was:
“The prudent see only the difficulties, the bold only the advantages, of a great enterprise; the hero sees both; diminishes the former and makes the latter preponderate, and so conquers.”Now: “The prudent sees only the difficulties, the bold only the advantages, of a great enterprise; the hero sees both, diminishes those, makes these preponderate, and conquers.” - Johann Kaspar Lavater
Was:
“The craftiest trickery are too short and ragged a cloak to cover a bad heart.”Now: “The craftiest wiles are too short and ragged a cloak to cover a bad heart.” - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Was:
“Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image”Now: “Behaviour is a mirror in which everyone shows his image.” - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Was:
“No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others.”Now: “No one would talk much in society, if he knew how often he misunderstands others.” - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Was:
“Instruction does much, but encouragement does everything.”Now: “Instruction does much, but encouragement everything.” - John Aubrey
Was:
“Sir Walter, being strangely surprised and put out of his countenance at so great a table, gives his son a damned blow over the face. His son, as rude as he was, would not strike his father, but strikes over the face the gentleman that sat next to him and said ''Box about: twill come to my father anon.''”Now: “Sir Walter, being strangely supprized and putt out of his countenance at so great a Table, gives his son a damned blow over the face; his son, as rude as he was, would not strike his father, but strikes over the face of the Gentleman that sate next to him, and sayed, Box about, 'twill come to my Father anon. 'Tis now a common used Proverb.” - John Barrymore
Was:
“America is the country where you can buy a lifetime supply of aspirin For one dollar and use it up in two weeks.”Now: “Economics: America is the country where you can buy a lifetime supply of aspirin for a dollar and use it up in two weeks.” - John Berger
Was:
“A peasant becomes fond of his pig and is glad to salt away its pork. What is significant, and is so difficult for the urban stranger to understand, is that the two statements are connected by an and not by a but.”Now: “A peasant becomes fond of his pig and is glad to salt away its pork. What is significant, and is so difficult for the urban stranger to understand, is that the two statements in that sentence are connected by an and and not by a but.” - John Donne
Was:
“But I do nothing upon myself, and yet I am my own executioner.”Now: “But I do nothing upon my self, and yet I am mine own Executioner.” - John Dryden
Was:
“For all have not the gift of martyrdom.”Now: “All have not the gift of martyrdom.” - John Dryden
Was:
“Self-defense is Nature's eldest law.”Now: “Self-defence is nature's eldest law” - John Dryden
Was:
“All things are subject to decay and when fate summons, monarchs must obey.”Now: “All human things are subject to decay, And, when fate summons, monarchs must obey.” - John Dryden
Was:
“Ill habits gather unseen degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.”Now: “Ill habits gather by unseen degrees, As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.” - John Dryden
Was:
“Pains of love be sweeter far than all the other pleasures are.”Now: “Pains of love be sweeter far Than all other pleasures are.” - John Dryden
Was:
“Jealousy is the jaundice of the soul.”Now: “Jealousy, the jaundice of the soul.” - John Dryden
Was:
“Look around the inhabited world; how few know their own good, or knowing it, pursue.”Now: “Look round the habitable world: how few Know their own good, or knowing it, pursue.” - John F. Kennedy
Was:
“I have just received the following wire from my generous Daddy. It says, ''Dear Jack: Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide.''”Now: “I have just received the following wire from my generous daddy: "Dear Jack – Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary – I’ll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide."” - John Galsworthy
Was:
“One's eyes are what one is, one's mouth is what one becomes.”Now: “One's eyes are what one is, one's mouth what one becomes.” - John Galsworthy
Was:
“If you do not think about your future, you cannot have one.”Now: “If you do not think about the future, you cannot have one.” - John Gay
Was:
“Do you think your mother and I should have lived comfortably so long together, if ever we had been married? Baggage!”Now: “Do you think your Mother and I should have liv'd comfortably so long together, if ever we had been married?” - John Harington
Was:
“Books give not wisdom where none was before. But where some is, there reading makes it more.”Now: “Books give not wisdom where was none before, But where some is, there reading makes it more.” - John Henry Newman
Was:
“It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never inflicts pain.”Now: “It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain.” - John Heywood
Was:
“A hard beginning maketh a good ending.”Now: “A hard beginnyng makth a good endyng.” - John Heywood
Was:
“Many hands make light work.”Now: “Many hands make light warke.” - John Heywood
Was:
“Wedding is destiny, and hanging likewise.”Now: “Weddyng is desteny, And hangyng likewise.” - John Kenneth Galbraith
Was:
“More die in the United States from too much food that from too little.”Now: “More die in the United States of too much food than of too little.” - John Kenneth Galbraith
Was:
“It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put on the troubled seas of thought.”Now: “It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought.” - John Lennon
Was:
“Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.”Now: “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” - John Locke
Was:
“Government has no other end, but the preservation of property.”Now: “Government has no other end than the preservation of property.” - John Milton
Was:
“Sweet bird, that shun the noise of folly, most musical, most melancholy!”Now: “Sweet bird, that shunn'st the noise of folly, Most musical, most melancholy!” - John Milton
Was:
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”Now: “The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n.” - John Oliver Hobbes
Was:
“Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.”Now: “Men heap together the mistakes of their lives and create a monster which they call Destiny.” - John Ruskin
Was:
“Of all God's gifts to the sighted man, color is holiest, the most divine, the most solemn.”Now: “Of all God's gifts to the sight of man, colour is the holiest, the most divine, the most solemn.” - John Ruskin
Was:
“Life without industry is guilt. Industry without Art is Brutality.”Now: “Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality.” - John Ruskin
Was:
“In old times men used their powers of painting to show the objects of faith, in later times they use the objects of faith to show their powers of painting.”Now: “In old times, men used their powers of painting to show the objects of faith; in later times, they used the objects of faith that they might show their powers of painting.” - John Ruskin
Was:
“Punishment is the last and the least effective instrument in the hands of the legislator for the prevention of crime.”Now: “Punishment is the last and least effective instrument in the hands of the legislator for the prevention of crime.” - John Steinbeck
Was:
“Writers are a little below the clowns and a little above the trained seals.”Now: “Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.” - Jonathan Swift
Was:
“Invention is the talent of youth, as judgment is of age.”Now: “Invention is the talent of youth, and judgment of age…” - Jonathan Swift
Was:
“Every one desires to live long, but no one would be old.”Now: “Every man desires to live long, but no man would be old.” - Jonathan Swift
Was:
“Ambition often puts Men upon doing the meanest offices; so climbing is performed in the same position with creeping.”Now: “Ambition often puts men upon doing the meanest offices; so climbing is performed in the same posture with creeping.” - Jonathan Swift
Was:
“Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches to conceive how others can be in want.”Now: “But nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches, as to conceive how others can be in want.” - Jonathan Swift
Was:
“We are so fond on one another because our ailments are the same.”Now: “We are so fond of one another, because our ailments are the same.” - Joseph Addison
Was:
“A good conscience is to the soul what health is to the body; it preserves constant ease and serenity within us; and more than countervails all the calamities and afflictions which can befall us from without.”Now: “A good conscience is to the soul what health is to the body; it preserves a constant ease and serenity within us, and more than countervails all the calamities and afflictions which can possibly befall us.” - Joseph Addison
Was:
“What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to an human soul.”Now: “What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.” - Joseph Addison
Was:
“''We are always doing,'' says he, ''something for posterity, but I would see posterity do something for us.''”Now: “We are always doing something for Posterity, but I would fain see Posterity do something for us.” - Joseph Addison
Was:
“Nothing is capable of being well set to music that is not nonsense.”Now: “That nothing is capable of being well set to Musick, that is not Nonsense.” - Joseph Addison
