# Notable Quotes (Nonreligious) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457 "2017-10-21T18:39:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/81 "2017-10-25T07:50:48Z")
We are no better than the animals; in fact in a lot of ways we aren’t as good. John Steinbeck Ignorance is bold and knowledge reserved. Thucydides The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them. Mark Twain A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. George Patton It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. Winston Churchill It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. Carl Sagan A witty saying proves nothing. Voltaire ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/82 "2017-10-25T11:19:39Z")
“Physical violence has solved every war in history, most football games, and a few marriages I can think of.” _—Lou Grant_ ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/83 "2017-10-25T12:57:45Z")
Violence is rarely the answer. But when it is, it’s the only answer. ‘There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe.’ Both from Robert Heinlein. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/84 "2017-10-25T14:59:59Z")
“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.” - John Adams ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/85 "2017-10-25T15:14:07Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > [Religious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer), but not guff, IMO: > > _O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other._ > [@buddha\_david](#): > > “Oh Lord, please give me the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and a big pile of money.” “Lord, give me the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of the people I had to kill because they pissed me off.” “Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of—but do it in private, and wash your hands afterward.” Robert Heinlein “The perversity of the universe tends to a maximum.” Larry Niven ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/86 "2017-10-25T15:26:33Z")
“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.” ~ Gandalf, _The Fellowship of the Ring_ ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/87 "2017-10-25T15:45:05Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > Well, it is definitely from an [early-90s Aaron Tippin country song.](https://youtu.be/Z_s-Qk07KxA) And [John Mellencamp](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9sTTnigGgQ) and [Katy Perry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8) ---
**Author:** ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/88 "2017-10-25T16:16:42Z")
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength” ⁃ Corrie Ten Boom And, related: “Anxiety is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you very far” - Jodi Picoult “Human emotions are a gift from our animal ancestors. Cruelty is a gift humanity has given itself.” - Hannibal, from the eponymous TV series “To criticize is to presuppose an alternative…” - Neil Peart, natch. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/89 "2017-10-25T16:22:23Z")
“It doesn’t count as necrophilia if the guy was alive when the fucking started.” — _Oglaf_ (webcomic) ---
**Author:** ![RunSilent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@RunSilent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RunSilent)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/90 "2017-10-25T16:26:51Z")
Try to say nothing negative about anybody for three days, for forty-five days, for three months. See what happens to your life. - Yoko Ono ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/91 "2017-10-25T16:33:38Z")
“Ninety-five percent of people who walk the earth are simply inert. One percent are saints, and one percent are assholes. The other three percent are people who do what they say they can do.” -Stephen King ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/92 "2017-10-25T16:40:03Z")
“One man with courage makes a majority.” - Andrew Jackson ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/93 "2017-10-25T16:50:20Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > “Ninety-five percent of people who walk the earth are simply inert. One percent are saints, and one percent are assholes. The other three percent are people who do what they say they can do.” > > -Stephen King Another good one from King - “When I was seventeen, I realized the mix the world runs on, which is one part high octane to nine parts bullshit.” Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/94 "2017-10-25T17:04:16Z")
I like the “…Two kinds of people in the world…” quotes - maybe they deserve their own thread. Here are a few: There are two types of people in this world. Those who listen and those that wait for their turn to speak. –Unknown There are only two kinds of people in the world – there are those who wake up in the morning and say, “Good morning, Lord,” and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, “Good Lord, it’s morning.” –Unknown There are two types of people in this world: those who leave a mark, and others who just leave a stain. – Unknown There are two types of people in this world; good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more. –Woody Allen There are two kinds of people; those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there. –Indira Gandhi There are two kinds of people in this world: those who think for themselves, and those who only know what they’ve been taught. -Unknown ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/95 "2017-10-25T17:48:33Z")
Life is like a shit sandwich. The more bread you have, the less shit you have to eat. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/96 "2017-10-25T18:58:11Z")
> [@RunSilent](#): > > Try to say nothing negative about anybody for three days, for forty-five days, for three months. See what happens to your life. - Yoko Ono Did she ever tell JOHN that one? Unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/97 "2017-10-25T19:09:22Z")
“If I’d’a killed you twenty years ago, I’d be free today.” \* —Anonymous\* ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/98 "2017-10-25T19:37:30Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > We are no better than the animals; in fact in a lot of ways we aren’t as good. > John Steinbeck > > Ignorance is bold and knowledge reserved. > Thucydides > > The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them. > Mark Twain > > A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. > George Patton > > It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. > Winston Churchill > > It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. > Carl Sagan > > A witty saying proves nothing. > Voltaire One of the greatest speeches ever given, by Carl Sagan. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wupToqz1e2g/hqdefault.jpg "Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g) ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/99 "2017-10-25T21:28:19Z")
I’ve got a couple of these: \*“Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.” “Life is like toilet paper: You’re either on a roll or you’re taking shit from some asshole.”\* “[Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.](http://izquotes.com/quote/291254)” ―[Anonymous](http://izquotes.com/author/anonymous) Read more at [http://izquotes.com/quote/291254](http://izquotes.com/quote/291254) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457/100 "2017-10-26T14:43:23Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I like the “…Two kinds of people in the world…” quotes - maybe they deserve their own thread… “There are two types of people in this world. Those who can count, those who can’t, and those who can, but do it badly.” - Anon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-quotes-nonreligious/799457.md?page=6)