There was once a Hindu sage, who sat down on the banks of the Ganges and thought for seventy years about the millennium. Just as he arrived at the solution and was putting it into verse, a mosquito stung him and he forgot it again at once. Don Marquis More Quotes by Don Marquis More Quotes From Don Marquis That stern and rockbound coast felt like an amateur when it saw how grim the puritans that landed on it were. Don Marquis puritan saws atheism Insects have their own point of view about civilization a man thinks he amounts to a great deal but to a flea or a mosquito a human being is merely something good to eat. Don Marquis men civilization thinking Yes, he's got all them different kinds of thoroughbred blood in him, and he's got other kinds you ain't mentioned and that you ain't slick enough to see. Don Marquis dog funny blood You want to know whether I believe in ghosts? Of course I do not believe in them. If you had known as many of them as I have, you would not believe in them either. Don Marquis ghost want believe I suppose the human race is doing the best it can but hells bells thats only an explanation its not an excuse. Don Marquis bells hell race fire is beautiful and we know that if we get too close it will kill us but what does that matter it is better to be happy for a moment and be burned up with beauty than to live a long time and be bored all the while Don Marquis fire beautiful long A fierce unrest seethes at the core, of all existing things:, it was the eager wish to soar, that gave the gods their wings. Don Marquis god wish wings The things that I can't have I want, And what I have seems second-rate, The things I want to do I can't, And what I have to do I hate. Don Marquis rate hate want It has been my observation and experience, and that of my family, that nothing human works out well. Don Marquis observation my-family work-out An optimist is a guy that has never had much experience. Don Marquis optimism experience guy An optimist is the person who has never had any experience at all. Don Marquis optimism optimist persons The most pleasant and useful persons are those who leave some of the problems of the universe for God to worry about. Don Marquis balance problem worry Publishing a volume of verse is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo. Don Marquis learning education knowledge A sequel is an admission that you've been reduced to imitating yourself. Don Marquis admission humor funny Happiness is the interval between periods of unhappiness. Don Marquis inner-peace happy happiness Punctuality is one of the cardinal business virtues: always insist on it in your subordinates. Don Marquis funny-inspirational business work If a child shows himself incorrigible, he should be decently and quietly beheaded at the age of twelve, lest he grow to maturity, marry, and perpetuate his kind. Don Marquis maturity death children Man cannot be uplifted; he must be seduced into virtue Don Marquis virtue literature men An idea isn't responsible for the people who believe in it. Don Marquis responsibility science believe Blood will tell, but often it tells too much. Don Marquis too-much blood