Poems List

It was a world which granted privileges to some and imposed prohibitions on others...Endowed with strength and eager to learn, one had to drag himself in a narrow prison cell when he could see an open field, a vast horizon in the distance; when he could feel the beatings of a heart; and when he believed himself entitled to enjoy the beauty of a dream.

It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.

The primary purpose of the Data statement is to give names to constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every appearance, the variable Pi can be given that value with a Data statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change.

You never realize how short a month is until you pay alimony.

The progress of the rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error.

Genius has no country. It blossoms everywhere. Genius is like the light, the air. It is the heritage of all!

If debugging is the art of removing bugs, then programming must be the art of inserting them.

I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly.

To live is to be among men, and to be among men is to struggle, a struggle not only with them but with oneself; with their passions, but also with one's own.

Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.

...Then anyone who leaves behind him a written manual, and likewise anyone who receives it, in the belief that such writing will be clear and certain, must be exceedingly simple-minded...

...to emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on Heaven is to create hell. In their desperate longing to transcend the disorderliness, friction, and unpredictability that pesters life; in their desire for a fresh start in a tidy habitat, germ-free and secured by angels, religious multitudes are gambling the only life they may ever have on a dark horse in a race that has no finish line."

One only dies once, and if one does not die well, a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again.

Right now I think censorship is necessary the things they're doing and saying in films right now just shouldn't be allowed. There's no dignity anymore and I think that's very important.

We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love, one another.

The more one is hated, I find, the happier one is.

As long as people believe in absurdities, they will continue to commit atrocities.

Today is Christmas Eve. Whether or not Christ was born exactly on this date is not important. But chronological accuracy has nothing to do with tonight's event. A grand genius had been born who preached truth and love; who suffered because of his mission; and on account of his sufferings the world has become better, if not saved. Only it gives me nausea to see how some people abuse his name to commit numerous crimes. If he is in heaven, he will certainly protest! (24 December 1886)

I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get the same money for cop.

The husband who wants a happy marriage should learn to keep his mouth shut and his checkbook open.

All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.

Each one writes history according to his convenience.

When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.

Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same