50 quotes
Irish playwright, critic, and polemicist (1856–1950)
“A tragic situation exists precisely when virtue does NOT triumph but when it is still felt that man is nobler than the forces which destroy him.”
"A man learns to skate by staggering about and making a fool of himself. Indeed he progresses in all things by resolutely making a fool of himself."
on Life
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."
on Inspirational
"It is easy-terribly easy-to shake a man's faith in himself. To take advantage of that to to break a man's spirit is Devil's work."
on Faith
"Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read made him mad."
on Wisdom
"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
"We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it."
on Happiness
"The liar's punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else."
on Truth
"Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience."
on Philosophy
"The man with toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound.The poverty stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich man."
on Empathy
"Never waste jealousy on a real man: it is the imaginary man that supplants us all in the long run."
on Relationships
"Confusing monogamy with morality has done more to destroy the conscience of the human race than any other error."
"You don't stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing."
"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."
on Freedom
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
on Identity
"What man really wishes to do he will find a means of doing."
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
on Failure
"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."
"Liquor is the chloroform which enables the poor man to endure the painful operation of living."
on Addiction
"Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve."
on Politics
"The most distinguished persons become more revolutionary as they grow older."
on Revolution
