Aphorisms Galore!

Altruism and Cynicism

173 aphorisms  ·  14 comments

Aphorisms in This Category

tiny.ag/r3gvjlqa  ·   Fair (192 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.

Abraham Lincoln, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/q5s2gnzy  ·   Fair (76 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other.

Ann Landers, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/uaqbnf1k  ·   Fair (316 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.

Martin Luther King, Jr., in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/mnrh4p2b  ·   Fair (608 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Always forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

John F. Kennedy, in Altruism and Cynicism and Vice and Virtue

tiny.ag/sc3tpgkp  ·   Fair (174 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

We have met the enemy, and he is us.

Walt Kelly, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/nqcfjvh0  ·   Fair (57 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams.

Mary Ellen Kelly, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/rxmfom0a  ·   Fair (96 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

The relationship between truth and a newspaper is like the relationship between the color green and the number seven. Occasionally you will see the number seven written in green, but you learn not to expect this.

Garrison Keillor, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/tnwmsadk  ·   Fair (75 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.

Thomas Jones, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/poggndv0  ·   Fair (2925 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Be polite to all, but intimate with few.

Thomas Jefferson, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/gvohc8br  ·   Fair (3332 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments -- there are consequences.

Robert G. Ingersoll, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/mtktl96r  ·   Fair (305 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Whatever is not nailed down is mine. What I can pry loose is not nailed down.

Collis P. Huntington, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/qr9ysjed  ·   Fair (328 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.

Albert Einstein, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/rx3wkhug  ·   Fair (133 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

You are cautious in showing your true self to others. Have you thought about plastic surgery?

Dr. Squid, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/p2zj718l  ·   Fair (207 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

The only absolute knowledge worth attaining is that your life is meaningless. -- My life? Well now, that's another story...

Dr. Squid, in Altruism and Cynicism and Life and Death

tiny.ag/9xelzoym  ·   Fair (175 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think, and a docudrama with ugly actors for those who film docudramas.

Dr. Squid, in Altruism and Cynicism and Life and Death

tiny.ag/v128alif  ·   Fair (126 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king... and the one-eyed man with the high heels and the feather boa is queen.

Dr. Squid, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/tacuwmyh  ·   Fair (146 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

He who hesitates is probably smart... or maybe stapled to the floor.

Dr. Squid, in Altruism and Cynicism and Success and Failure

tiny.ag/1make2qd  ·   Fair (777 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

The Brothers Karamazov (paperback)

Everything is permitted.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/purgb27l  ·   Fair (105 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

A dozen press agents working overtime can do terrible things to the human spirit.

Cecil B. De Mille, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/l9caw6tv  ·   Fair (124 ratings)  ·  submitted 1997

A prig is a fellow who is always making you a present of his opinions.

George Eliot, in Altruism and Cynicism