Aphorisms Galore!

Altruism and Cynicism

173 aphorisms  ·  15 comments

Aphorisms in This Category

tiny.ag/nqcfjvh0  ·  submitted 1997

Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams.

Mary Ellen Kelly, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/sc3tpgkp  ·  submitted 1997

We have met the enemy, and he is us.

Walt Kelly, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/mnrh4p2b  ·  submitted 1997

Always forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

John F. Kennedy, in Altruism and Cynicism and Vice and Virtue

tiny.ag/uaqbnf1k  ·  submitted 1997

All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.

Martin Luther King, Jr., in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/q5s2gnzy  ·  submitted 1997

Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other.

Ann Landers, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/pbhm4rie  ·  submitted 1997

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.

Samuel Butler, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/lgolcdhe  ·  submitted 1997

Getting caught is the mother of invention.

Robert Byrne, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/gu6tloek  ·  submitted 1997

An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.

Simon Cameron, in Altruism and Cynicism and Law and Politics

tiny.ag/ywjorl1b  ·  submitted 1997

When the government fears the people, we have liberty. When the people fear the government, we have tyranny.

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism and Law and Politics

tiny.ag/43mefad8  ·  submitted 1997

All government -- indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act -- is founded on compromise and barter.

Edmund Burke, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/ajwgbtvf  ·  submitted 1997

If you were arrested for kindness, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism and Vice and Virtue

tiny.ag/zm6nq4mh  ·  submitted 1997

We should forgive our enemies, but only after they've been taken out and shot.

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/ugaap1m5  ·  submitted 1997

Cynics are made, not born.

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/kf8mzunf  ·  submitted 1997

Don't tell any big lies today. Small ones can be just as effective.

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/xjumrw8y  ·  submitted 1997

Everything is controlled by a small evil group to which, unfortunately, no one we know belongs.

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/e6ekgqrh  ·  submitted 1997

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/xl1yrua8  ·  submitted 1997

George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but he also admitted doing it. Now, do you know why his father didn't punish him? Because George still had the axe in his hand.

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/p7q95xlg  ·  submitted 1997

Hypocrisy is the vaseline of social intercourse.

Unknown, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/458vctqs  ·  submitted 1997

I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room.

Blaise Pascal, in Altruism and Cynicism

tiny.ag/k40t75a9  ·  submitted 1997

No guest is so welcome in a friend's house that he will not become a nuisance after three days.

Titus Maccius Plautus, in Altruism and Cynicism