„Disputants often fare poorly when they each act greedily and deceptively.“

„The history of institutions is often a history of deception and illusions“

—  John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton British politician and historian 1834 - 1902

The History of Freedom in Antiquity (1877)
Kontext: The history of institutions is often a history of deception and illusions; for their virtue depends on the ideas that produce and on the spirit that preserves them, and the form may remain unaltered when the substance has passed away.<!--p.2

„The equation state = politics becomes erroneous and deceptive at exactly the moment when state and society penetrate each other.“

—  Carl Schmitt, buch The Concept of the Political

The Concept of the Political (1927)

„The invention was greedily embraced (and deservedly) by Learned Men“

—  John Wallis English mathematician 1616 - 1703

Of Logarithms, Their Invention and Use (1685)
Kontext: Logarithms was first of all Invented (without any Example of any before him, that I know of) by John Neper... And soon after by himself (with the assistance of Henry Briggs...) reduced to a better form, and perfected. The invention was greedily embraced (and deservedly) by Learned Men.... in a short time, it became generally known, and greedily embraced in all Parts, as of unspeakable Advantage; especially for Ease and Expedition in Trigonometrical Calculations.

„If we observe our own minds, we shall notice how easily diverted our thoughts are, how often they behave like undisciplined disputants constantly interrupting each other and refusing to listen to the other side’s arguments.“

—  Nyanaponika Thera German Buddhist monk 1901 - 1994

Quelle: The Vision of Dhamma (1994), p. 75

„I was alive when the Dead Sea was just a lake that was feeling a little poorly.“

—  Cassandra Clare, buch City of Ashes

Quelle: City of Ashes

„Fare thee well, and if for ever
Still for ever fare thee well.“

—  George Gordon Byron English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement 1788 - 1824

Fare Thee Well http://readytogoebooks.com/LB-FTW46.htm, st. 1 (1816).
Kontext: Fare thee well! and if forever,
Still forever, fare thee well:
Even though unforgiving, never
'Gainst thee shall my heart rebel.

„We do not aim at « mathematical rigour » of exposition, which in theoretical physics often amounts to self-deception.“

—  Evgeny Lifshitz Soviet physicist 1915 - 1985

"Quantum Mechanics: Non-relativistic Theory", together with L. D. Landau, translated by John Menzies (third edition 1991), p. xi

„An example is often a deceptive mirror,
And the order of destiny, so troubling to our thoughts,
Is not always found written in things past.“

—  Pierre Corneille, Cinna

L'exemple souvent n'est qu'un miroir trompeur;
Et l'ordre du destin qui gêne nos pensées
N'est pas toujours écrit dans les choses passées.
Auguste, act II, scene i.
Cinna (1641)

„The attempt to devote oneself to literature alone is a most deceptive thing, and … often, paradoxically, it is literature that suffers for it.“

—  Václav Havel, buch Disturbing the Peace

Quelle: Disturbing the Peace (1986), Ch. 3 : Facing the Establishment

„I muse again on the dogmatic assertion which I often make that the countryman's relation to Nature must never be anything else but an alliance… When we begin to consider Nature as something to be robbed greedily like an unguarded treasure, or used as an enemy, we put ourselves in thought outside of Nature, of which we are inescapably a part.“

—  Henry Beston, buch Northern Farm

Quelle: Northern Farm

„I was often humiliated to see men disputing for a piece of bread, just as animals might have done.“

—  François Arago French mathematician, physicist, astronomer and politician 1786 - 1853

"The History of My Youth", p. 55.
Biographies of Distinguished Scientific Men (1859)
Kontext: I was often humiliated to see men disputing for a piece of bread, just as animals might have done. My feelings on this subject have very much altered since I have been personally exposed to the tortures of hunger. I have discovered, in fact, that a man, whatever may have been his origin, his education, and his habits, is governed, under certain circumstances, much more by his stomach than by his intelligence and his heart.

„When you're a student or whatever, and you can't afford a car, or a plane fare, or even a train fare, all you can do is hope that someone will stop and pick you up.“

—  Douglas Adams English writer and humorist 1952 - 2001

Statement of 1984, as quoted in Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion (1988) by Neil Gaiman, p. 2
Kontext: When you're a student or whatever, and you can't afford a car, or a plane fare, or even a train fare, all you can do is hope that someone will stop and pick you up.
At the moment we can't afford to go to other planets. We don't have the ships to take us there. There may be other people out there (I don't have any opinions about Life Out There, I just don't know) but it's nice to think that one could, even here and now, be whisked away just by hitchhiking.

„The two men were greedily hunched over the table, like two wolves disputing a carcass, but their muttered speech in the echoing hall resembled more the grunting of pigs. One was less than a wolf: he was a public prosecutor. The other was more than a pig, he was a chief commissioner of police.“

—  Jan Neruda Czech poet, theater reviewer, publicist and writer 1834 - 1891

„The two biggest self-deceptions of all are that life has a 'meaning'and each of us is unique.“

—  David Byrne Scottish alternative rock musician and promoter of world music 1952

„Well fare she, well! As perfect beauty fares;
And those high places, that are beauty's home.“

—  Lionel Johnson English poet 1867 - 1902

"Oxford"
Kontext: p>Ill times may be; she hath no thought of time:
She reigns beside the waters yet in pride.
Rude voices cry: but in her ears the chime
Of full, sad bells brings back her old springtide. Like to a queen in pride of place, she wears
The splendour of a crown in Radcliffe's dome.
Well fare she, well! As perfect beauty fares;
And those high places, that are beauty's home.</p

„Art is amoral; so is life. For me there are no obscene pictures or books; there are only poorly conceived and poorly executed ones.“

—  Irving Stone, buch Lust for Life

Quelle: Lust for Life

„Human beings have a demonstrated talent for self-deception when their emotions are stirred.“

—  Carl Sagan, buch Cosmos

Quelle: Cosmos (1980), p. 135

„When a device as simple as a door has to come with an instruction manual—even a one-word manual—then it is a failure, poorly designed.“

—  Donald A. Norman, buch The Design of Everyday Things

Quelle: The Design of Everyday Things (1988, 2002), Ch. 4, p. 87; regarding doors labeled "Push" and "Pull".

„I don't complain of Betsy or any of her acts,
Exceptin' when we 've quarreled and told each other facts.“

—  Will Carleton poet. 1845 - 1912

Betsy and I Are Out (1871)