Durant’s Discovery
Will Durant
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and a clever thing to say.
Evans’s Law of Political Perfidy
M. Stanton Evans
When our friends get into power, they aren’t our friends any more.
May’s Law of Male Present-Giving
James May
Nothing with a plug on it, nothing worn directly next to the skin, no clothing that will turn out to be too small rather than too big, and nothing that you actually want for yourself and are trying to disguise as a gift, such as a shotgun.
The Approval Seeker’s Law
Rozanne Weissman
Those whose approval you seek the most give you the least.
The Rule of Invitations
Anon
Never say ‘yes’ to any invitation three months away that you would be dreading if it were tomorrow.
Vidal’s Law
Gore Vidal
It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.
Wilde’s Other Laws
Oscar Wilde
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal (The Critic as Artist 1891).
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about (The Picture of Dorian Gray 1891).
A man cannot be too careful in his choice of enemies (Ibid.).
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it (Ibid.).
If one tells the truth, one is sure sooner or later to be found out (Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young 1894).
All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his (Ibid.).
In matters of great importance, style not sincerity is the vital thing (Ibid.).
Narrow your search:
