Favourite phrases

My computer does what I tell it to, not what I want it to.

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Es ist nichts Neues unter der Sonne.

Was it a cat I saw?

Is it a real question you posted?

Nein. Es ist an palindrome.

The only one I can come up with just now is a lie “Madam, I am Adam!”

Edit: notice how the statement before the quotation marks can have a double meaning. :slight_smile:

My favorite phrase is:

“Everything is possible, the impossible is just a little bit harder.”

It’s more than flesh and blood can stand.

All i know is that i know nothing at all

[while this statement is usually attributed to Socrates, it is in fact a mistatement of what he actually spoke-- but i like the phrase nonetheless]

Michael

“He reflected that he hadn’t promised his father not to gamble, he’d promised him not to forget his advice.”–THE FACTS OF LIFE by W. Somerset Maugham

http://www.goodreads.com/trivia/show/116145-in-the-somerset-maugham-short-story-the

“The best kind of self-control is to avoid situations that require self-control.”—Paul J. Silvia

George Orwell. 1984. How I love this novel!!!.

Here are my two favorite extracts from this book. I put the translation in French for the French learner. Enjoy!

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It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.

                George Orwell:‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’

C’était une journée d’avril froide et claire. Les horloges sonnaient treize heures. Winston Smith, le menton rentré dans le cou, s’efforçait d’éviter le vent mauvais. Il passa rapidement la porte vitrée du bloc des « Maisons de la Victoire », pas assez rapidement cependant pour empêcher que s’engouffre en même temps que lui un tourbillon de poussière et de sable.

                George Orwell:1984 - Première Partie - Chapitre I
                Traduction d’Amélie Audiberti

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The elbow! He had slumped to his knees, almost paralysed, clasping the stricken elbow with his other hand. Everything had exploded into yellow light. Inconceivable, inconceivable that one blow could cause such pain! The light cleared and he could see the other two looking down at him. The guard was laughing at his contortions. One question at any rate was answered. Never, for any reason on earth, could you wish for an increase of pain. Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes, no heroes, he thought over and over as he writhed on the floor, clutching uselessly at his disabled left arm.

                George Orwell:‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ PART III I

L’épaule ! Il s’était effondré sur les genoux, presque paralysé, tenant de son autre main son épaule blessée. Tout avait explosé dans une lumière jaune. Inconcevable. Inconcevable qu’un seul coup pût causer une telle souffrance ! La lumière s’éclaircit et il put voir les deux autres qui le regardaient. Le garde riait de ses contorsions. Une question, en tout cas, avait trouvé sa réponse. Jamais, pour aucune raison au monde, on ne pouvait désirer un accroissement de douleur. De la douleur on ne pouvait désirer qu’une chose, qu’elle s’arrête. Rien au monde n’était aussi pénible qu’une souffrance physique. « Devant la douleur, il n’y a pas de héros, aucun héros », se répéta-t-il, tandis qu’il se tordait sur le parquet, étreignant sans raison son bras gauche estropié.

                George Orwell:1984 - Troisième Partie - Chapitre I
                Traduction d’Amélie Audiberti

===================

Here is an Alfred de Musset’s quotation to further your reflexion about the last extract:

« L’homme est un apprenti, la douleur est son maître,
Et nul ne se connaît tant qu’il n’a pas souffert. »
Alfred de Musset. Ecrivain et poète français. 1810-1857.
La Nuit d’Octobre (Extrait)

“Sorrow is lord to man, and man a slave,
None knows himself till he has walked with grief.”
Alfred de Musset.
THE OCTOBER NIGHT. (extract)

The first one is from George Orwell, the second by Yutaka? :wink:

“If it’s possible, it’s done already; if it’s impossible, it will be done”.

“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”.

@Macaron66. I like this one. N. Mandela quotation, isn’t it?

Yes, the first one is from Geoge Orwell. The second one is someone whose name escapes me at the moment. Something tells me that it begins with the letter “Y”.

Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando.

Dieser Satz entspricht dem deutschen. Es ist aber nicht einer meiner Lieblingssätze.