Was:
“We are growing serious, and let me tell you, that's the next step to being dull.”Now: “We are growing serious, and, Let me tell you, that's the very next step to being dull.” - Joseph Addison
Was:
“Our disputants put me in mind of the cuttlefish that, when he is unable to extricate himself, blackens the water about him till he becomes invisible.”Now: “Our disputants put me in mind of the skuttle fish, that when he is unable to extricate himself, blackens all the water about him, till he becomes invisible.” - Joseph Addison
Was:
“A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortunes.”Now: “A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most real blessings or misfortunes.” - Joseph Chamberlain
Was:
“The day of small nations has long passed away. The day of Empires has come.”Now: “The day of small nations has passed away; the day of Empires has come.” - Joseph Conrad
Was:
“Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it.”Now: “Facing it — always facing it — that's the way to get through.” - Joseph Joubert
Was:
“The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.”Now: “The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.” - Joseph Joubert
Was:
“Tenderness is the rest of passion.”Now: “Tenderness is the repose of passion.” - Joseph Roux
Was:
“A fine quotation is a diamond in the hand of a man of wit and a pebble in the hand of a fool.”Now: “A fine quotation is a diamond on the finger of a man of wit, and a pebble in the hand of a fool.” - Joseph Roux
Was:
“Science is for those who learn, poetry is for those who know.”Now: “Science is for those who learn; poetry, for those who know.” - Josh Billings
Was:
“When a man gets talking about himself, he seldom fails to be eloquent and often reaches the sublime.”Now: “When a man gits tew talking about himself, he seldum fails tew be eloquent, and often reaches the sublime.” - Josh Billings
Was:
“I honestly believe it is better to know nothing than to know what ain't so.”Now: “I honestly beleave it iz better tew know nothing than two know what ain't so.” - Josh Billings
Was:
“I don't care how much a person talks, if they only say it in a few words.”Now: “I don't care how much a man talks, if he only says it in a few words.” - Josh Billings
Was:
“To bring up a child in the way he should go -- travel that way yourself.”Now: “Tew bring up a child in the wa he should go—travel that wa yourself.” - Junius
Was:
“One precedent creates another and they soon accumulate and constitute law. What yesterday was a fact, today is doctrine.”Now: “One precedent creates another. They soon accumulate and constitute law. What yesterday was fact, today is doctrine.” - Karl Kraus
Was:
“Squeeze human nature into the straitjacket of criminal justice and crime will appear.”Now: “Squeeze human nature into a straitjacket of criminal justice and crime will appear!” - Karl Kraus
Was:
“The closer the look one takes at a word, the greater distance from which it looks back.”Now: “The closer the look one takes at a word, the greater the distance from which it looks back.” - Karl Kraus
Was:
“War: first, one hopes to win; then one expects the enemy to lose; then, one is satisfied that he too is suffering; in the end, one is surprised that everyone has lost.”Now: “War: first, one hopes to win; then one expects the enemy to lose; then, one is satisfied that the enemy too is suffering; in the end, one is surprised that everyone has lost.” - Karl Marx
Was:
“Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks.”Now: “Capital is dead labor, that vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks.” - Karl Marx
Was:
“The Tories in England had long imagined that they were enthusiastic about the monarchy, the church and beauties of the old English Constitution, until the day of danger wrung from them the confession that they are enthusiastic only about rent.”Now: “The Tories in England long imagined that they were enthusiastic about monarchy, the church, and the beauties of the old English Constitution, until the day of danger wrung from them the confession that they are enthusiastic only about ground rent.” - Katherine Mansfield
Was:
“The pleasure of reading is doubled when one lives with another who shares the same books.”Now: “The pleasure of all reading is doubled when one lives with another who shares the same books.” - Katherine Mansfield
Was:
“Risk! Risk Anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those other voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.”Now: “Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.” - Kin Hubbard
Was:
“It's pretty hard to be efficient without being obnoxious.”Now: “It's purty hard t' be efficient without bein' obnoxious.” - Kin Hubbard
Was:
“The only way to entertain some folks is to listen to them.”Now: “Th' only way t' entertain some folks is t' listen t' 'em.” - Kin Hubbard
Was:
“Getting talked about is one of the penalties for being pretty, while being above suspicion is about the only compensation for being homely.”Now: “Gittin' talked about is one o' th' penalties for bein' purty, while bein' above suspicion is about th' only compensation fer bein' homely.” - Kin Hubbard
Was:
“Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature.”Now: “Now an' then an innocent man is sent t' th' legislature.” - Kin Hubbard
Was:
“We'd all like to vote for the best man, but he's never a candidate.”Now: “We’d all like t’vote fer th’best man, but he’s never a candidate.” - Kin Hubbard
Was:
“Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.”Now: “Don't knock th' weather. Nine-tenths o' th' people couldn' start a conversation if it didn' change once in a while.” - Laurence Sterne
Was:
“The desire of knowledge, like the thirst for riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it.”Now: “The desire of knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it.” - Leon Trotsky
Was:
“Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man.”Now: “Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man.” - Leonardo Da Vinci
Was:
“As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.”Now: “As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.” - Lewis H. Lapham
Was:
“A certain kind of rich man afflicted with the symptoms of moral dandyism sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it isn't enough merely to make money. He feels obliged to hold views, to espouse causes and elect Presidents, to explain to a trembling world how and why the world went wrong. The spectacle is nearly always comic.”Now: “A certain kind of rich man afflicted with the symptoms of moral dandyism sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it isn't enough merely to make money. He feels obliged to hold views, to espouse causes and elect Presidents, to explain to a trembling world how and why the world went wrong.” - Lily Tomlin
Was:
“Reality is the crutch for people who can't cope with drugs.”Now: “Reality is a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs.” - Lily Tomlin
Was:
“I have always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.”Now: “All my life, I've always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.” - Logan Pearsall Smith
Was:
“What's more enchanting than the voices of young people, when you can't hear what they say?”Now: “What music is more enchanting than the voices of young people, when you can't hear what they say?” - Logan Pearsall Smith
Was:
“How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares, were there a danger of their coming true!”Now: “How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares if there seemed any danger of their coming true!” - Logan Pearsall Smith
Was:
“I can't forgive my friends for dying; I don't find these vanishing acts of theirs at all amusing.”Now: “I cannot forgive my friends for dying; I do not find these vanishing acts of theirs at all amusing.” - Logan Pearsall Smith
Was:
“The indefatigable pursuit of an unattainable perfection --even though nothing more than the pounding of an old piano --is what alone gives a meaning to our life on this unavailing star.”Now: “The indefatigable pursuit of an unattainable perfection, even though it consist in nothing more than the pounding of an old piano, is what alone gives a meaning to our life on this unavailing star.” - Lord Byron
Was:
“'Tis pleasant, sure, to see one's name in print; A book's a book, although there's nothing in it.”Now: “'Tis pleasure, sure, to see one's name in print; A book's a book, although there's nothing in 't.” - Lord Byron
Was:
“A man must serve his time to every trade save censure -- critics all are ready made.”Now: “A man must serve his time to every trade Save censure — critics are ready-made.” - Lord Chesterfield
Was:
“Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with. Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket: and do not merely pull it out and strike it; merely to show that you have one.”Now: “Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with. Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket: and do not pull it out and strike it; merely to show that you have one.” - Lord Chesterfield
Was:
“Knowledge of the world in only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.”Now: “The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.” - Lord Chesterfield
Was:
“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no delay, no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”Now: “Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.” - Lord Chesterfield
Was:
“I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves.”Now: “I recommend you to take care of the minutes: for hours will take care of themselves.” - Louis Kronenberger
Was:
“There seems to be a great misunderstanding on the part of a great many people to the effect that when you cease to believe you may cease to behave.”Now: “There seems to be a terrible misunderstanding on the part of a great many people to the effect that when you cease to believe you may cease to behave.” - Louisa May Alcott
Was:
“Girls are so queer you never know what they mean. They say No when they mean Yes, and drive a man out of his wits for the fun of it.”Now: “Girls are so queer you never know what they mean. They say no when they mean yes, and drive a man out of his wits just for the fun of it.” - Louisa May Alcott
Was:
“Talent isn't genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing. I won't be a commonplace dauber, so I don't intend to try any more.”Now: “That's just why, because talent isn't genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing. I won't be a common-place dauber, so I don't intend to try any more.” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
Was:
“For a large class of cases -- though not for all -- in which we employ the word ''meaning'' it can be defined thus: the meaning of a word is its use in the language.”Now: “For a large class of cases — though not for all — in which we employ the word meaning it can be explained thus: the meaning of a word is its use in the language.” - Luis Bunuel
Was:
“In the name of Hypocrites, doctors have invented the most exquisite form of torture ever known to man: survival.”Now: “In the name of Hippocrates, doctors have invented the most exquisite form of torture ever known to man: survival.” - Luis Bunuel
Was:
“If someone were to prove to me -- right this minute -- that God, in all his luminousness, exists, it wouldn't change a single aspect of my behavior.”Now: “If someone were to prove to me- right this minute- that God, in all his luminescence, exists, it wouldn't change a single aspect of my behavior.” - Mae West
Was:
“It's not the men in my life that counts, it's the life in my men.”Now: “It's not the men in your life that count, it's the life in your men.” - Mae West
Was:
“Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution.”Now: “Marriage is a fine institution, but I'm not ready for an institution.” - Mahatma Gandhi
Was:
“I have learned through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmitted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmitted into a power that can move the world.”Now: “I have learnt through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power which can move the world.” - Marcus Aurelius
Was:
“A man should be upright, not be kept upright.”Now: “A man should be upright, not kept upright.” - Margaret Halsey
Was:
“Humility is not my forte, and whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people's characters.”Now: “Whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people's characters.” - Margaret Thatcher
Was:
“Pennies do not come from heaven -- they have to be earned here on earth.”Now: “Pennies don't fall from heaven, they have to be earned here on earth.” - Marianne Williamson
Was:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”Now: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Mark Twain
Was:
“Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written.”Now: “Biographies are but clothes and buttons of the man — the biography of the man himself cannot be written.” - Mark Twain
Was:
“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”Now: “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” - Mark Twain
Was:
“You cannot depend on your judgments when your imagination is out of focus.”Now: “You can't depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.” - Mark Twain
Was:
“A powerful agent is the right word. Whenever we come upon one of those intensely right words... the resulting effect is physical as well as spiritual, and electrically prompt.”Now: “A powerful agent is the right word. Whenever we come upon one of those intensely right words in a book or a newspaper the resulting effect is physical as well as spiritual, and electrically prompt.” - Martin Luther
Was:
“Superstition, idolatry and hypocrisy have ample wages, but the truth goes begging.”Now: “Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages, but truth goes a-begging.” - Mary Wollstonecraft
Was:
“Taught from infancy that beauty is woman's scepter, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.”Now: “Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.” - Matthew Arnold
Was:
“Because thou must not dream, thou need not despair.”Now: “Because thou must not dream, thou needst not then despair!” - Max Frisch
Was:
“Technology... the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it.”Now: “Technology [is] the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it.” - Michael Bruce
Was:
“In every pang that rends the heart the Man of Sorrows has a part.”Now: “In every pang that rends the heart The Man of Sorrows had a part” - Michael Korda
Was:
“The freedom to fail is vital if you're going to succeed, most successful men fail time and time again, and it is a measure of their strength that failure merely propels them into some new attempt at success.”Now: “The freedom to fail is vital if you're going to succeed. Most successful people fail from time to time, and it is a measure of their strength that failure merely propels them into some new attempt at success.” - Milton Friedman
Was:
“Inflation is one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation.”Now: “Inflation is the one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation.” - Mortimer J. Adler
Was:
“In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”Now: “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you.” - Motto
Was:
“Impatience is the cause of most of our irregularities and extravagances Command by obeying.”Now: “Impatience is the cause of most of our irregularities and extravagances.” - Motto
Was:
“I will attained victory by God and my sword.”Now: “I have obtained it by God and my sword.” - Napoleon Bonaparte
Was:
“Greatness be nothing unless it be lasting.”Now: “Greatness is nothing unless it be lasting.” - Napoleon Hill
Was:
“All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.”Now: “All achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea! p.18” - Nikos Kazantzakis
Was:
“I said to the almond tree, ''Friend, speak to me of God,'' and the almond tree blossomed.”Now: “I said to the almond tree: "Speak to me of God." And the almond tree blossomed.” - Noam Chomsky
Was:
“If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.”Now: “If we don't believe in free expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.” - Norman Cousins
Was:
“The eternal quest of the human being is to shatter his loneliness.”Now: “The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter his loneliness.” - Norman Douglas
Was:
“You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.”Now: “You can tell the values of a nation by its advertisements.” - Norman Vincent Peale
Was:
“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.”Now: “Empty pockets never held anyone back...it's only empty heads and empty hearts that do it.” - Novalis
Was:
“Where children are, there is the golden age.”Now: “Where children are, there is a golden age.” - Ogden Nash
Was:
“To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the wedding cup, whenever you're wrong, admit it; whenever you're right, shut up.”Now: “To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you're wrong, admit it; Whenever you're right, shut up.” - Oliver Cromwell
Was:
“I had rather have a plain, russet-coated Captain, that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that which you call a Gentle-man and is nothing else.”Now: “I had rather have a plain, russet-coated Captain, that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that you call a Gentleman and is nothing else.” - Oliver Goldsmith
Was:
“There is no arguing with him, for if his pistol misses fire, he knocks you down with the butt end of it.”Now: “There is no arguing with Johnson: for if his pistol misses fire, he knocks you down with the butt end of it.” - Oliver Goldsmith
Was:
“For he that fights and runs away, may live to fight another day, but he, who is in battle slain, can never rise and fight again.”Now: “For he who fights and runs away May live to fight another day; But he who is in battle slain Can never rise and fight again.” - Oliver Goldsmith
Was:
“Thou source of all my bliss and all my woe, that found me poor at first, and keep me so.”Now: “Thou source of all my bliss, and all my woe, That found'st me poor at first, and keep'st me so.” - Oliver Goldsmith
Was:
“Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law.”Now: “Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.” - Omar Khayyam
Was:
“You know, my friends, with what a brave carouse I made a Second Marriage in my house; favored old barren reason from my bed, and took the daughter of the vine to spouse.”Now: “You know, my Friends, with what a brave Carouse I made a Second Marriage in my house; Divorced old barren Reason from my Bed And took the Daughter of the Vine to Spouse.” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last.”Now: “This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“The old believe everything; the middle aged suspect everything, and the young know everything.”Now: “The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything.” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years.”Now: “Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years.” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“Ambition is the last refuge of failure.”Now: “Ambition is the last refuge of the failure.” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“The amount of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one's clean linen in public.”Now: “The number of women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one's clean linen in public.” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“Yet each man kills the thing he loves from all let this be heard some does it with a bitter look some with a flattering word the coward does it with a kiss the brave man with the sword.”Now: “Yet each man kills the thing he loves By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word, The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword!” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“A poet can survive anything but a misprint.”Now: “A poet can survive everything but a misprint.” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“Time is waste of money.”Now: “Time is a waste of money.” - Oscar Wilde
Was:
“Never speak disrespectfully of Society. Only people who can't get into it do that.”Now: “Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only people who can't get into it do that.” - Owen Wister
Was:
“When you can't have what you choose, you just choose what you have.”Now: “When yu’ can’t have what you choose, yu’ just choose what you have.” - Paul Goodman
Was:
“Few great men could pass personal.”Now: “Few great men could pass personnel.” - Peace Pilgrim
Was:
“This is the way of peace: Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.”Now: “This is the way of peace — overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.” - Pearl S. Buck
Was:
“Perhaps one has to be very old before one learns to be amused rather than shocked.”Now: “Ah well, perhaps one has to be very old before one learns how to be amused rather than shocked.” - Penelope Fitzgerald
Was:
“However, no two people see the external world in exactly the same way. To every separate person a thing is what he thinks it is --in other words, not a thing, but a think.”Now: “No two people see the external world in exactly the same way. To every separate person a thing is what he thinks it is — in other words, not a thing, but a think.” - Percy Bysshe Shelley
Was:
“I think that the leaf of a tree, the meanest insect on which we trample, are in themselves arguments more conclusive than any which can be adduced that some vast intellect animates Infinity.”Now: “I think that the leaf of a tree, the meanest insect we trample are in themselves arguments more conclusive than any which can be adduced that some vast intellect animates Infinity.” - Pericles
Was:
“Wait for the wisest of all counselors, Time.”Now: “Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time.” - Peter Ustinov
Was:
“Once we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our mind, our duty is to furnish it well.”Now: “Once we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our mind, our one duty is to furnish it well.” - Philip Dormer Stanhope
Was:
“I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has heard me laugh.”Now: “I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh.” - Philip Gibbs
Was:
“It is better to give than to lend, and it costs about the same.”Now: “It's better to give than to lend, and it costs about the same.” - Philip James Bailey
Was:
“Who never doubted, never half believed. Where doubt is, there truth is -- it is her shadow.”Now: “Who never doubted never half believed Where doubt there truth is—'t is her shadow.” - Philip Roth
Was:
“Only in America do these peasants, our mothers, get their hair dyed platinum at the age of sixty, and walk up and down Collins Avenue in Florida in pedal pushers and mink stoles -- and with opinions on every subject under the sun. It isn't their fault they were given a gift like speech -- look, if cows could talk, they would say things just as idiotic.”Now: “Only in America, Rabbi Golden, do these peasants, our mothers, get their hair dyed platinum at the age of sixty, and walk up and down Collins Avenue in Florida in pedalpushers and mink stoles — and with opinions on every subject under the sun. It isn’t their fault they were given a gift like speech — look, if cows could talk, they would say things just as idiotic.” - Quentin Crisp
Was:
“An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last installment missing.”Now: “An autobiography is obituary in serial form with the last installment missing.” - Quentin Crisp
Was:
“The young always have the same problem -- how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another.”Now: “The young always have the same problem — how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this problem by defying their elders and copying each other.” - R. D. Laing
Was:
“Normality highly values its normal man. It educates children to lose themselves and to become absurd, and thus to be normal. Normal men have killed perhaps 100, 000 of their fellow normal men in the last fifty years.”Now: “Society highly values its normal man. It educates children to lose themselves and to become absurd, and thus to be normal. Normal men have killed perhaps 100,000,000 of their fellow normal men in the last fifty years.” - Rabindranath Tagore
Was:
“We live in the world when we love it.”Now: “WE live in this world when we love it.” - Rachel Carson
Was:
“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road -- the one less traveled by -- offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”Now: “We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road-the one "less traveled by"-offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of our earth. The choice, after all, is ours to make.” - Rainer Maria Rilke
Was:
“He reproduced himself with so much humble objectivity, with the unquestioning, matter of fact interest of a dog who sees himself in a mirror and thinks: there's another dog.”Now: “He [Cézanne] reproduced himself with so much humble objectivity, with the unquestioning, matter of fact interest of a dog who sees himself in a mirror and thinks: there's another dog.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think.”Now: “Character is higher than intellect...A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“Solvency is maintained by means of a national debt, on the principle, ''If you will not lend me the money, how can I pay you?”Now: “Solvency is maintained by means of the national debt, on the principle, "If you will not lend me the money, how can I pay you?"” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“Nature magically suits a man to his fortunes, by making them the fruit of his character.”Now: “Nature magically suits the man to his fortunes, by making these the fruit of his character.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.”Now: “Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“The best efforts of a fine person is felt after we have left their presence.”Now: “The best effect of fine persons is felt after we have left their presence.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”Now: “You can never do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“People do not deserve to have good writings; they are so pleased with the bad.”Now: “People do not deserve to have good writing, they are so pleased with bad.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“Poetry must be as new as foam and as old as the rock.”Now: “Poetry must be new as foam, and as old as the rock.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Was:
“A sect or party is an incognito devised to save man from the vexation of thinking.”Now: “A sect or party is an elegant incognito devised to save a man from the vexation of thinking.” - Ramsey Clark
Was:
“A right is not what someone gives you, it's what no one can take away from you.”Now: “A right is not what someone gives you; it's what no one can take from you.” - Raymond Chandler
Was:
“Alcohol is like love. The first kiss is magic, the second is intimate, the third is routine. After that you take the girl's clothes off.”Now: “"Alcohol is like love," he said. "The first kiss is magic, the second is intimate, the third is routine. After that you take the girl's clothes off."” - Raymond Chandler
Was:
“Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid... He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.”Now: “Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.” - Richard Bach
Was:
“You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.”Now: “You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.” - Richard Bach
Was:
“Your friends will know you better in the first minute they meet you than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.”Now: “Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.” - Richard Bach
Was:
“The way to avoid responsibility is to say, ''I've got responsibilities.''”Now: “The best way to avoid responsibility is to say, "I've got responsibilities."” - Richard Bach
Was:
“Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah. [The Savior's Manual]”Now: “Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah.” - Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Was:
“The right honorable gentlemen is indebted to his memory for his jokes and his imagination for his facts.”Now: “The right honorable gentlemen is indebted to his memory for his jests, and to his imagination for his facts.” - Richard Henry Stoddard
Was:
“We love in others what we lack in ourselves, and would be everything, but what we are.”Now: “We love in others what we lack ourselves, And would be every thing but what we are.” - Robert Browning
Was:
“A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's heaven for?”Now: “Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?” - Robert Burns
Was:
“Their sighing , canting , grace-proud faces, their three-mile prayers, and half-mile graces.”Now: “Their sighan', cantan', grace-proud faces, Their three-mile prayers, and half-mile graces.” - Robert Burns
Was:
“The heart and benevolent and kind the most resembles God.”Now: “The heart benevolent and kind The most resembles God.” - Robert Burns
Was:
“When chill November's surly blast make fields and forest bare.”Now: “When chill November's surly blast Made fields and forests bare.” - Robert Frost
Was:
“Forgive me my nonsense as I also forgive the nonsense of those who think they can talk sense.”Now: “Forgive me my nonsense as I also forgive the nonsense of those who think they talk sense.” - Robert Frost
Was:
“I never dared to be radical when young for fear it would make me conservative when old.”Now: “I never dared be radical when young For fear it would make me conservative when old.” - Robert Heinlein
Was:
“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”Now: “Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” - Robert Heinlein
Was:
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, cone a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.”Now: “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” - Robert Herrick
Was:
“If a little labor, little are our gains. Man's fortunes are according to his pains.”Now: “If little labour, little are our gains: Man's fortunes are according to his pains.” - Robert Louis Stevenson
Was:
“To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you ought to prefer is to have kept your soul alive.”Now: “To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.” - Robert Louis Stevenson
Was:
“The world is full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.”Now: “The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.” - Robert Penn Warren
Was:
“For what is a poem, but a hazardous attempt at self-understanding. It is the deepest part of autobiography.”Now: “What is a poem but a hazardous attempt at self-understanding? It is the deepest part of autobiography.” - Ronald Reagan
Was:
“So in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride -- the temptation blithely to declare yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong, good and evil.”Now: “So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride, the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.” - Ronald Reagan
Was:
“Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”Now: “Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.” - Ronald Reagan
Was:
“Approximately 80 % of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources.”Now: “Approximately 80 percent of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation. So let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards for man-made sources.” - Ronald Reagan
Was:
“What we have found in this country, and maybe we're more aware of it now, is one problem that we've had, even in the best of times, and that is the people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless, you might say, by choice.”Now: “What we have found in this country, and maybe we're more aware of it now, is one problem that we've had, even in the best of times, and that is the people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless who are homeless, you might say, by choice.” - Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Was:
“The emphasis must be not on the right to abortion but on the right to privacy and reproductive control.”Now: “The emphasis must not be on the right to abortion but on the right to privacy and reproductive control.” - Saki
Was:
“Children are given to us to discourage our better emotions.”Now: “Children are given us to discourage our better emotions.” - Samuel Daniel
Was:
“And who in time knows whither we may vent the treasure of our tongue, to what strange shores this gain of our best glories shall be sent, 't unknowing Nations with our stores? What worlds in the yet unformed Occident may come refined with the accents that are ours?”Now: “And who (in time) knows whither we may vent The treasure of our tongue? To what strange shores This gain of our best glory shall be sent T' enrich unknowing nations with our stores? What worlds in the yet unformed Occident May come refin'd with th' accents that are ours?” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“A fly may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.”Now: “A fly, Sir, may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“A am a great friend of public amusements, they keep people from vice.”Now: “I am a great friend to public amusements; for they keep people from vice.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“A man ought to read just as his inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.”Now: “A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“Books that you carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are most useful after all.”Now: “Books that you may carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are the most useful after all.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.”Now: “Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“Were it not for imagination a man would be as happy in arms of a chambermaid as of a duchess.”Now: “Were it not for imagination, Sir, a man would be as happy in the arms of a chambermaid as of a Duchess.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“Patron: One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery.”Now: “PATRON — One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is repaid in flattery.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“I am a great friend to public amusements, for they keep the people from vice.”Now: “I am a great friend to public amusements; for they keep people from vice.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“All theory is against freedom of the will; all experience for it.”Now: “All theory is against the freedom of the will; all experience for it.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone; one should keep his friendships in constant repair.”Now: “If a man does not make new acquaintance as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, Sir, should keep his friendship in a constant repair.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“Knowledge is of two kinds: We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information about it.”Now: “Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“Sir, a man may be so much of everything, that he is nothing of anything.”Now: “A man may be so much of every thing, that he is nothing of any thing.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“Many things difficult in design prove easy in performance.”Now: “Many things difficult to design prove easy to performance.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“Wickedness is always easier than virtue, for it takes a short cut to everything.”Now: “Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to everything.” - Samuel Johnson
Was:
“He is no wise man who will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.”Now: “He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.” - Samuel Pepys
Was:
“Music and woman I cannot but give way to, whatever my business is.”Now: “Musique and women I cannot but give way to, whatever my business is.” - Samuel Smiles
Was:
“We learn from failure much more than from success; we often discover what we will do by finding our what we will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.”Now: “We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.” - Saying
Was:
“You are only worth has much as you have.”Now: “Every one is worth as much as he has.” - Shirley Conran
Was:
“Life is too short to stuff a mushroom.”Now: “Life’s too short to stuff a mushroom.” - Sigmund Freud
Was:
“Woe to you, my Princess, when I come... you shall see who is the stronger, a gentle little girl who doesn't eat enough or a big wild man who has cocaine in his body.”Now: “Woe to you, my Princess, when I come... you shall see who is the stronger, a gentle girl who doesn't eat enough or a big wild man who has cocaine in his body.” - Sigmund Freud
Was:
“Where id was, there shall ego be.”Now: “Where id is, there shall ego be.” - Sigmund Freud
Was:
“It is always possible to bind together a considerable number of people in love, so long as there are other people left over to receive the manifestations of their aggression.”Now: “It is always possible to bind together a considerable number of people in love, so long as there are other people left over to receive manifestations of their aggressiveness.” - Simone De Beauvoir
Was:
“Sex pleasure in woman is a kind of magic spell; it demands complete abandon; if words or movements oppose the magic of caresses, the spell is broken.”Now: “Sex pleasure in woman, as I have said, is a kind of magic spell; it demands complete abandon; if words or movements oppose the magic of caresses, the spell is broken.” - Simone Weil
Was:
