Quotes About Skepticism

No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. What everybody echoes or in silence passes by as true to-day may turn out to be falsehood to-morrow, mere smoke of opinion, which some had trusted for a cloud that would sprinkle fertilizing rain on their fields.

Whether his religion was real, or consisted only in appearance, I shall not presume to say, as I am not possessed of any touchstone which can distinguish the true from the false.

Well, says Susan, then I must not believe my own eyes. No, indeed, must you not always, answered her mistress; I would not have believed my own eyes against such good gentlefolks.

En todos los países, el interés de la inmensa mayoría de la población es y debe ser siempre comprar lo que necesita a quien vende más barato.» «El supuesto es tan evidente —continuaba Smith— que esforzarnos en demostrarlo podría parecer ridículo; nunca habría sido puesto en duda si las interesadas falacias de mercaderes y fabricantes no hubieran perturbado el sentido común de la humanidad.»

To gaze into the depths of blue of the child's eyes and pronounce their loveliness a trick of premature cunning was to be guilty of a cynicism in preference to which I naturally preferred to abjure my judgment and, so far as might be, my agitation.

It had been devilish awkward, as the young men say, to be found by Juliana in the dead of night examining the attachment of her bureau; and it had not been less so to have to believe for a good many hours after that it was highly probable I had killed her.

I don't know what's the matter with you, she observed to him once; but I suspect you're a great humbug.

Nu se pref?cu c? se afla acolo din întîmplare; în spontaneitatea ei colÈ›uroas?, neîncrez?toare, nu înc?peau asemenea artificii.

The cynics are right nine times out of ten.

He saw that science had become as great a hoax as religion, that nationalism was a farce, patriotism a fraud, education a form of leprosy, and that morals were for cannibals

Every man with a bellyful of the classics is an enemy to the human race

From the time you wake up until the moment you go to bed it's all a lie, all a sham and a swindle. Everybody knows it, and everybody collaborates in the perpetuation of the hoax. That's why we look so goddamned disgusting to one another.

I had changed my francs into drachmas on the boat; it seemed like a tremendous wad that I had stuffed into my pocket and I felt that I could meet the bill no matter how exorbitant it might be. I knew we were going to be gypped and I looked forward to it with relish. The only thing that was solidly fixed in my mind about the Greeks was that you couldn't trust them; I would have been disappointed if our guide had turned out to be magnanimous and chivalrous.

Que la gente pudiese hacer promesas sin tener la menor intención de cumplirlas era algo inimaginable para mí.

Fogarty rolled the cylinder in his fingers.' Know what's interesting? I had a look at this thing when they took it out. The insides are burned out.' Are they?' Blue asked mildly. It takes a lot to burn out one of those implants - almost impossible, in fact. You must love him very much,' Fogarty said quietly. Yes,' Blue said. 'Yes, I do.

there are some persons in this world, who, unable to give better proof of being wise, take a strange delight in showing what they think they have sagaciously read in mankind by uncharitable suspicions of them.

I'll try a pagan friend, thought I, since Christian kindness has proved but hollow

Someone asked me years ago if it were true that I disliked Jews, and I replied that it was certainly true, not at all because they are Jews but because they are folks, and I don't like folks.

I cannot bet my life on it, because I was not involved, that Alex Rodriguez ever used steroids. But in my opinion, I suspect he has, yes.

I don't think the intelligence reports are all that hot. Some days I get more out of the New York Times.

You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don't trust enough.

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

The attitude among the people I knew was, 'Fleur wants to be a singer' but it was never, 'Go for it. You can do it.' Everyone was cynical because we'd never seen anyone where we came from do it.

As disabled people, we are taught from a young age that those who are attracted to us are to be regarded with suspicion.