The wise men of old have sent most of their morality down the stream of time in the light skiff of apothegm or epigram; and the proverbs of nations, which embody the commonsense of nations, have the brisk concussion of the most sparkling wit. – Edwin P. Whipple, lecture delivered before the Boston Mercantile Library Associa

But proverbs are always platitudes until you have personally experienced the truth of them. – Aldous Huxley, Jesting Pilate: The Diary of a Journey, 1926

I had continued jotting down good lines—once the eyes and ears are awakened to the possibilities they can’t be put back to sleep… – Robert Byrne, The Third and Possibly the Best 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said,