If cats could talk, they wouldn’t.
—Nan Porter
It is one thing to decry the rat race. … That is the good and honorable work of moralists. It is quite another thing to quit the rat race, to drop out, to refuse to run any further — that is the work of the individualist. It is offensive because it is impolite; it makes the rebuke personal; the individualist calls not his or her behavior into question, but mine.
—Paul Gruchow
You must be very polite with yourself when you are learning something new.
—Elizabeth Gilbert in Love
Good breeding consists of concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person.
—Mark Twain
Politeness doesn't require actual humanity. It's just cultural ritual. Kindness means you actually care and have good intentions toward a person. It means you think about them as much as you think about yourself.
—Karen Kilgariff in Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered