“AMBITION ~n. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by friends when dead.”
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Carl Jonas Love Almqvist
Carl Jonas Love Ludvig Almqvist was a Swedish author, romantic poet, romantic critic of political economy, realist, composer and social critic.
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culture · Swedish author (1793–1866) · writer · composer · poet · journalist · novelist · school teacher · playwright · women's rights activist · priest · also Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, C. J. L. Almqvist, Carl Jonas Love Ludvig Almqvist, Almqvist
Born 28 November 1793 · Died 26 September 1866 · Q316381
68 published statements · 0 followers
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2026· 18 entries
“Take gifts with a sigh: most men give to be paid.”
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“An attractive appearance may be deceptive. It may cover or hide a much less favourable content.”
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“All is in a man's hands and he lets it all slip from cowardice, that's an axiom. It would be interesting to know what it is men are most afraid of. Taking a new step, uttering a new word is what they fear most.”
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“In jealousy there is more of self-love than love.”
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“The degree of civilization which a people has reached, no doubt, is marked by their anxiety to do as they would be done by.”
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“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
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“The man who acquires easily things for which he feels only a very moderate desire concludes that the attainment of desire does not bring happiness. If he is of a philosophic disposition, he concludes that human life is essentially wretched, since the man who has all he wants is still unhappy. He forgets that to be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.”
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“When you see a man in distress, recognize him as a fellow man.”
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“We should not plan and then try to make circumstances fit those plans. Instead we should make plans fit the circumstances.”
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“Don't fear god, Don't worry about death; What is good is easy to get, and What is terrible is easy to endure.”
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“A drop hollows out the stone by falling not twice, but many times; so, too, is a person made wise by reading not two, but many books.”
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“Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not 'This is misfortune,' but 'To bear this worthily is good fortune' .”
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“When you have a girl you want to be proud of your girl because that's my girl over there - not proud of the eyecandy she is, but proud because that's my girl. And I like her for who she is, what she represents, what she is trying to do in her life. That's a good girlǃ If you don't have that kind of pride for your girl, break upǃ I'm Seriousǃ If she doesn't have that respect and pride and really admires you. You have to admire each otherǃ”
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“Steve Jobs has a saying that A players hire A players; B players hire C players; and C players hire D players. It doesn't take long to get to Z players. This trickle-down effect causes bozo explosions in companies.”
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“Angel: You see, Mr. Simpson—a man, well, he'll walk right into Hell with both eyes open. But even the Devil can't fool a dog!”
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“Choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
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“At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other.”
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2008· 1 entry
“I believe whatever doesn't kill you, simply makes you... stranger.”
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2007· 10 entries
“Those who arrive or apply earliest are most likely to get what they want from a limited supply of things, such as tickets, discounted goods or refreshments.”
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“There is usually somebody who benefits from an unfavorable set of circumstances.”
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“Any weather is tolerable as long as you have the right clothing.”
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“With hindsight it is easy to see what went wrong or what should have been done, but this is of no practical purpose.”
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“A different place, situation, job, or lifestyle always seems more attractive or appealing than your own.”
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“Any action, however mean or unscrupolous, is permissible in certain situations.”
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“You are more likely to win if you take the initiative and make an attack rather than preparing to defend yourself.”
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“Things that you must not have or do are always the most desirable.”
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“Somebody who has had an unpleasant experience thereafter shrinks from the cause of that experience.”
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“A weak part or member will affect the success or effectiveness of the whole.”
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2003· 1 entry
“People who are disrespectful and demeaning of others always end up getting into trouble and hurting themselves.”
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2002· 1 entry
“I messed up. So did Paulie and Sam. We wanted a better life, but in the end we were a lot worse off than most other people. You know, I think it's important to keep a balance in things. Yeah, balance, that's the right word. Because the guy who wants too much risks losing absolutely everything. Of course, the guy who wants too little from life, might not get anything at all.”
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1997· 2 entries
“One cannot (or should not) expect to benefit without making some effort.”
