Pete's Quote Files: A

Please read the disclaimer. This quote database was last updated in early 2000.

Quotes by people associated with the letter 'A'

A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.
-Edward Abbey


Might does not make right but it sure makes what is.
-Edward Abbey


It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons.
-Douglas Adams (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)


The History of the Galaxy has got a little muddled, for a number of reasons: partly because those who are trying to keep track of it have got a little muddled, but also because some very muddling things have been happening anyway.
-Douglas Adams (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)


There is a theory which states that if anyone discovers what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
-Douglas Adams (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
-Douglas Adams


The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour to lead all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was he who, by peddling second-rate technology, led them into it in the first place.
-Douglas Adams


There's nothing in life so difficult that a Microsoft manual can't make it completely incomprehensible.
-Douglas Adams


The public is a masochist at heart, and not only likes to be cheated, but has admiration for those who deceive and defraud it.
-Franklin P. Adams


If you have any trouble sounding condescending, find a Unix user to show you how it's done.
-Scott Adams


We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
-Aesop


Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
-Muhammad Ali in "Time", 1978


I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying.
-Woody Allen


There is a life-size picture of a dogcow conveniently located in the Finder. Look under "Page Setup..." Now look under "Options." Like any talented dog, it can do flips. Like any talented cow, it can do precision bitmap alignment.
-Apple Tech Note #31


Nothing is intrinsically good or evil, but its manner of usage may make it so.
-St. Thomas Aquinas


The wise learn many things from their enemies.
-Aristophanes


There was never a great genius without a tincture of madness.
-Aristotle


I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
-Isaac Asimov


The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny..."
-Isaac Asimov


It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.
-Isaac Asimov


United Nations, New York, December 25. The peace and joy of the Christmas season was marred by a proclamation of a general strike of all the military forces of the world. Panic reigns in the hearts of all the patriots of every persuasion.
Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all-time low over the world.
-Isaac Asimov


We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for, I don't know.
-W.H. Auden


If it's on MY /mnt/cdrom/contrib directory, it better be ON YOUR ftp server!
-Aximili