The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

She ran out of space for her library some time ago, but instead of making the room larger she has opted to let the books become the room. Piles of them function as tables, others hang suspended from the ceiling…

~ Erin Morgenstern

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

First line from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

There are dictators a bit worse than me, no? I’m the lesser evil already.

– Alexander Lukashenko

PG says if you can’t quite place Lukashenko, he became the President of Belarus in 1994 and has remained in that position ever since. In 1996, Lukashenko ushered in a new constitution that gave him (among other powers) the right to prolong his term in office and to rule by decree.

In rankings of fiscal health and economic freedom, Belarus is ranked 42nd out of 44 European countries.

Newspapers cannot be defined by the second word—paper.  They’ve got to be defined by the first word—news.

– Arthur Sulzberg, Jr.

When brought to the proletariat from the capitalist class, science is invariably adapted to suit capitalist interests. What the proletariat needs is a scientific understanding of its own position in society. That kind of science a worker cannot obtain in the officially and socially approved manner. The proletarian himself must develop his own theory. For this reason he must be completely self-taught.

– Karl Kautsky

* * * * *

Harry Brock:
What’s a peninsula?

Billie Dawn:
Shhhh.

Harry Brock:
Don’t gimme that “shush.” You think you’re so smart, huh — what’s a peninsula?

Paul Verrall:
It’s a —

Harry Brock:
Not you, her.

Billie Dawn:
It’s that new medicine…

–  “Born Yesterday,” starring Judy Garland, 1950

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.

  ~ Leo Tolstoy

A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.

~ Liberty Hyde Bailey