A Quotes
Browse famous quotes beginning with A. This page is a child index of the full Popular Quotes A-Z directory.
“As a general habit and general tendency, I prefer not to bog a piece down with a great number of transitory, contemporary references, because in the end, I'm concerned, not in an abstract way, but an actual way, with creating a world which has a universality to it - even though what goes on is made up of texture and detail, contemporary detail.”
“As a general man I tried watching movies, playing sports, going to picnics and other entertainments but I still got bored, then I tried heroism and now I am hero, and I never get bored.”
“As a general matter, if the president wants to withdraw from a treaty, he simply gets to do that. And that's part of the powers of the office.”
“As a general observation: Every problem created by human beings started as a solution to a previous problem. Therefore, in thinking about any solution for any problem, it is important to think about how it (the solution itself) would become a future problem.”
“As a general principle you should not force young men to do their duty, but let them do it voluntarily and thereby develop their characters.”
“As a general principle, I should put it that a man's country is where the things he loves are most respected. Circumstances may have prevented his ever setting foot there, but it remains his country.”
“As a general proposition, campaigns do not linger on the vice presidential nominee. When they have, it's always meant very bad news for the ticket. Think of Spiro Agnew's foot-in-mouth disease; Tom Eagleton's medical history; the real estate holdings of Geraldine Ferraro's husband; the unbearable lightness of Dan Quayle; Sarah Palin's reading list.”
“As a general rule, I like holes. A hole at the top of my tank gives me freedom. But I do not like the hole in her heart. She only has one, not three, like me. Tova’s heart. I will do everything I can to help her fill it.”
Source: Remarkably Bright Creatures
“As a general rule, I preferred not to have my soul reaped.”
Source: The Last Olympian
“As a general rule, in the world of magic, the most successful magician is the one who has enough patience to keep the secrets of his original magic effects.”
“As a general rule. it's a comfort issue, literally and metaphorically. And intimacy issue. It's a big step, putting on foreign underwear. Like betrayal, or emigration.”
Source: A Wanted Man
“As a general rule never take your whole fee in advance, nor any more than a small retainer. When fully paid beforehand, you are more than a common mortal if you can feel the same interest in the case, as if something was still in prospect for you, as well as for your client.”
Source: Speeches and Letters of Abraham Lincoln(1832-1865) (EasyRead Super Large 20pt Edition)
“As a general rule, nine tenths of happiness may be said to rest on the state of health; when this is perfect, anything and everything may be a source of pleasure; in illness, on the other hand, nothing, no matter what its nature may be, is capable of affording any real enjoyment.”
Source: The Philosophy of Disenchantment
“As a general rule of biology, migratory species are less 'aggressive' than sedentary ones.”
“As a general rule of biology, migratory species are less 'aggressive' than sedentary ones. There is one obvious reason why this should be so. The migration itself, like the pilgrimage, is the hard journey: a 'leveller' on which the 'fit' survive and stragglers fall by the wayside. The journey thus pre-empts the need for hierarchies and shows of dominance. The 'dictators' of the animal kingdom are those who live in an ambience of plenty. The anarchists, as always, are the 'gentlemen of the road'.”
Source: The Songlines
“As a general rule the one who is not easily accessible is more valuable.”
“As a general rule, the type of work offered by wizards was more trouble than it was worth. When a mage wanted to hire an adventurer for something, it almost always meant things were going to get messy. Alexandra couldn’t count the number of stories she’d heard from other Guild members about wizard quests resulting in the hapless adventurer getting cursed, turned into something unpleasant, or worse still, catching a destiny.”
Source: Filthy Fetch Quest
“as a general rule, women nowadays dedicate all their energy, all their attention to their appearance; they are not concerned with anything except wearing the latest fashion; they squander all their intelligence in trying to become more beautiful, and not even in any practical way, by some beneficial and hygienic method, like practicing gymnastics, exercising in the fresh air, or swimming every morning. But no, it must be done with ribbons and lace, by cutting their
breath short from the excessive use of tight-fitting corsets. And this translates to a waste of time, health, and money.”
Source: A Nation Of Women: An Early Feminist Speaks Out; Mi Opinion Sobre Las Libertades, Derechos y Deberes de la Mujer (Recovering the U.s. Hispanic Literary Heritage)
“As a general rule, you won't find the love of your life while you're on your knees under a table." -- Helios Dayspring”
Source: An Uncommon Whore
“As a general rule, a reputation is built on manner as much as on achievement.”
Source: Joseph Conrad: The Complete Novels [Nostromo, Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, The Secret Agent, etc.] (Book House)
“As a general rule, do not kick the shins of the opposite gentleman under the table, if personally unaquainted with him; your pleasantry is liable to be misunderstood--a circumstance at all times unpleasant.”
