Ambrose Quotes

SCARABAEUS, n. The sacred beetle of the ancient Egyptians, allied to our familiar "tumble-bug." It was supposed to symbolize immortality, the fact that God knew why giving it its peculiar sanctity.

The most intolerant advocate is he who is trying to convince himself.

The clarinet is a musical instrument the only thing worse than which is two.

Brain, v. [as in "to brain"]: To rebuke bluntly, but not pointedly; to dispel a source of error in an opponent.

He laughs best who laughs least.

A bird in the hand is worth what it will bring.

Self-restraint is indulgence of the propensity to forgo.

ELECTOR, n. One who enjoys the sacred privilege of voting for the man of another man's choice.

If every hypocrite in the United States were to break his leg to-day the country could be successfully invaded to-morrow by the warlike hypocrites of Canada.

There was never a genius who was not thought a fool until he disclosed himself; whereas he is a fool then only.

Spare me the mantra that the “fundamentals” are sound. Credit is the ultimate fundamental.

Being an actress is similar to trying to fit in with the popular kids in high school. You're expected to drive the right car, wear the right clothes and say the right things.

I saw Food, Inc. last night - it was like a horror movie. I'm definitely thinking about my food supply now and how I want to grow my own.

I came to L.A. to work and become a better actress, not to be a star.

Yeah, I've always sung, and I always try to find a way for music to be in my life.

I typically have a martini.

I think I'm a girly beer drinker - I like the fruity ones. And the radler has lower alcohol.

Within Easy Company they had made the best friends they had ever had, or would ever have. They were prepared to die for each other; more important, they were prepared to kill for each other.

We know how to win wars. We must learn now to win peace.

I thought Nixon was the worst President we had ever had, save only perhaps Andrew Johnson.

We are part of a country that outshines those that have gone before us and most of those in existence today.

Washington, not Jefferson, freed his slaves upon his death.

Almost everything Truman did in foreign affairs I approve of.

Jefferson owned slaves. He did not believe that all were created equal. He was a racist.

I've always tried to be fair to my subjects. That's easy when they are as likable and admirable as Lewis and Clark, or Eisenhower.

Reading your own material aloud forces you to listen.

Like their predecessors, the Presidents of today just throw up their hands.

I think that the opportunity to improve race relations in the United States has been put off temporarily.

All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher.

You scoundrel, you have wronged me, " hissed the philosopher, "May you live forever!

Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage.

Beware of the compound adjective, beloved of the tyro and the 'poetess'.

Education, n. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.

Fear has no brains it is an idiot. The dismal witness that it bears and the cowardly counsel that it whispers are unrelated.

acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.

POLITICS, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

History – An account mostly false, of events unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.

Marriage, n.: The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two.

Rocky, if I’ve learned anything from my train wreck of a marriage, it’s that no one can take care of me better than I can.

Some people fight fire with fire. I've found water to be more effective.

I don't believe in virgin sacrifice. It encourages promiscuity at an early age

Woman, the child of so many tears shall never perish.

Ah, children of the sunlight and the gaslight, how little you know of the world in which you live!

So I say a name, even if self-bestowed, is better than a number. In the register of the potter's field I shall soon have both. What wealth!

Meeting a vampire is kind of like a celebrity sighting, but where the celebrity possibly wants to kill you.

Cynic, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are not as they ought to be.

The hardest tumble a man can take is to fall over his own bluff.

In the presence of death reason and philosophy are silent

TELEPHONE n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.

The practice of perfect virtue does not require teaching, but instructs others.