"cool as a trout" George Macdonald Fraser in Flashman in the Great Game
"Man must have just enough faith in himself to have adventures, and just enough doubt of himself to enjoy them." G.K. Chesterton in Orthodoxy
"Whacha doin'?" "Getting rich!"
"Really?"
"Yep. I’m writing a self-help book! There’s a huge market for this stuff. First, you convince people there’s something wrong with them. That’s easy because advertising has already conditioned people to feel insecure about their weight, looks, social status, sex appeal, and so on. Next, you convince them that the problem is not their fault and that they’re victims of larger forces. That’s easy, because it’s what people believe anyway. Nobody wants to be responsible for his own situation. Finally, you convince them that with your expert advice and encouragement, they can conquer their problem and be happy!"
"Ingenious. What problem will you help people solve?"
"Their addiction to self-help books! My book is called, 'Shut up and stop whining: How to do something with your life besides think about yourself.'"
"You should probably wait for the advance before you buy anything."
"The trouble is… if my program works, I won’t be able to write a sequel."
Hobbes and Calvin in Calvin and Hobbes June 1993
"[P]atience is a necessary ingredient of genius." Benjamin Disraeli, quoted by Burton Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street
"Always put the spiritual things first." G.K. Chesterton in "Topsy-Turvy" in Tremendous Trifles, quoted in Gilbert Magazine Vol. 10 #3 (December 2006)
"This is no easy mission. But its difficulty is not our concern; we did not create the mission, and we cannot change it. The word 'mission' derives from the Latin root missus – which means 'sent.' We have been sent – to seek God, study the world, and serve humanity." Fr. John Jenkins re what the university should be in his inaugural address as president of Notre Dame University, quoted by Richard John Neuhaus in First Things December 2005
"There is sorrow enough in the natural way … Why do we always arrange for more?" Rudyard Kipling, quoted by Linus in Peanuts in The Ottawa Citizen October 27, 2001
"If you keep your mind sufficiently open, people will throw a lot of rubbish into it." William A. Orton