“We can only know one thing about God -- that he is what we are not. Our wretchedness alone is an image of this. The more we contemplate it, the more we contemplate him.”Now: “We can know only one thing about God — that he is what we are not. Our wretchedness alone is an image of this. The more we contemplate it, the more we contemplate him.” - Sinclair Lewis
Was:
“There are two insults no human will endure. The assertion that he has no sense of humor and the doubly impertinent assertion that he has never known trouble.”Now: “There are two insults which no human being will endure: The assertion that he hasn't a sense of humor, and the doubly impertinent assertion that he has never known trouble.” - Sir Thomas Browne
Was:
“Be charitable before wealth makes you covetous.”Now: “Be charitable before Wealth makes thee covetous.” - Sir Walter Raleigh
Was:
“O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none could advise, thou hast persuaded; what none hath dared, thou hast done; and whom all the world hath flattered, thou only hath cast out of the world and despised. Thou hast drawn together all the far-stretched greatness, all the pride, cruelty, and ambition of man, and covered it all over with these two narrow words, Hic jacet!”Now: “O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none could advise, thou hast persuaded; what none hath dared, thou hast done; and whom all the world hath flattered, thou only hast cast out of the world and despised; thou hast drawn together all the far-stretched greatness, all the pride, cruelty, and ambition of man, and covered it all over with these two narrow words, Hic jacet [Here lies]!” - Sir Walter Raleigh
Was:
“Better were it to be unborn than to be ill bred.”Now: “Better were it to be unborn than ill-bred.” - Sir Walter Scott
Was:
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”Now: “O, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!” - Sir William Temple
Was:
“Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of the ages through which they have passed”Now: “Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages through which they have passed.” - Spike Milligan
Was:
“Contraceptives should be used on all conceivable occasions.”Now: “Contraceptives should be used on every conceivable occasion.” - St. Augustine
Was:
“I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.''”Now: “I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden."” - Steven Weinberg
Was:
“The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.”Now: “The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things which lifts human life a little above the level of farce and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.” - Susan Sontag
Was:
“What is most beautiful in virile men is sometimes feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine.”Now: “What is most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine.” - Sydney Smith
Was:
“No furniture is so charming as books.”Now: “No furniture so charming as books.” - Sydney Smith
Was:
“Manners are like the shadows of virtues, they are the momentary display of those qualities which our fellow creatures love and respect.”Now: “Manners are the shadows of virtues; the momentary display of those qualities which our fellow creatures love, and respect.” - Sydney Smith
Was:
“Heat, ma am! It was so dreadful here that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones.”Now: “"Heat, ma'am!" I said; "it was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones."” - Sylvia Plath
Was:
“The blood jet is poetry and there is no stopping it.”Now: “The blood jet is poetry, There is no stopping it.” - Sylvia Plath
Was:
“I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my eyes and all is born again.”Now: “I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again.” - T. S. Eliot
Was:
“The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down.”Now: “The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do more, and you are not yet decrepit enough to turn them down.” - T. S. Eliot
Was:
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”Now: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - Tennessee Williams
Was:
“We are all sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life.”Now: “We're all of us sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life!” - Theodore Roosevelt
Was:
“It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”Now: “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.” - Thom Gunn
Was:
“My thoughts are crowded with death and it draws so oddly on the sexual that I am confused to be attracted by, in effect, my own annihilation.”Now: “My thoughts are crowded with death and it draws so oddly on the sexual that I am confused confused to be attracted by, in effect, my own annihilation.” - Thomas A. Edison
Was:
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”Now: “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” - Thomas B. Macaulay
Was:
“There were gentlemen and there were seamen in the navy of Charles the Second. But the seamen were not gentlemen; and the gentlemen were not seamen.”Now: “There were gentlemen and there were seamen in the navy of Charles II. But the seamen were not gentlemen, and the gentlemen were not seamen.” - Thomas B. Macaulay
Was:
“Perhaps no person can be a poet, or can even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind.”Now: “Perhaps no person can be a poet, or even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind.” - Thomas Carlyle
Was:
“What you see, but can't see over is as good as infinite.”Now: “What you see, yet can not see over, is as good as infinite.” - Thomas Carlyle
Was:
“Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”Now: “Our grand business undoubtedly is, not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” - Thomas Carlyle
Was:
“The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully.”Now: “The work we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully.” - Thomas Carlyle
Was:
“Men's hearts ought not to be set against one another, but set with one another, and all against evil only.”Now: “[M]en's hearts ought not to be set against one another; but set with one another, and all against the Evil Thing only.” - Thomas H. Huxley
Was:
“The medieval university looked backwards; it professed to be a storehouse of old knowledge. The modern university looks forward, and is a factory of new knowledge.”Now: “The mediaeval university looked backwards: it professed to be a storehouse of old knowledge... The modern university looks forward: it is a factory of new knowledge.” - Thomas H. Huxley
Was:
“The great tragedy of science is the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.”Now: “The great tragedy of Science — the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.” - Thomas Hobbes
Was:
“Sudden glory is the passion which makes those grimaces called laughter.”Now: “Sudden Glory, is the passion which maketh those Grimaces called LAUGHTER.” - Thomas Hobbes
Was:
“There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense.”Now: “For there is no such thing as perpetual Tranquility of mind, while we live here; because Life it selfe is but Motion, and can never be without Desire, nor without Feare, no more than without Sense.” - Thomas Hobbes
Was:
“Understanding is nothing else than conception caused by speech.”Now: “"Understanding being nothing else, but conception caused by Speech."” - Thomas Jefferson
Was:
“The selfish spirit of commerce, which knows no country, and feels no passion or principle but that of gain.”Now: “The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels no passion or principle but that of gain.” - Thomas L. Masson
Was:
“Prohibition may be a disputed theory, but none can say that it doesn't hold water.”Now: “Prohibition may be a disputed theory, but none can complain that it doesn't hold water.” - Thomas Paine
Was:
“A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.”Now: “A thing, moderately good, is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper, is always a virtue; but moderation in principle, is a species of vice.” - Thomas Szasz
Was:
“People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something that one finds. It is something one creates.”Now: “People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds; it is something one creates.” - Thomas Szasz
Was:
“Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly often attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.”Now: “Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.” - Thornton Wilder
Was:
“The test of an adventure is that when you're in the middle of it, you say to yourself, ''Oh, now I've got myself into an awful mess; I wish I were sitting quietly at home.'' And the sign that something's wrong with you is when you sit quietly at home wish”Now: “The test of an adventure is that when you're in the middle of it, you say to yourself, "Oh, now I've got myself into an awful mess; I wish I were sitting quietly at home." And the sign that something's wrong with you is when you sit quietly at home wishing you were out having lots of adventure.” - Thornton Wilder
Was:
“The planting of trees in the least self-centered of all that we can do. It is a purer act of faith than the procreation of children.”Now: “The planting of trees is the least self-centered of all that we do. It is a purer act of faith than the procreation of children.” - Thornton Wilder
Was:
“Many plays, are like blank checks. The actors and directors put their own signatures on them.”Now: “Many plays — certainly mine — are like blank checks. The actors and directors put their own signatures on them.” - Thornton Wilder
Was:
