Excuse Quotes - Page 8

• When a uniform exercise of kindness to prisoners on our part has been returned by as uniform severity on the part of our enemies,you must excuse me for saying it is high time, by other lessons, to teach respect to the dictates of humanity; in such a case, retaliation becomes an act of benevolence.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Kindness, Exercise, Humanity

  Thomas Jefferson, Brett F. Woods (2009). “Thomas Jefferson: Thoughts on War and Revolution : Annotated Correspondence”, p.18, Algora Publishing

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• What drivel it all is!... A string of words called religion. Another string of words called philosophy. Half a dozen other stringscalled political ideals. And all the words either ambiguous or meaningless. And people getting so excited about them they'll murder their neighbours for using a word they don't happen to like. A word that probably doesn't mean as much as a good belch. Just a noise without even the excuse of gas on the stomach.

  Aldous Huxley

  Philosophy, Mean, People

  Aldous Huxley (2015). “After Many a Summer”, p.54, Random House

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• I have often been asked to be fair and view a matter from all sides. I did so, hoping that something might improve if I viewed allsides of it. But the result was the same. So I went back to viewing things only from one side, which saves me a lot of work and disappointment. For it is comforting to regard something as bad and to be able to use one's prejudice as an excuse.

  Karl Kraus

  Disappointment, Views, Perspective

  "Half-Truths and One-And-A-Half Truths". Book by Karl Kraus, translated by Harry Zohn, 1986.

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• In the past, foreign intervention was obviously a major problem. Foreign domination, or if not domination, interference. But that has ended. There is no foreign domination; there is minimal foreign interference. The Cold War has ended. The Soviet Union no longer exists. The United States is showing minimal and diminishing interest in the Muslim world. They now have to confront their own problems. The old excuses are gone. The old justifications are gone and therefore the anger of people is turning increasingly against their own rulers.

  Bernard Lewis

  War, Past, People

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• Once you're in love, you have that excuse to go and do whatever you want.

  Josh Hutcherson

  Love You, Want, Do Whatever You Want

  "Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth Talk THE HUNGER GAMES, the Sequels, and More". Interview, collider.com. March 12, 2012.

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• We must not constantly talk about tackling obesity and warning people about the negative consequences of obesity. Instead we must be positive - positive about the fun and benefits to be had from healthy living, trying to get rid of people's excuses for being obese by tackling the issue in a positive way.

  Andrew Lansley

  Fun, Issues, People

  "No excuses for being fat, Tories insist as they launch new deal on public health" by Deborah Summers, www.theguardian.com. August 26, 2008.

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• Tobacco is the only excuse for Columbus's misadventure in discovering America.

  Sigmund Freud

  Travel, Home, America

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• This surface good-nature which captivates a new acquaintance and is no bar to treachery, which knows no scruple and is never at fault for an excuse, which makes an outcry at the wound which it condones, is one of the most distinctive features of the journalist. This camaraderie (the word is a stroke of genius) corrodes the noblest minds; it eats into their pride like rust, kills the germ of great deeds, and lends a sanction to moral cowardice.

  Honore de Balzac

  Work, Pride, Mind

  "A Daughter of Eve". Book by Honoré de Balzac, 1839.

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• Sometimes I lifted a chicken that warn't roosting comfortable, and took him along. Pap always said, take a chicken when you get achance, because if you don't want him yourself you can easy find somebody that does, and a good deed ain't ever forgot. I never see papa when he didn't want the chicken himself, but that is what he used to say, anyway.

  Mark Twain

  Hypocrisy, Papa, Doe

  Mark Twain, General Press (2016). “The Complete Works of Mark Twain: All 13 Novels, Short Stories, Poetry and Essays”, p.433, GENERAL PRESS

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• The Heart asks Pleasure--first--
  And then--Excuse from Pain

  Emily Dickinson

  Pain, Heart, Firsts

  Emily Dickinson (2016). “The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson”, p.11, First Avenue Editions

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• The mind scolds the heart, which makes excuses and goes its own way.

  Mason Cooley

  Heart, Mind, Way

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• A ballplayer doesn't make excuses.