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“Do not feel sure or rejoice noticing a favourable sign. The appearance of a single sign of a favourable event is not yet a definite indication of its coming. It may be an unrelated, sporadic appearance.”
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1996· 2 entries
“Buy what thou hast no need of; and e'er long thou shalt sell thy necessaries.”
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“Gains and losses tend to balance one another overall.”
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1991· 2 entries
“Speech is like medicine, a small dose of which cures, but an excess of which kills.”
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“If a man is in health, he doesn't need to take anybody else's temperature to know where he is going.”
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1989· 1 entry
“I've never had a humble opinion. If you've got an opinion, why be humble about it?”
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1987· 1 entry
“There are people who eat earth and eat all the people on it like in the Bible with the locusts. Then there are people who stand around and watch them eat it. Sometimes I think it ain't right to stand and watch them do it.”
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1986· 1 entry
“Why can't somebody give us a list of things that everybody thinks and nobody says, and another list of things that everybody says and nobody thinks?”
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1981· 7 entries
“The analogy generally holds good, that the darkest moment is just before the dawning light.”
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“In all the trade of war, no featIs nobler than a brave retreat.”
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“I think it’s okay to believe in anything that makes you a better person, whether it’s real or not. You have to believe in something. Me, I choose to believe in nothing, with all my heart, and I am a better person for it.”
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“Children and fools have no inhibition, and alcohol consumed removes the inhibition against telling the truth that occasionally one would like to keep secret.”
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“The most honorable, as well as the safest course is to rely entirely upon valour.”
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“Friends, the soil is poor, we must sow seeds in plenty for us to garner even modest harvests.”
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“Life is what happens to you, while you're busy making other plans.”
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1968· 2 entries
“It is better that somebody arrives or something happens later than expected or desired, than not at all.”
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“BEHAVIOR, n~ Conduct, as determined, not by principle, but by breeding.”
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1950· 1 entry
“As to the quantity of absolute truth in a thought: it seems to me the more comprehensive and unobjectionable a thought becomes, the more clumsy and unexciting it gets. I like half-truths of a certain kind — they are interesting and they stimulate.”
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1947· 1 entry
“Satire is a kind of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own.”
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1946· 1 entry
“When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, this is Metaphysics.”
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1886· 1 entry
“Every man loves well what is like to himself.”
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1866· 1 entry
Died 1866-09-26.
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1865· 4 entries
Almqvist tried to return to Sweden, but only got as far as Bremen, where he lived under the name of E
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“Knowledge is proud that he has learn'd so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.”
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“Men will confess to treason, murder, arson, false teeth, or a wig. How many of them will own up to a lack of humour?”
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“Self-interest speaks all sorts of tongues and plays all sorts of characters, even that of disinterestedness.”
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1845· 2 entries
“It is better to make some confession, or pay a little deference to others, our neighbors, friends, acquaintances, and especially our superiors, rather than lose our credit or break friendship.”
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“You may apply this truth to any province; for instance, the literary profession. Though each may be good in his trade or profession, they are not generally so inclined to agree together, from their different tastes and modes of accomplishment; whence the common saying, 'No enemies so great, as those of the same craft'”
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1837· 1 entry
But could not find work, and after publishing Det går an in 1839 gave up that career altogether; supporting himself by working for various newspapers (including Aftonbladet and Jönköpingsbladet)
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1833· 1 entry
“No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether irreclaimably bad.”
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1828· 1 entry
Became a teacher at the experimental school Nya Elementar in Stockholm, where he was rector there from 1829 to 1841
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1824· 1 entry
That he married Anna Maria Andersdotter Lundström (1799–1868) and had two children
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1823· 1 entry
Gave up his post, and in the autumn of the following year moved to Adolfsfors-Köla in northern Värmland where he and some friends, inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, intended to live out a rural idyll
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1820· 1 entry
“A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.”
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1815· 1 entry
Studied at Uppsala University (1808–1815).
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1793· 1 entry
Born 1793-11-28.
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