March 13

"He (Molière) pleases all the world, but cannot please himself."

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux
(11/01/1636 – 03/13/1711)
French writer ("l'Oeuvres diverses")

"All paraphrases and expletives are so much in disuse that soon the only way of making love will be to say, 'Lie down.'"

Sir Hugh Walpole
(03/13/1884 – 06/01/1941)
English writer ("Portrait of a Man with Red Hair")

"She was built for crowds. She has never come any closer to life than the dinner table."

Janet Flanner
(03/13/1892 – 11/07/1978)
US journalist ("The Cubical City") , on Elsa Maxwell

"The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory."

Paul Fix
(03/13/1901 – 10/14/1983)
US actor

"I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process."

Benjamin Harrison
(08/20/1833 – 03/13/1901)
US President (23)
(grandson of William Henry Harrison)

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."

Susan B. Anthony
(02/15/1820 – 03/13/1906)
US suffragist ("History of Woman Suffrage")

"There is a condition worse than blindness, and that is seeing something that isn't there."

L. Ron Hubbard
(03/13/1911 – 01/24/1986)
US writer ("Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health")

"Sarah Vaughan was the Charlie Parker of the vocalists during the 1950s."

Roy Haynes
(03/13/1925 – )
US drummer

"I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of."

Clarence Darrow
(04/18/1857 – 03/13/1938)
US lawyer (Scopes Trial)

"If two New Hampshire men aren't a match for the devil, we might as well give the country back to the Indians."

Stephen Vincent Benet
(07/22/1898 – 03/13/1943)
US writer ("John Brown's Body")

"Nobody became an actor because he had a good childhood."

William H. Macy
(03/13/1950 – )
US actor
(married to Felicity Huffman)

"We spent a year trying to play one song, practising about four hours a week. Then we decided that if we really wanted to learn this song, we'd have to practice two days a week."

Adam Clayton
(03/13/1960 – )
Irish bassist (U2)

"If people would know how little brain is ruling the world, they would die of fear."

Ivo Andric
(10/10/1892 – 03/13/1975)
Bosnian writer ("The Bridge on the Drina")

"Amateurs hope. Professionals work."

Garson Kanin
(11/24/1912 – 03/13/1999)
US writer, director, actor ("Adam's Rib")
(brother of Michael Kanin; was married to Ruth Gordon)

"Not nearly as exciting as it would be if I were acknowledged as one of the greatest lays in the world."

Maureen Stapleton
(06/21/1925 – 03/13/2006)
US actor ("Reds") , on winning an Oscar for "Reds," and how it felt to be recognized as one of the greatest actresses in the world