Wit & Wisdom

Samuel Beckett, Pete Seeger, Joseph Epstein

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

Samuel Beckett, quoted in SportsIllustrated.com

“Saying atheism is a belief system is like saying not going skiing is a hobby.”

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“Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted.”

Biographer Hesketh Pearson, quoted in the Associated Press

“Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.”

Sophia Loren, quoted in the United Press International

“Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.”

Benjamin Franklin, quoted in the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch

“It’s a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with.”

Pete Seeger, quoted in The Guardian (U.K.)

“If geniuses can sometimes make mistakes, cannot the rest of us on occasion be geniuses?”

Joseph Epstein, quoted in The Boston Globe