Source: The Complete Illustrated Lewis Carroll
“As a general rule, fans and idols should always be kept at arm's length, the length of the arm to be proportionate to the degree of sheer idolatry involved. Don't take a Beatle to lunch. Don't wait up to see if the Easter Bunny is real. Just enjoy the egg hunt.”
“As a general rule, I abstain from reading reports of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be provoked by that to which I cannot properly offer an answer.”
Source: The collected works of Abraham Lincoln
“As a general rule, I don't plan to travel with my Oscars, but we may have to make an exception.”
“As a general rule, I tend to collaborate with artists whose work I admire.”
“As a general rule, I would say that human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God.”
Source: Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
“As a general rule, if you want to get at the truth - hear both sides and believe neither.”
“As a general rule, it is foolish to do just what other people are doing, because there are almost sure to be too many people doing the same thing.”
Source: Political Economy
“As a general rule, it may be affirmed that the man who never intrigues for office may be most safely entrusted with office...Such a man cannot desire promotion unless he received it from the respectable part of the community, for he considers no other promotion to be honorable.”
“As a general rule, man strives to avoid labor. Love for work is not at all an inborn characteristic: it is created by economic pressure and social education. One may even say that man is a fairly lazy animal. It is on this quality, in reality, that is founded to a considerable extent all human progress; because if man did not strive to expend his energy economically, did not seek to receive the largest possible quantity of products in return for a small quantity of energy, there would have been no technical development or social culture.”
“As a general rule, moderate levels of arousal facilitate deployment of skills, whereas high arousal disrupts it. This is especially true of complex activities requiring intricate organization of behavior”
Source: Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory
“As a general rule, no one should ever be allowed to say there is no history of racial tension here, because that sentence has never been true anywhere on Earth.”
“As a general rule, nobody has money who ought to have it.”
Source: Delphi Complete Works of Benjamin Disraeli (Illustrated)
“As a general rule, people disappoint you as you know them.”
Source: Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals
“As a general rule, people tend to do best what they enjoy doing most.”
“As a general rule, people who flagrantly pretend to anything are the reverse of that which they pretend to. A man who sets up for a saint is sure to be a sinner; and a man who boasts that he is a sinner is sure to have some feeble, maudlin, snivelling bit of saintship about him which is enough to make him a humbug.”
“As a general rule, Providence seldom vouchsafes to mortals any more than just that degree of encouragement which suffices to keep them at a reasonably full exertion of their powers.”
Source: Dark Tales (Illustrated Edition): Gothic Classics:
“As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under any circumstances. Their fibers are radioactive, and even the Queen's selfies to the pool boy get logged.”
“As a general rule, the longer a man's fame is likely to last, the later it will be in coming; for all excellent products require time for their development.”
“As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.”
Source: Endymion
“As a general rule, those truths which we highly relish, and which shed a degree of practical light upon the things which we are required to give up for God, are leadings of Divine grace, which we should follow without hesitation.”
“As a general rule, those who are dissatisfied with themselves will seek to go out of themselves into an ideal world. Persons in strong health and spirits, who take plenty of air and exercise, who are "in favor with, their stars," and have a thorough relish of the good things of this life, seldom devote themselves in despair to religion or the muses. Sedentary, nervous, hypochondriacal people, on the contrary, are forced, for want of an appetite for the real and substantial, to look out for a more airy food and speculative comforts.”
“As a general rule, US-based multinationals should not be trusted until they prove otherwise. This is sad, because they have the capability to provide the best and most trusted services in the world if they actually desire to do so.”
“As a general rule, when something gets elevated to apple-pie status in the hierarchy of American values, you have to suspect that its actual monetary value is skidding toward zero. Take motherhood: nobody ever thought of putting it on a moral pedestal until some brash feminists pointed out, about a century ago, that the pay is lousy and the career ladder nonexistent. Same thing with work: would we be so reverent about the 'work ethic' if it wasn't for the fact that the average working stiff's hourly pay is shrinking, year by year.”
“As a general rule, whenever guys have problems approaching girls, it's because they're afraid of rejection or they're afraid of something specific. The way that you get over a fear like that is you figure out what the worst is that can happen.”
“As a general rule, writing is very inconvenient.”
“As a general rule...people ask for advice only in order not to follow it; or if they do follow it, in order to have someone to blame for giving it.”
“As a general thing, an individual who is neat in his person is neat in his morals.”
“As a general thing, I have not 'duped the world' nor attempted to do so... I have generally given people the worth of their money twice told.”
“As a general thing, I've always been drawn to characters who appear to be one thing on the surface, but are actually something else underneath.”