Wit & Wisdom

“Too much apology doubles the offense.”

Poet James Richardson, quoted in The Boston Globe

“A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn’t.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Tom Waits, quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times

“At a certain age, it’s better to look up than look down.”

Penny Marshall, quoted in NYMag.com

“In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”

Author M.J. Adler, quoted in the Mobile, Ala., Register

“Despair is a black leather jacket that everyone looks good in. Hope is a frilly, pink dress that exposes the knees.”

Writer Rebecca Solnit, quoted in The Guardian (U.K.)

“You are not very good if you are not better than your best friends imagine you to be.”

Poet Johann Lavater, quoted in Forbes.com

“The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.”

Henry Ward Beecher, quoted in the Monterey County, Calif., Herald