“It is only in appearance that time is a river. It is a vast landscape and it is the eye of the beholder that moves.”Now: “It is only in appearance that time is a river. It is rather a vast landscape and it is the eye of the beholder that moves.” - Thucydides
Was:
“The secret of Happiness is Freedom, and the secret of Freedom, Courage.”Now: “The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage.” - Tryon Edwards
Was:
“Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow up.”Now: “Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow so.” - Tryon Edwards
Was:
“Some men are born old, and some men never seem so. If we keep well and cheerful, we are always young and at last die in youth even when in years would count as old.”Now: “Some men are born old, and some never seem so. If we keep well and cheerful we are always young, and at last die in youth, even when years would count us old.” - Tryon Edwards
Was:
“People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher or better than themselves.”Now: “People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher and better than themselves.” - Vaclav Havel
Was:
“There's always something suspect about an intellectual on the winning side.”Now: “There's always something suspicious about an intellectual on the winning side.” - Virginia Woolf
Was:
“When a subject is highly controversial... one cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold. One can only give one's audience the chance of drawing their own conclusions as they observe the limitations, the prejudices, the idiosyncrasies of the speaker.”Now: “When a subject is highly controversial — and any question about sex is that — one cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold. One can only give one's audience the chance of drawing their own conclusions as they observe the limitations, the prejudices, the idiosyncrasies of the speaker.” - Vita Sackville-West
Was:
“Women, like men, ought to have their youth so glutted with freedom they hate the very idea of freedom.”Now: “Women, like men, ought to have their years so glutted with freedom that they hate the very idea of freedom.” - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Was:
“Freedom in capitalist society always remains about the same as it was in ancient Greek republics: Freedom for slave owners.”Now: “Freedom in capitalist society always remains about the same as it was in the ancient Greek republics: freedom for the slave-owners.” - W. H. Auden
Was:
“God bless the USA, so large, so friendly, and so rich.”Now: “God bless the U.S.A., so large, So friendly, and so rich.” - W. H. Auden
Was:
“No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.”Now: “No opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.” - W. H. Auden
Was:
“Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of time and will, any marriage, happy or unhappy, is infinitely more interesting than any romance, however passionate.”Now: “Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of time and will, any marriage, happy or unhappy, is infinitely more interesting and significant than any romance, however passionate.” - W. S. Gilbert
Was:
“Darwinian man, though well-behaved, at best is only a monkey shaved.”Now: “...Darwinian Man, though well-behav’d, At best is only a monkey shav’d!” - W. Somerset Maugham
Was:
“It's a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”Now: “Now it is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it...” - W. Somerset Maugham
Was:
“Sentimentality is the only sentiment that rubs you the wrong way.”Now: “Sentimentality is only sentiment that rubs you up the wrong way.” - Wallace Stevens
Was:
“To be young is all there is in the world. They talk so beautifully about work and having a family and a home (and I do, too, sometimes) --but it's all worry and head-aches and respectable poverty and forced gushing. Telling people how nice it is, when, in reality, you would give all of your last thirty years for one of your first thirty. Old people are tremendous frauds.”Now: “To be young is all there is in the world. The rest is nonsense — and cant. They talk so beautifully about work and having a family and a home (and I do, too, sometimes) — but it's all worry and head-aches and respectable poverty and forced gushing. ... Telling people how nice it is, when, in reality, you would give all of your last thirty years for one of your first thirty. Old people are tremendous frauds.” - Walter Bagehot
Was:
“The apparent rulers of the English nation are like the imposing personages of a splendid procession: it is by them the mob are influenced; it is they whom the spectators cheer. The real rulers are secreted in second-rate carriages; no one cares for them or asks after them, but they are obeyed implicitly and unconsciously by reason of the splendor of those who eclipsed and preceded them.”Now: “The apparent rulers of the English nation are like the most imposing personages of a splendid procession: it is by them the mob are influenced; it is they whom the spectators cheer. The real rulers are secreted in second-rate carriages; no one cares for them or asks about them, but they are obeyed implicitly and unconsciously by reason of the splendour of those who eclipsed and preceded them.” - Walter Lippmann
Was:
“Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much.”Now: “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” - Washington Irving
Was:
“Temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use.”Now: “A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener with constant use.” - Washington Irving
Was:
“Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.”Now: “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it.” - Washington Irving
Was:
“I am always at a loss at how much to believe of my own stories.”Now: “I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.” - Will Carleton
Was:
“To appreciate heaven well, it's good for a person to have some fifteen minutes of hell.”Now: “To appreciate heaven well 'Tis good for a man to have some fifteen minutes of hell.” - Will Rogers
Was:
“There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education.”Now: “There is only one thing that can kill the Movies, and that is education.” - Will Rogers
Was:
“Communism is like prohibition, it is a good idea, but it won't work.”Now: “Communism is like prohibition, it's a good idea but it won't work.” - Will Rogers
Was:
“The more you read and observe about this politics thing, the more you've got to admit that each party's worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best.”Now: “The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best.” - Will Rogers
Was:
“You can't say that civilization don't advance... for in every war they kill you a new way.”Now: “You can't say that civilization don't advance, however, for in every war they kill you in a new way.” - Willa Cather
Was:
“The irregular and intimate quality of things made entirely by the human hand.”Now: “That irregular and intimate quality of things made entirely by the human hand.” - William Blake
Was:
“Fun I love, but too much fun is of all things the most loathsome. Mirth is better than fun, and happiness is better than mirth.”Now: “Fun I love, but too much Fun is of all things the most loathsom. Mirth is better than Fun & Happiness is better than Mirth.” - William Blake
Was:
“To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour.”Now: “To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.” - William Blake
Was:
“Want of money and the distress of a thief can never be alleged as the cause of his thieving, for many honest people endure greater hardships with fortitude. We must therefore seek the cause elsewhere than in want of money, for that is the miser's passion, not the thief s.”Now: “But Want of Money & the Distress of A Thief can never be alleged as the Cause of his Thieving, for many honest people endure greater hard ships with Fortitude. We must therefore seek the Cause else where than in want of Money for that is the Misers passion, not the Thiefs.” - William Blake
Was:
“What is a wife and what is a harlot? What is a church and what is a theatre? are they two and not one? Can they exist separate? Are not religion and politics the same thing? Brotherhood is religion. O demonstrations of reason dividing families in cruelty and pride!”Now: “What is a Wife & what is a Harlot? What is a Church & What Is a Theatre? are they Two & not One? can they Exist Separate? Are not Religion & Politics the Same Thing? Brotherhood is Religion O Demonstrations of Reason Dividing Families in Cruelty & Pride!” - William Blake
Was:
“Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence.”Now: “Without contraries there is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate are necessary to human existence.” - William Blake
Was:
“Some say that happiness is not good for mortals, and they ought to be answered that sorrow is not fit for immortals and is utterly useless to any one; a blight never does good to a tree, and if a blight kill not a tree but it still bear fruit, let none say that the fruit was in consequence of the blight.”Now: “...some say that Happiness is not Good for Mortals & they ought to be answerd that Sorrow is not fit for Immortals & is utterly useless to any one a blight never does good to a tree & if a blight kill not a tree but it still bear fruit let none say that the fruit was in consequence of the blight.” - William Blake
Was:
