Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.
- Karl Marx, The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
Perhaps the best, most succinct explanation of historical materialism.
Full Quote
Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. And just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionizing themselves and things, creating something that did not exist before, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service, borrowing from them names, battle slogans, and costumes in order to present this new scene in world history in time-honored disguise and borrowed language.
No.
Tiān gāo, huángdì yuǎn Heaven is high and the emperor is far awayIs one of my favorite.
Another is the a misattributed quote:
Les hommes ne seront jamais libres tant que le dernier roi ne sera pas étranglé avec les entrailles du dernier prêtre. Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.Though the apparent original is good too.
Je ne veux ni donner ni recevoir de lois. Et ses mains ourdiraient les entrailles du prêtre, Au défaut d'un cordon pour étrangler les rois. I seek neither to rule nor to serve. And its hands would weave the entrails of the priest, For the lack of a cord with which to strangle kings.The second line from the US declaration of indpenedce is a banger too:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.John Brown’s:
I cannot remember a night so dark as to have hindered the coming day.Is also really good.
“This too shall pass”
If something good happens, it’s a cautionary warning to stay humble.
If something bad happens, it’s a comforting reminder that things will get better.
I can’t imagine I’ve read enough to know that but have always loved this one, from St Augustine, of all people.
Dance is a transformation of space, of time, of people, who are in constant danger of becoming all brain, will, or feeling.
The whole poem is amazing.
“Black Friday Sale! This Thursday only!”.
“In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very unhappy and has been widely regarded as a bad move.”
I’d agree, but that’s 2 sentences.
Dammit
Okay imagine there’s a semicolon there instead
“In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very unhappy and has been widely regarded as a bad move.”;
Still doesn’t work.
At least now it compiles
In the end, isn’t that the real treasure?
Half the kingdom and my firstborn for passing tests
Spoken, not written:-
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly
love that with such a broad sample pool, what we get here are some quips, in English, from the last few decades
Here’s some really profound writing you might enjoy, really brings a tear to the eye.
The cost of living is dying, and everyone pays.
It’s over 9000!
Was shocked to discover very recently that it’s meant to be “It’s over 8000!”, and 9000 was a mistranslation
Wait, really? My whole life is a lie.
Yeah, in the Dragon Ball Z Kai English dub, Vegeta now says 8000!
“The man in black fled into the desert, and the gunslinger followed”
- opening line for the Dark Tower novels by Stephen King, which is an absolutely phenomenal series that blends western and sci-fi elements with just a tad of fantasy and horror for flavor.
By far my favorite Stephen King books. There are some rough parts for sure, but overall they’re very good. That reminds me I haven’t read them for a few years.
They don’t think it be like it is, but it do.
“A Florida woman has been accused of entering the penguin enclosure to teach them to tap dance, using a live alligator as her partner.”
I can’t fix her. She’s already perfect.
Does she have a sister?
I know. I do wish I was her.
Don’t let your dreams stay dreams. I’m not saying it will be easy. Get an alligator and a pineapple costume. Sign up for tap lessons and bring them along. Volunteer as a docent at your local zoo. Success isn’t guaranteed, but I bet you’ll be surprised with how far you get.
Thank you for your faith,…the alligator is likely to be my biggest challenge. Maybe a baby croc…or a Winnie dog in an alligator outfit……it’s the same thing really. I don’t suppose I even have to learn tap to teach it. So there’s a few hurdles down.
At this juncture, I would point out that !floridaman@lemmy.world also accepts “Florida Woman” submissions.
EDIT: Unfortunately, it appears to be fake.
I mean, fake or not, it’s just such a great sentence.
I believe we have a winner lmfao
I need this pineapple costume.
Buffalo buffalo WHICH Buffalo buffalo, buffalo buffalo Buffalo
It annoys me that the quoted sentence misses out essential words.
