Piet Hein

People are self-centredto a nauseous degree.
They will keep on about themselveswhile I'm explaining me.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children.
She didn't know what to do.
But try as she would she could never detect which was the cause and which the effect.

If virtue can't be mine alone at least my faults can be my own.

Naive you areif you believelife favours thosewho aren't naive.

Philosophers must ultimately find their true perfection in knowing all the follies of mankind -by introspection.

Sun that givest all things
Shine on everything on earth!
If that's too much to
Shine at least on this our land!

Anxieties yield at a negative rate, increasing in smallness the longer they wait.

Living isa thing you donow or never -which do you?

You'll probably findthat it suits your bookto be a bit clevererthan you look.
Observe that the easiestmethod by faris to look a bit stupiderthan you are.

My old clock used to tell the time and subdivide diurnity; but now its lost both hands and chime and only tells eternity.

I'd like to know what this whole show is all about before it's out.

Men, said the Devil,
are good to their brothers:
they don’t want to mendtheir own ways, but each others.

She gave me hope she gave me love, with bounty unalloyed.
But what she had of faith, alas, she gave to Freud.

We ought to live each day as though it were our last day here below.
But if I did, alas,
I know it would have killed me long ago.

If a nasty jagged stone gets into your shoe, thank the Lord it came alone- what if it were two?

The universe may be as great as they say.
But it wouldn't be missed if it didn't exist.

Love while you've got love to give.
Live while you've got life to live.

Shun adviceat any price - that's what I callgood advice.

The noble art of Losing Face may one day save the Human Race and turn into eternal merit what weaker minds would call disgrace.

Eradicate the optimistwho takes the easy viewthat human values will persistno matter what we do.
Annihilate the pessimistwhose ineffectual cryis that the goal's already missedhowever hard we try.

The road to wisdom?
Well, it's
And simple to express:
Errand errand err again

It ought to be plain how little you gain by getting excited and vexed.
You'll always be late for the previous train, and always on time for the next.

Does time exist?
I gravely doubt it.
But gosh, what should we dowithout it?

We shall have to evolve problem-solvers galore- since each problem they solve creates ten problems more.