“For everything exists and not one sigh nor smile nor tear, one hair nor particle of dust, not one can pass away.”Now: “For every thing exists & not one sigh nor smile nor tear, One hair nor particle of dust, not one can pass away.” - William Blake
Was:
“The truth told with bad intent Beats all the lies you can invent”Now: “A truth that's told with bad intent Beats all the lies you can invent.” - William Butler Yeats
Was:
“I wonder anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember, the place is so beautiful. One almost expects the people to sing instead of speaking. It is all like an opera.”Now: “I wonder anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember, the place is so beautiful. One almost expects the people to sing instead of speaking. It is all — the colleges I mean — like an opera.” - William Butler Yeats
Was:
“The years like great black oxen tread the world, and God the herdsman treads them on behind, and I am broken by their passing feet.”Now: “The years like great black oxen tread the world, And God the herdsman goads them on behind, And I am broken by their passing feet.” - William Butler Yeats
Was:
“In dreams begin responsibility.”Now: “In dreams begins responsibility.” - William Cowper
Was:
“Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon their knees.”Now: “And Satan trembles when he sees The weakest saint upon his knees.” - William Cowper
Was:
“The man that hails you Tom or Jack, and proves by thumps upon your back how he esteems your merit, is such a friend, that one had need be very much his friend indeed to pardon or to bear it.”Now: “The man that hails you Tom or Jack, And proves, by thumping on your back, His sense of your great merit, Is such a friend that one had need Be very much his friend indeed To pardon or to bear it.” - William Cowper
Was:
“Visitors are insatiable devourers of time, and fit only for those who, if they did not visit, would do nothing.”Now: “Visits are insatiable devourers of time, and fit only for those who, if they did not that, would do nothing.” - William Cowper
Was:
“Remorse, the fatal egg that pleasure laid.”Now: “Remorse, the fatal egg by Pleasure laid.” - William Cowper
Was:
“Forced from home, and all its pleasures, afric coast I left forlorn; to increase a stranger's treasures, o the raging billows borne. Men from England bought and sold me, paid my price in paltry gold; but, though theirs they have enroll'd me, minds are never to be sold.”Now: “Forced from home and all its pleasures Afric's coast I left forlorn, To increase a stranger's treasures O'er the raging billows borne. Men from England bought and sold me, Paid my price in paltry gold; But, though slave they have enrolled me, Minds are never to be sold.” - William Cowper
Was:
“The path of sorrow and that path alone, leads to a land where sorrow is unknown.”Now: “The path of sorrow, and that path alone, Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown.” - William Faulkner
Was:
“Maybe the only thing worse than having to give gratitude constantly is having to accept it.”Now: “... maybe the only thing worse than having to give gratitude constantly all the time, is having to accept it.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“There is a heroism in crime as well as in virtue. Vice and infamy have their altars and their religion.”Now: “Again, there is a heroism in crime as well as in virtue. Vice and infamy have also their altars and their religion.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“Defoe says that there were a hundred thousand country fellows in his time ready to fight to the death against popery, without knowing whether popery was a man or a horse.”Now: “Defoe says, that there were a hundred thousand stout country-fellows in his time ready to fight to the death against popery, without knowing whether popery was a man or a horse.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“Grace has been defined as the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.”Now: “Grace has been defined the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“Grace is the absence of everything that indicates pain or difficulty, hesitation or incongruity.”Now: “Grace is the absence of every thing that indicates pain or difficulty, or hesitation or incongruity.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“Hope is the best possession. None are completely wretched but those who are without hope. Few are reduced so low as that.”Now: “Hope is the best possession. None are completely wretched but those who are without hope; and few are reduced so low as that.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“The mind of man is like a clock that is always running down, and requires to be constantly wound up.”Now: “The mind of man is like a clock that is always running down, and requires to be as constantly wound up.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they might of been.”Now: “Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“To a superior race of being the pretensions of mankind to extraordinary sanctity and virtue must seem... ridiculous.”Now: “To a superior race of beings the pretensions of mankind to extraordinary sanctity and virtue must seem equally ridiculous.” - William Hazlitt
Was:
“The characteristic of Chaucer is intensity: of Spencer, remoteness: of Milton elevation and of Shakespeare everything.”Now: “The characteristic of Chaucer is intensity; of Spenser, remoteness; of Milton, elevation; of Shakespeare, every thing.” - William James
Was:
“Genius... means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an inhabitual way.”Now: “Genius, in truth, means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.” - William Lyon Phelps
Was:
“The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.”Now: “It is the final test of a gentleman—his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.” - William Morris
Was:
“If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”Now: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” - William Saroyan
Was:
“Every man in the world is better than someone else and not as good someone else.”Now: “Every man in the world is better than someone else and not as good as someone else.” - William Shakespeare
Was:
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life, is rounded with a sleep. [The Tempest]”Now: “We are such stuff As dreams are made on; and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.” - William Shakespeare
Was:
“Mercy is nobility's true badge.”Now: “Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge.” - William Shakespeare
Was:
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”Now: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” - William Shakespeare
Was:
“Beware of the ides of March.”Now: “Beware the ides of March.” - William Shakespeare
Was:
“There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”Now: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” - William Styron
Was:
“A great book should leave you with many experiences and slightly exhausted at the end. You should live several lives while reading it.”Now: “A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it.” - William Wordsworth
Was:
“Happier of happy though I be, like them I cannot take possession of the sky, mount with a thoughtless impulse, and wheel there, one of a mighty multitude whose way and motion is a harmony and dance magnificent.”Now: “Happier of happy though I be, like them I cannot take possession of the sky, Mount with a thoughtless impulse, and wheel there One of a mighty multitude whose way Is a perpetual harmony and dance Magnificent.” - William Wordsworth
Was:
“Come into the light of things. Let nature be your teacher.”Now: “Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” - William Wordsworth
Was:
“The ocean is a mighty harmonist.”Now: “Ocean is a mighty harmonist.” - Wilson Mizner
Was:
“A fellow who is always declaring that he's no fool, usually has his suspicions.”Now: “A fellow who is always declaring he's no fool usually has his suspicions.” - Winston Churchill
Was:
“I never worry about action, but only inaction.”Now: “I never "worry" about action, but only about inaction.” - Winston Churchill
Was:
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”Now: “To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.” - Winston Churchill
Was:
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent vice of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”Now: “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” - Winston Churchill
Was:
“When I look back on all the worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.”Now: “When I look back on all these worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.” - Woody Allen
Was:
“I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens.”Now: “It's not that I'm afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens.” - Woody Allen
Was:
“More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”Now: “More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.” - Woody Allen
Was:
“The lion and the calf will lay down together, but the calf won't get much sleep..”Now: “The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep.” - Woody Allen
Was:
“Basically my wife was immature. I'd be at home in the bath and she would come in and sink my boats.”Now: “Basically my wife was immature. I'd be at home in the bath and she'd come in and sink my boats.” - Woody Allen
Was:
“If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.”Now: “If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank.” - Yogi Berra
Was:
“You can observe a lot by just watching.”Now: “You can observe a lot by watching.”