Jay Vardhan > Jay's Quotes

“Then listen to me,' he said and cleared his throat. 'It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. Is it right that you, Okonkwo, should bring your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you, they will all die in exile.”
― Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

“Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered. As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings.”
― Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

“Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.”
― Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

“A child cannot pay for its mother’s milk.”
― Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

“But all this world is like a tale we hear -
Men's evil, and their glory, disappear.”
― Abolghasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“The words of the Greeks are born on their lips, but those of the Romans in their hearts.”
― Cato

“People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.”
― Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

“Such is the passing that you must leave,
All men must die, and it is vain to grieve.”
― Abolghasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“Khusrau darya prem ka, ulti wa ki dhaar,
Jo utra so doob gaya, jo dooba so paar.

English Translation.

Oh Khusrau, the river of love
Runs in strange directions.
One who jumps into it drowns,
And one who drowns, gets across.”
― Amir Khusrau, The Writings of Amir Khusrau: 700 Years After the Prophet: A 13th-14th Century Legend of Indian-Sub-Continent

“Life can only be understood looking backward. It must be lived forward.”
― Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Screenplay

“But once in a while the odd thing happens,
Once in a while the dream comes true,
And the whole pattern of life is altered,
Once in a while the moon turns blue.”
― W.H. Auden

“Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night.”
― Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room

“And do you think that unto such as you
A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew
God gave a secret, and denied it me?
Well, well—what matters it? Believe that, too!”
― Omar Khayyâm, Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“To wisely live your life, you don't need to know much
Just remember two main rules for the beginning:
You better starve, than eat whatever
And better be alone, than with whoever.”
― Omar Khayyám, Rubaiyat

“There are plenty of good reason for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too. Where's evil? It's that large part of every man that wants to hate without limit, that wants to hate with God on its side. It's that part of every man that finds all kinds of ugliness so attractive. "It's that part of an imbecile," I said, "that punishes and vilifies and makes war.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night

“Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life.”
― Brian Andreas

“When we aim high, pressure and stress obligingly come along for the ride. Stuff is going to happen that catches us off guard, threatens or scares us. Surprises (unpleasant ones, mostly) are almost guaranteed. The risk of being overwhelmed is always there. In these situations, talent is not the most sought-after characteristic. Grace and poise are, because these two attributes precede the opportunity to deploy any other skill. We must possess, as Voltaire once explained about the secret to the great military success of the first Duke of Marlborough, that "tranquil courage in the midst of tumult and serenity of soul in danger, which the English call a cool head.”
― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

“Scholars really have nothing to teach you.
But from the soft touch of the eyelashes of
a woman you will know all there is to know about happiness.”
― Omar Khayyám, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“Oh, come with old Khayyàm, and leave the Wise
To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies;
One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown forever dies.”
― Omar Khayyam

“Don't pursue happiness!
Life is as short as a sigh.
The dust of people that were once famous
turn with the reddish clay on the wheel you are
looking at. The universe is a fata morgana;
life is a dream.”
― Omar Khayyám, Rubaiyat Of Omar Khayyam: English, French And German Translations Comparatively Arranged V2

“When Allah created me, he knew that I
would drink a lot of wine. So if I didn't, the
omniscience of Allah would stand on its head.”
― Omar Khayyám, Rubaiyat De Omar Khayyam...

“Scholars really have nothing to teach you.
But from the soft touch of the eyelashes of
a woman you will know all there is to know about happiness.
Buy wine, take it to
a secluded place and let it comfort you.”
― Omar Khayyám, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“There are no morals in politics; the is only experience. A scoundrel may be of use because he is a scoundrel”
― Vladimir Lenin

“Every society is three meals away from chaos”
― Vladimir Lenin

“Whenever the cause of the people is entrusted to professors, it is lost.”
― Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich

“Trust is good, control is better.”
― Vladimir Lenin

“What is a liberal-democratic philistine? An empty gut, filled with cowardice.”
― Vladimir Lenin

“Our lives pass from us like the wind, and why
Should wise men grieve to know that they must die?
The Judas blossom fades, the lovely face
Of light is dimmed, and darkness takes its place.”
― Abolghasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.”
― Marcel Proust

“Like many intellectuals, he was incapable of saying a simple thing in a simple way”
― Marcel Proust