Quotes and Sayings That Survived There are some sayings which were said by famous people which were brilliant. Some of them you may recognize some you may not, but consider the ones you have never heard of and see if you find merit in them. Lincoln said you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. It is a great saying and at no time has it been more relevant than today. When it was said it probably had more to do with the Civil War. One of my favorite quotes is the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I think about this many times when I don’t feel like starting a task because sometimes it will take time to complete. This gives me the impetus to start. Some of the charming Irish Blessings have become quite famous. There are quite a few of them. For example, one is may the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past. Another is a kind word never broke anyone’s mouth. One of the most famous ones is may you be at the gates of heaven an hour before the devil knows you’re dead. Lastly, however long the day, the evening will come. Anne Frank, the young woman killed by the Nazis in World War II said, our lives are fashioned by our choices. First, we make our choices, then our choices make us. Albert Einstein once said, there are two ways to live. You can live as if nothing is a miracle. You can live as if everything is a miracle. He also said life is like riding a bicycle: to keep your balance you must keep moving. The Italians have some interesting sayings and when translated we can recognize some of them. One of the most famous is haste makes waste. The literal translation is the hasty cat gave birth to blind kittens. Another is the poor man is lacking many things, but the greedy man all. One translation of a saying is not all doughnuts come out with a hole. This means not everything comes out as planned. One I am sure everyone has heard is necessity is the mother of invention. The Germans have some interesting sayings such as if everyone sweeps in front of their own door, every part of town will be clean. A German scientist once said, two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, but I’m not quite sure about the universe yet. One of the most famous of all German sayings is, what does not kill me makes me stronger. Another is we rarely think about what we have, but always of what we lack. There are many Spanish sayings such as everything happens in threes. I am sure many of us have heard this one. One saying in Spanish has been interpreted as meaning eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. The original interpretation was here’s to drinking and swallowing, for the world is going to end. Another is the goat always heads toward the mountain which is said to mean the leopard doesn’t change its spots. Here is one I like, to the best scribe comes a smudge. Which actually means even the best of us make mistakes. Ben Franklyn was famous for creating quotes among other things. He once said he that falls in love with himself will have no rivals. He also said there never was a good war or a bad peace. Here is a famous one, he that lies down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas. Here is a great one for politicians, well done is better than well said. Lastly, he said no gains without pains. While his quotes were not as famous as Ben Franklyn’s quotes, George Washington had some good ones. He said it is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. He also said if freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. George Washington must have really loved his mother because he said, my mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her. Plato was not immune from creating quotes and here are some. We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. He also said only the dead have seen the end of war. Plato was wise and proved it when he said I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing. Then he said never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress, no matter how slow. Socrates can’t be ignored if we talk about Plato. Plato seems to have been quoted when Socrates said the quote first. Socrates had said the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. He also said the unexamined life is not worth living. He also said be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. That is so true in many cases. One of my favorites is strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people. Julius Caesar said some famous quotes. One of the most famous is I came, I saw, I conquered. He also said the greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look. Today we say experience is the best teacher, but thousands of years ago Caesar was quoted as saying experience is the teacher of all things. Another very famous quote he made was a coward dies a thousand deaths, the gallant never taste of death but once. Caesar was a brilliant man. Lastly, he also said all bad precedents begin as justifiable measures. Napoleon Bonaparte had a few quotes of his own. He said courage isn’t having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don’t have strength. He also said in politics, stupidity is not a handicap. He said history is a set of lies agreed upon. One quote which others probably also created was if you want something done well, do it yourself. It is funny how some of these quote survived the ravages of time and are still popular today. It makes one wonder what was said in the past which was brilliant but didn’t survive.
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