Wit & Wisdom

“There is only one difference between a long life and a good dinner: that, in the dinner, the sweets come last.”

Robert Louis Stevenson, quoted in the Bismarck, N.D., Tribune

“Self-pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.”

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

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Helen Keller, quoted in the Fontana, Calif., Herald News

“Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage.”

Ray Bradbury, quoted in Wired.com

“If pregnancy were a book, they would cut out the last two chapters.”

Nora Ephron, quoted in The Daily Telegraph

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

Albert Einstein, quoted in Ad Age

“Time is the only critic without personal ambition.”

John Steinbeck, quoted in the Johannesburg Sunday Times

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Mae West, quoted in the Morton Grove, Ill., Champion