Non-Fiction Quotes!

"If withal they should be ignorant, wrong-headed and insolent, so much the better."
-Benjamin Franklin, Rule by Which a Great Empire May be Reduced to a Small One
This quote shows Franklin's sarcasm in his writing. Franklin is trying to get his point across to his readers about how bad the colonies are being treated by England.
"Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.
-Francis Bacon, Of Studies
Bacon talks about the importance of literature to men and this quote sums it all up. It tells that literature, reading, and writing complete people.
"Although I rather recommend buying children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs."
-Jonathan Swift, A Modern Proposal
This quote shows more sarcasm! Only this time it is Jonathan Swift commenting on how poorly the Ireland government in handling the high birth rate and food shortages. Swift suggests "eating the children."
"Melancholy is thus the most legitimate of all poetical tones."
-Edgar Allen Poe, The Philosophy of Composition
This quote comes from Poe's work/advice on writing good poetry, coming from one of the best/wellknown poets of all time. He believes the best tone of poetry is melancholy, a feeling of thoughtful sadness.
"A mere life of ease is not in the end a very satisfactory life, and above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it for serious work in the world."
-Theodore Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life
I absolutely love this quote by Roosevelt! Getting by in life/having an easy life is not always a good life. You can't feel good about something unless you worked hard to get it. The feeling of accomplishment through hard work is one of the best feelings you may ever experience. All the people in the US today getting by through welfare who don't even attempt to get a job may have it easy, but they will never feel accomplished.