Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Related Quotes

Eleanor Holmes Norton

The question has been asked, 'What is a woman?' A woman is a person who makes choices. A woman is a dreamer. A woman is a planner. A woman is a maker, and a molder. A woman is a person who makes choices. A woman builds bridges. A woman makes children and makes cars. A woman writes poetry and songs. A woman is a person who makes choices. You cannot even simply become a mother anymore. You must choose motherhood. Will you choose change? Can you become its vanguard?

Action | Land | People |

Elizabeth Bowen, Full name Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen

But to be quite oneself one must first waste a little time.

Consciousness | Nothing |

Elif Safak

Why, what's wrong! Religions are like rivers: all flow into a sea. Mother Mary embodies compassion, mercy, love and unconditional love. It is personal, but belongs to everyone. Never mind that you're a Muslim, you can still love her and even called his daughter Maria.

Literature | People | Right | Teach | Writing |

Elias Canetti

I love writers who limit themselves, who write beneath their intelligence.

Words |

Elias Canetti

There is something fluid about [packs] during the course of any individual manifestation. [p. 127]

Death | Language | Ugly |

Elif Safak

One would expect writers and artists to understand one another better than anyone else and to be more appreciative of one another's works. That, sadly, is not always the case. Writers Rarely say anything positive About each Other.

Acceptance | Change | Mistake | Past | People | Submission |

Elif Safak

No reason to feel depressed about being depressed. A depression can be a golden opportunity to collect the pieces and build ourselves anew. Global Souls are always on the move, nomads at heart, connected to various cities, commuters between cultures, both from here and everywhere.

Little | Sense | World | Afraid |

Elihu Root

To eradicate or modify or curb the tendencies which thus survive among civilized men is not a matter of intellectual conviction or training.

William Shakespeare

Reason, you rogue, reason: thinkest thou, I'll endanger my soul gratis?

Art | Art |

William Shakespeare

ROMEO: Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace! Thou talk'st of nothing. Mercutio: True, I talk of dreams, which are the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy, which is as thin of substance as the air and more inconstant than the wind, who wooes even now the frozen bosom of the north, and, being anger'd, puffs away from thence, turning his face to the dew-dropping south. BENVOLIO: This wind you talk of blows us from ourselves; supper is done, and we shall come too late.

Love |

William Shakespeare

Signior Antonio, many a time and oft In the Rialto you have rated me About my moneys and my usances; still have I borne it with a patient shrug, For suff’rance is the badge of all our tribe; You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, And spet upon my Jewish gaberdine, And all for use of that which is mine own. Well then, it now appears you need my help; Go to, then; you come to me, and you say ‘Shylock, we would have moneys.’ you say so: you that did void your rheum upon my beard, and foot me as you spurn a stranger cur over your threshold; moneys is your suit. What should I say to you? Should I not say ‘hath a dog money? Is it possible a cur can lend three thousand ducats?’ or shall I bend low and, in a bondman’s key, with bated breath and whisp’ring humbleness, say this:— ‘fair sir, you spit on me on wednesday last; you spurn’d me such a day; another time you call’d me dog; and for these courtesies I’ll lend you thus much moneys? Merchant of Venice, Act i, Scene 3

Men |

William Shakespeare

ROSENCRANTZ: Do you take me for a sponge, my lord? HAMLET: Ay, sir; that soaks up the king's countenance, his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the king best service in the end: he keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw; first mouthed, to be last swallowed: when he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again. ROSENCRANTZ: I understand you not, my lord. HAMLET: I am glad of it: a knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear.

Body |

William Shakespeare

Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, and the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks; arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw doth pierce it.

William Shakespeare

See, your guests approach. Address yourself to entertain them sprightly, and let's be red with mirth.

Knowledge | Suspicion |

William Shakespeare

ROSENCRANTZ: My lord, you must tell us where the body is, and go with us to the king. HAMLET: The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body. The king is a thing. GUILDENSTERN: A thing my lord? HAMLET: Of nothing. Bring me to him. Hide fox, and all after!

Body | Speech | Understand |

Elizabeth Gilbert

I'd like to go to Sicily because of what Goethe said: Without seeing Sicily, one can not have a clear idea of Italy .

Enough | Genius | Growth | Circumstance | Understand |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Only the young and stupid are confident about sex and romance.

Body | Decision | Experience | Force | Friend | Little | People | Wrong | Govern | Think |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Given that life is so short, do I really want to spend one-ninetieth of my remaining days on earth reading Edward Gibbon?

Cause | Happy | Observation | Quiet | Statistics | Work | World |

Elizabeth Gilbert

By unnerving definition, anything that the heart has chosen for its own mysterious reasons it can always unchoose later—again, for its own mysterious reasons.

Care | Credit | Justification | Learning | Need | Pleasure | Right |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Let me ask you something, in all the years that you have...undressed in front of a gentleman has he ever asked you to leave? Has he ever walked out and left? No? It's because he doesn't care! He's in a room with a naked girl, he just won the lottery. I am so tired of saying no, waking up in the morning and recalling every single thing I ate the day before, counting every calorie I consumed so I know just how much self-loathing to take into the shower. I'm going for it. I have no interest in being obese, I'm just through with the guilt. So this is what I'm going to do, I'm going to finish this pizza, and then we are going to go watch the soccer game, and tomorrow we are going to go on a little date and buy ourselves some bigger jeans.

Destroy |