I like to walk about among the beautiful things that adorn the world; but private wealth I should decline, or any sort of personal possessions, because they would take away my liberty. – George Santayana, “The Irony of Liberalism”
In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. – Henry David Thoreau
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction. – E.F. Schumacher (Thanks, Arly)
I find my joy of living in the fierce and ruthless battles of life, and my pleasure comes from learning something. – Auguste Strindberg, Miss Julie, 1888
Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who cant mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has. – William S. Burroughs
It is a noble land that God has given us: a land that can feed and clothe the world; a land whose coastlines would enclose half the countries of Europe; a land set like a sentinel between the two imperial oceans of the globe. – Albert J. Beveridge
Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity. – Joseph Addison
