Home / Quotes / Quote by Joseph Epstein

Quote by Joseph Epstein

“The best joke-tellers are those who have the patience to wait for conversation to come around to the point where the jokes in their repertoire have application.”

Quote by Joseph Epstein

Book:Familiar territory: observations on American life

Work

Familiar territory: observations on American life

This book delves into the nuances and complexities of American society, offering insights into the cultural, social, and political landscape. more

Author

Joseph Epstein is an American writer born on January 9, 1937. Known for his unique sense of humor and profound insight, Epstein's works span literary criticism, short stories, and essays. His writing style has been widely appreciated by readers, particularly in the field of literary criticism. more

You May Also Like

“What, really, is wanted from a neighborhood? Convenience, certainly, an absence of major aggravation, to be sure. But perhaps mostof all, ideally, what is wanted is a comfortable background, a breathing space of intermission between the intensities of private life and the calculations of public life.”

Wanted Space Comfortable Majors Absence Backgrounds Breathing Neighborhood Intensity Private Life Convenience Calculations Public Life Aggravation Intermission Breathing Space

Book:Familiar territory: observations on American life

Source: Familiar territory: observations on American life

“Generalization, especially risky generalization, is one of the chief methods by which knowledge proceeds... Safe generalizations are usually rather boring. Delete that "usually rather." Safe generalizations are quite boring.”

Safe Method Boring Chiefs Generalization

Author:Joseph Epstein

“Always seek the general and never quite trust it.”

Trust Never Quit

Author:Joseph Epstein

“English humor resembles the Loch Ness Monster in that both are famous but there is a strong suspicion that neither exists.”

Strong Monsters Suspicion Loch Ness Monster

Book:English Humour for Beginners

Source: English Humour for Beginners

“We must find out what words are and how they function. They become images when written down, but images of words repeated in the mind and not of the image of the thing itself.”

Mind Written Function

Author:William S. Burroughs

“The youth rebellion [1968] is a worldwide phenomenon that has not been seen before in history. I do not believe they will calm down ad be ad execs at thirty as the Establishment would like us to believe.”

Believe Youth Calm Thirty Rebellion Phenomenon Ads Establishment Calm Down

Author:William S. Burroughs

“(1) Never give anything away for nothing. (2) Never give more than you have to give (always catch the buyer hungry and always make him wait). (3) Always take everything back if you possibly can.”

Ifs Giving Waiting Hungry Buyers

Author:William S. Burroughs

“The bad workmen who form the majority of the operatives in many branches of industry are decidedly of opinion that bad workmen ought to receive the same wages as good.”

Form Work Opinion Industry Ought Majority Branches Good Work Wages Workmen

Book:On Liberty: Mill's Works

Source: On Liberty: Mill's Works

“In proportion to the development of his individuality, each person becomes more valuable to others. There is a greater fullness of life about his own existence, and when there is more life in the units there is more in the mass which is composed of them.”

Persons Individual Existence Greater Development Mass Individuality Valuable Proportion Units Fullness Fullness Of Life

Book:On Liberty: Representative Government ; The Subjection of Women : Three Essays

Source: On Liberty: Representative Government ; The Subjection of Women : Three Essays

“The despotism of custom is on the wane. We are not content to know that things are; we ask whether they ought to be.”

Knows Asks Ought Customs Despotism

Author:John Stuart Mill