#clever

[On marriage and permanent attachment:] Well, well -- the prizes all go to the women who 'play their cards well' -- but if they can only be won in that way, I would rather lose the game ... [C]lever [women] bide their time -- make themselves indispensable first, and then se font prier [=play hard to get]. Clever -- but I can't do it. ↗

— Dorothy L. Sayers

#cleverness #deception #honesty #marriage #men

Liberalism, contrary to popular belief, is facing backward in considering the injustice of its ancestors. Conservatism, contrary to popular belief, is facing forward in considering the psychology of its descendants. Definitively, it seems in the modern world that neither side really knows which direction it's facing, and men of the sharpest judgment are simply turned off from picking either of the poisons. ↗

— Criss Jami

#backwards #clever #confusion #conservatism #conservative

Some say knowledge is power. Some tell us that all power comes from the gods. Others say it derives from law. Yet that day on the steps of Baelor’s Sept, our godly High Septon and the lawful Queen Regent and your ever-so-knowledgeable servant were as powerless as any cobbler or cooper in the crowd. Who truly killed Eddard Stark, do you think? Joffrey, who gave the command? Ser Ilyn Payne, who swung the sword? Or…another?” Tyrion cocked his head sideways. “Did you mean to answer your damned riddle, or only to make my head ache worse?” Varys smiled. “Here, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less.” “So power is a mummer’s trick?” “A shadow on the wall,” Varys murmured, “yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.” Tyrion smiled. “Lord Varyls, I am growing strangely fond of you. I may kill you yet, but I think I’d feel sad about it. ↗

— George R.R. Martin

#humor #philosophical #riddles #men

Science is always discovering odd scraps of magical wisdom and making a tremendous fuss about its cleverness. ↗

— Aleister Crowley

#always #cleverness #discovering #fuss #magical

You can't let the truth bring out the worst and let it get the best of you. ↗

— Criss Jami

#best #clever #condescension #humble #humility

To us — richer and cleverer than everyone else! ↗

— Scott Lynch

#rich #self-confidence #self-confidence

Make sure it is God's trumpet you are blowing- if it is only yours it won't wake the dead, it will simply disturb the neighbours. ↗

— W. Ian Thomas

#eye-opener #reminder #sharp #witty #witty

Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever. ↗

— Aristophanes

#clever #i #may #me #mind

TV - a clever contraction derived from the words Terrible Vaudeville. However, it is our latest medium - we call it a medium because nothing's well done. ↗

— Goodman Ace

#call #clever #contraction #derived #done

Social media is a giant distraction to the ultimate aim, which is honing your craft as a songwriter. There are people who are exceptional at it, however, and if you can do both things, then that's fantastic, but if you are a writer, the time is better spent on a clever lyric than a clever tweet. ↗

— Bryan Adams

#better #both #clever #craft #distraction