Quotations

"Whether you stir garbage clockwise or counterclockwise it is still garbage. Better to stop stirring and spend your energy stirring pearls of goodness."

— Hasidic proverb

"Two things people throughout history have had in common are hatred and humor. I am proud that I have been able to use humor to lessen people's hatred."

— Richard Pryor, American comedian, born December 1, 1940

"If I thought about it, I could be bitter, but I don't feel like being bitter. Being bitter makes you immobile, and there's too much that I still want to do."

— Richard Pryor, American comedian, died December 10, 2005

"If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."

— Psalm 139:11–12, Other translations: If I say, “Surely darkness will conceal me, night will provide me with cover, & 12: darkness is not dark for You; night is as light as day; darkness and light are the same. But even darkness is not dark for You; night is as bright as the day, and light and dark are all the same.

"For with You is the source of life, in Your light, we see light."

— Psalm 36:10

"Taste and see that God is good."

— Psalm 34:8

"When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and stars that You set in place,
what is man that You have been mindful of him,
mortal man that You have taken note of him,
that You have made him little less than divine,
and adorned him with glory and majesty;
You have made him master over Your handiwork,
laying the world at his feet,"

— Psalm 8:4-7

"The music of Madame Butterfly was dictated to me by God. I was merely instrumental in getting it on paper and communicating it to the public."

— Giacomo Puccini, Madama Butterfly, premiered in Milan, February 17, 1904

"Art is a kind of illness."

— Giacomo Puccini, Italian opera composer, died November 29, 1924

"Yes, I can. Yes, I could. And Yes, I did."

— Monica Puig, Puerto Rican-American tennis player, born September 27, 1993

"My lover asks me: What is the difference between me and the sky? The difference, my love, Is that when you laugh, I forget about the sky."

— Nizar Quabbani, Syrian poet, born March 21, 1923

"Kill him, then hug him. Men are more faithful when dead."

— Nizar Quabbani, Syrian poet, born March 21, 1923

"Risk it; go for it. Life always gives you another chance, another go at it. It's very important to take enormous risks."

— Mary Quant, English fashion designer, born February 11, 1934

"As the poet has expected, the alarms now are sounded, for - and it must be said again - the birth of a poet is always a threat to the existing cultural order, because he attempts to break through the circle of literary castes to reach the center."

— Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian poet, died June 14, 1968