  Roberto Alomar

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• It's no fun to be yellow. Maybe I'm not all yellow. I don't know. I think maybe I'm just partly yellow and partly the type that doesn't give much of a damn if they lose their gloves. One of my troubles is, I never care too much when I lose something - it used to drive mother crazy when I was a kid. Some guys spend days looking for something they've lost. I never seem to have anything that if I lost it I'd care too much. Maybe that's why I'm partly yellow. It's no excuse, though. It really isn't. What you should be is not yellow at all.

  J. D. Salinger

  Mother, Fun, Crazy

  J.D. Salinger (1951). “The Catcher in the Rye”

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• ... Take another glass of wine, and excuse my mentioning that society as a body does not expect one to be so strictly conscientious in emptying one's glass, as to turn it bottom upwards with the rim on one's nose.

  Charles Dickens

  Funny, Humorous, Wine

  Charles Dickens (1861). “Great Expectations”, p.65

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• Never reduce a target. Instead, increase actions. When you start rethinking your targets, making up excuses, and letting yourself off the hook, you are giving up on your dreams!

  Grant Cardone

  Dream, Giving Up, Target

  Grant Cardone (2011). “The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure”, p.16, John Wiley & Sons

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• By this point, it was clear she wasn't interested in continuing the relationship. What publication on earth would continue a relationship with a writer who would refuse to discuss her work with her editors? What publication would continue to publish a writer who attacked it on TV? What publication would continue to publish a writer who lied about it - on TV and to a Washington Post reporter? ... It's true: Ann is fearless, in person and in her writing. But fearlessness isn't an excuse for crappy writing or crappier behavior.

  Jonah Goldberg

  Writing, Editors, Scary

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• One reason--perhaps the chief--of the virility of the Roosevelts is [their] very democratic spirit. They have never felt that because they were born in a good position they could put their hands in their pockets and succeed. They have felt, rather, that being born in a good position, there is no excuse for them if they did not do their duty by the community.

  Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Hands, Community, Society

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• The only person who is truly holding you back is you. No more excuses. It's time to change. It's time to live life at a new level.

  Tony Robbins

  Inspirational, Live Life, Levels

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• Indifference to all the refinements of life--it's really shocking. Just Calvinism, that's all. Calvinism without the excuse of Calvin's theology.

  Aldous Huxley

  Luxury, Reform, Indifference

  Aldous Huxley (1953). “The collected works of Aldous Huxley”

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• Oh, the holiness of always being the injured party. The historically oppressed can find not only sanctity but safety in the stateof victimization. When access to a better life has been denied often enough, and successfully enough, one can use the rejection as an excuse to cease all efforts. After all, one reckons, "they" don't want me, "they" accept their own mediocrity and refuse my best, "they" don't deserve me.

  Maya Angelou

  Party, Safety, Effort

  1976 Singin'and Swingin'and Getting Merry Like Christmas, ch.9.

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• A married guy is responsible for everything, no matter what. Women, thanks to their having been oppressed all these years, are blameless, free as birds, and all the dirt they do is the result of premenstrual syndrome or postmenstrual stress or menopause or emotional disempowerment by their fathers or low expectations by their teachers or latent unspoken sexual harassment in the workplace, or some other airy excuse. The guy alone is responsible for every day of marriage that is less than marvelous and meaningful.

  Garrison Keillor

  Meaningful, Teacher, Stress

  Garrison Keillor (1994). “The Book of Guys: Stories”, Penguin Group USA

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• I try to serve the character all the time; this one took a lot of work and was consuming. It's like climbing up a ladder and sometimes you're afraid to face yourself so you make excuses; you avoid going to the top of the ladder and look in the mirror.

  Forest Whitaker

  Character, Excuse You, Mirrors

  Source: www.movieweb.com

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• Journalists always like an excuse for why are they talking about something now when they didn't talk about something a week ago. They always like to say something is new.

  Julian Assange

  Talking, Week, Journalist

  "Julian Assange: the whistleblower" by Stephen Moss, www.theguardian.com. July 13, 2010.

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• Because cheating is easier when we can justify our behavior, people often cheat in small amounts: We can come up with an excuse for stealing Post-It notes, but it is much more difficult to come up with an excuse for taking $10,000 from petty cash.

  Dan Ariely

  Cheating, People, Cash

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• Any excuse to get away from the computer screen is welcome.

  Stefan Sagmeister

  Welcome, Computer, Get Away

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