Poems List

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

There's no possibility of being

There's no possibility of being witty without a little ill-nature -- the malice of a good thing is the barb that makes it stick.

76

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

He is the very pineapple

He is the very pineapple of politeness!

94

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

When of a gossiping circle

When of a gossiping circle it was asked, What are they doing? The answer was, Swapping lies.

108

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Take care; you know I

Take care; you know I am compliance itself, when I am not thwarted! No one more easily led, when I have my own way; but don't put me in a frenzy.

109

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Modesty is a quality in

Modesty is a quality in a lover more praised by the women than liked.

132

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

For if there is anything

For if there is anything to one's praise, it is foolish vanity to be gratified at it, and if it is abuse -- why one is always sure to hear of it from one damned good-natured friend or another!

131

Bill Cosby

No matter how calmly you

No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal.

29

Bill Cosby

I don't know the key

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

39

Bill Cosby

I wasn't always black... There

I wasn't always black... There was this freckle, and it got bigger and bigger.

26

Bill Cosby

If the new American father

If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.

37

Bill Cosby

There is no labor a

There is no labor a person does that is undignified; if they do it right.

34

Bill Cosby

Even though your kids will

Even though your kids will consistently do the exact opposite of what you're telling them to do, you have to keep loving them just as much.

27

Bill Cosby

Parents are not quite interested

Parents are not quite interested injustice, they are interested in quiet.

27

Bill Cosby

A word to the wise

A word to the wise isn't necessary, it is the stupid ones who need all the advice.

23

Bill Cosby

That married couples can live

That married couples can live together day after day is a miracle the Vatican has overlooked.

35

Lucretius

Pleasant it to behold great

Pleasant it to behold great encounters of warfare arrayed over the plains, with no part of yours in peril.

74

Lucretius

It is great wealth to

It is great wealth to a soul to live frugally with a contented mind.

35

Lucretius

The fall of dropping water

The fall of dropping water wears away the Stone.

31

Lucretius

The greatest wealth is to

The greatest wealth is to live content with little, for there is never want where the mind is satisfied.

64

Lucretius

The drops of rain make

The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.

84

Lucretius

In the midst of the

In the midst of the fountain of wit there arises something bitter, which stings in the very flowers.

86

Lucretius

From the very fountain of

From the very fountain of enchantment there arises a taste of bitterness to spread anguish amongst the flowers.

79

Lucretius

Though the dungeon, the scourge,

Though the dungeon, the scourge, and the executioner be absent, the guilty mind can apply the goad and scorch with blows.

76

Lucretius

Pleasant it is, when over

Pleasant it is, when over a great sea the winds trouble the waters, to gaze from shore upon another's great tribulation; not because any man's troubles are a delectable joy, but because to perceive you are free of them yourself is pleasant.

37