#refine

It is wise to apply the oil of refined politeness to the mechanism of friendship. ↗

— Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

#friendship #mechanism #oil #politeness #refined

Courtesy is a silver lining around the dark clouds of civilization; it is the best part of refinement and in many ways, an art of heroic beauty in the vast gallery of man's cruelty and baseness. ↗

— Bryant H. McGill

#art #baseness #beauty #best #best part

Scientists do stand on the shoulders of giants, just as do writers. Conversely, in the arts we do make discoveries. We do refine our tools. So I am arguing with, or at least playing with, the idea that art never improves. ↗

— Ian Mcewan

#arguing #art #arts #conversely #discoveries

The Japanese have a wonderful sense of design and a refinement in their art. They try to produce beautiful paintings with the minimum number of strokes. ↗

— David Rockefeller

#beautiful #beautiful paintings #design #japanese #minimum

You see, I was born in the slums, that was before the ghetto. The ghetto was kind of refined; the slums was right there on the ground. ↗

— Della Reese

#born #ghetto #ground #i #i was born

I had no books at home. I started to frequent a public library in Lisbon. It was there, with no help except curiosity and the will to learn, that my taste for reading developed and was refined. ↗

— Jose Saramago

#curiosity #developed #except #frequent #had

Yale is a crucible in American life for the accommodation of intellectual achievement, of wisdom, of refinement, with the democratic ideals of openness, of social justice and of equal opportunity. ↗

— Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.

#achievement #american #american life #crucible #democratic

What do I do when we're not taping? Sit in a dark room and refine my plans for someday ruling Earth from a blimp. And chess. ↗

— Ryan Stiles

#dark #earth #i #i do #plans

The old interests of aristocracy - the romance of action, the exalted passions of chivalry and war - faded into the background, and their place was taken by the refined and intimate pursuits of peace and civilization. ↗

— Lytton Strachey

#aristocracy #background #chivalry #civilization #exalted

I cannot be much pleased without an appearance of truth; at least of possibility I wish the history to be natural though the sentiments are refined; and the characters to be probable, though their behaviour is excelling. ↗

— Frances Burney

#behaviour #cannot #characters #history #i