Leo Rosten Quotes

Words must surely be counted among the most powerful drugs man ever invented.

Why did God give me two ears and one mouth? So that I will hear more and talk less.

We see things as we are, not as they are.

Truth is stranger than fiction; fiction has to make sense.

The writer wants to be understood much more than he wants to be respected or praised or even loved. And that perhaps, is what makes him different from others.

Some things are so unexpected that no one is prepared for them.

Satire is focused bitterness.

Proverbs often contradict one another, as any reader soon discovers. The sagacity that advises us to look before we leap promptly warns us that if we hesitate we are lost; that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but out of sight, out of mind.

If you are going to do something wrong at least enjoy it.

I never cease being dumbfounded by the unbelievable things people believe.

I learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong.

First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate people.

Extremists think “communication” means agreeing with them.

Courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined.

Any man who hates dogs and babies can’t be all bad.