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Don Marquis Quotes (1878-1937)
Poet, Playwright, Novelist
About Don Marquis
Donald Robert Perry Marquis (29 July 1878 – 29 December 1937) was an American humorist, journalist, novelist, poet, cartoonist, newspaper columnist, and playwright most famous for creating the characters "Archy" the cockroach, and "Mehitabel" the cat.
Best Don Marquis Quotes
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Don Marquis quotes.
“procrastination is the
art of keeping
up with yesterday”
art of keeping
up with yesterday”
“an optimist is a guy
that has never had
much experience”
that has never had
much experience”
“dedicated to babs
with babs knows what
and babs knows why”
with babs knows what
and babs knows why”
“what man calls civilization
always results in deserts”
always results in deserts”
“each generation wastes a little more
of the future with greed and lust for riches”
of the future with greed and lust for riches”
“dance mehitabel dance
caper and shake a leg
what little blood is left
will fizz like wine in a keg”
caper and shake a leg
what little blood is left
will fizz like wine in a keg”
“it wont be long now it won't be long
till earth is barren as the moon
and sapless as a mumbled bone”
till earth is barren as the moon
and sapless as a mumbled bone”
“there are more things
twixt the vermiform appendix
and nirvana than are dreamt of
in thy philosophy horatio”
twixt the vermiform appendix
and nirvana than are dreamt of
in thy philosophy horatio”
“dear boss i relay this information
without any fear that humanity
will take warning and reform”
without any fear that humanity
will take warning and reform”
“oh i should worry and fret
death and i will coquette
there s a dance in the old dame yet
toujours gai toujours gai”
death and i will coquette
there s a dance in the old dame yet
toujours gai toujours gai”
“If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you.”
“the octopus's secret wish
is not to be a formal fish
he dreams that some time he may grow
another set of legs or so
and be a broadway music show”
is not to be a formal fish
he dreams that some time he may grow
another set of legs or so
and be a broadway music show”
“i asked him
why is it that you
are so greatly favored
ask rather
said warty bliggens
what the universe
has done to deserve me”
why is it that you
are so greatly favored
ask rather
said warty bliggens
what the universe
has done to deserve me”
“I have noticed that when chickens quit quarreling over their food they often find that there is enough for all of them i wonder if it might not be the same with the human race”
“i
have often noticed that
ancestors never boast
the descendants who boast
of ancestors i would
rather start a family than
one blood will tell but often
it tells too much”
have often noticed that
ancestors never boast
the descendants who boast
of ancestors i would
rather start a family than
one blood will tell but often
it tells too much”
“a robin said to an
angleworm as he ate him
i am sorry but a bird
has to live somehow the
worm being slow witted could
not gather his
dissent into a wise crack
and retort he was
effectually swallowed
before he could turn
a phrase”
angleworm as he ate him
i am sorry but a bird
has to live somehow the
worm being slow witted could
not gather his
dissent into a wise crack
and retort he was
effectually swallowed
before he could turn
a phrase”
Don Marquis Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of Don Marquis quotes by topic.
Don Marquis on Blood 2 quotes
“Dance mehitabel dance caper and shake a leg what little blood is left will fizz like wine in a keg.”
Don Marquis on Fate 2 quotes
“For him who fain would teach the world The world holds hate in fee— For Socrates, the hemlock cup; For Christ, Gethsemane.”
Don Marquis on Worship 2 quotes
“As the skull of the man grows broader, so do his creeds. And his gods they are shaped in his image and mirror his needs. And he clothes them with thunders and beauty, He clothes them with music and fire, Seeing not, as he bows by their altars, That he worships his own desire.”
Don Marquis on Procrastination
“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.”
Don Marquis on Demagogue
Don Marquis on Puzzle
“If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you.”
Don Marquis on Beauty
“'Tis evanescence that endures; The loveliness that dies the soonest has the longest life. The rainbow is a momentary thing, The afterglows are ashes while we gaze.”
Don Marquis on Family
Don Marquis on Instinct
“A fierce unrest seethes at the core Of all existing things: It was the eager wish to soar That gave the gods their wings. * * * * * There throbs through all the worlds that are This heart-beat hot and strong, And shaken systems, star by star, Awake and glow in song.”
What Don Marquis Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Don Marquis shared regarding contemporaries.
Don Marquis on Harlan Ellison
“If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you.”
About Don Marquis
Donald Robert Perry Marquis (29 July 1878 – 29 December 1937) was an American humorist, journalist, novelist, poet, cartoonist, newspaper columnist, and playwright most famous for creating the characters "Archy" the cockroach, and "Mehitabel" the cat.
QuotesCosmos Cross-Civilizational Archive
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