ARGUMENT

Quote: There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.

Author: Lord Acton 1834-1902, British Historian


Quote: Arguments out of a pretty mouth are unanswerable.

Author: Joseph Addison 1672-1719, British Essayist, Poet, Statesman


Quote: The long term versus the short term argument is one used by losers.

Author: Larry Adler American Founder of Fire & All Risk Insurances


Quote: Wise men argue cases, fools decide them.

Author: Anacharsis 600 BC, Scythian Philosopher


Quote: We must not contradict, but instruct him that contradicts us; for a madman is not cured by another running mad also.

Author: Antisthenes 388-311 BC, Greek Dramatist


Quote: Quarrels often arise in marriages when the bridal gifts are excessive.

Author: Auson


Quote: Argument is conclusive... but... it does not remove doubt, so that the mind may rest in the sure knowledge of the truth, unless it finds it by the method of experiment. For if any man who never saw fire proved by satisfactory arguments that fire burns. his hearer's mind would never be satisfied, nor would he avoid the fire until he put his hand in it that he might learn by experiment what argument taught.

Author: Roger Bacon 1214-1294, British Philosopher, Scientist


Quote: It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them.

Author: Pierre De Beaumarchais 1732-1799, French Dramatist


Quote: Most of the arguments to which I am party fall somewhat short of being impressive, knowing to the fact that neither I nor my opponent knows what we are talking about

Author: Robert Benchley 1889-1945, American Humorist, Critic, Parodist


Quote: I tell you Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad soldiers; we will settle this matter by lunch time.

Author: Napoleon Bonaparte 1769-1821, French General, Emperor


Quote: Behind every argument is someone's ignorance.

Author: Louis D. Brandeis 1856-1941, American Judge


Quote: Arguments are like fire-arms which a man may keep at home but should not carry about with him.

Author: Samuel Butler 1612-1680, British Poet, Satirist


Quote: We are not won by arguments that we can analyze, but by tone and temper; by the manner, which is the man himself.

Author: Samuel Butler 1612-1680, British Poet, Satirist


Quote: A man lives by believing something: not by debating and arguing about many things.

Author: Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881, Scottish Philosopher, Author


Quote: People generally quarrel because they cannot argue.

Author: Gilbert K. Chesterton 1874-1936, British Author


Quote: Neither irony or sarcasm is argument.

Author: Rufus Choate 1799-1859, American Lawyer, Statesman


Quote: When you have no basis for an argument, abuse the plaintiff.

Author: Marcus T. Cicero c. 106-43 BC, Great Roman Orator, Politician


Quote: It is the briefest yet wisest maxim which tells us to ''meddle not''.

Author: Charles Caleb Colton 1780-1832, British Sportsman Writer


Quote: Men's arguments often prove nothing but their wishes.

Author: Charles Caleb Colton 1780-1832, British Sportsman Writer


Quote: There's nothing I like less than bad arguments for a view that I hold dear.

Author: Daniel Dennett


Quote: Fear not those who argue but those who dodge.

Author: Marie Ebner-Eschenbach


Quote: Any fact is better established by two or three good testimonies than by a thousand arguments.

Author: Nathaniel Emmons


Quote: He that blows the coals in quarrels that he has nothing to do with, has no right to complain if the sparks fly in his face.

Author: Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790, American Scientist, Publisher, Diplomat


Quote: Those disputing, contradicting, and confuting people are generally unfortunate in their affairs. They get victory, sometimes, but they never get good will, which would be of more use to them.

Author: Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790, American Scientist, Publisher, Diplomat


Quote: I had a lovers quarrel with the world.

Author: Robert Frost 1875-1963, American Poet


Quote: Never contend with one that is foolish, proud, positive, testy, or with a superior, or a clown, in matter of argument.

Author: Thomas Fuller 1608-1661, British Clergyman, Author


Quote: Soft words are hard arguments.

Author: Thomas Fuller 1608-1661, British Clergyman, Author


Quote: When good people have a falling out, only one of them may be at fault at first; but if the strife continues long, usually both become guilty.

Author: Thomas Fuller 1608-1661, British Clergyman, Author


Quote: Most quarrels amplify a misunderstanding.

Author: Andre Gide 1869-1951, French Author


Quote: There is no arguing with him, for if his pistol misses fire, he knocks you down with the butt end of it.

Author: Oliver Goldsmith 1728-1774, Anglo-Irish Author, Poet, Playwright


Quote: The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the right.

Author: Lord Quintin Hogg Hailsham 1907-, British Statesman


Quote: Hear one side and you will be in the dark. Hear both and all will be clear.

Author: Thomas C. Haliburton 1796-1865, Canadian Jurist, Author


Quote: The most important thing in an argument, next to being right, is to leave an escape hatch for your opponent, so that he can gracefully swing over to your side without too much apparent loss of face.

Author: Sidney J. Harris 1917-, American Journalist


Quote: No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other.

Author: Jascha Heifetz 1901-1987, Lithuanian Violinist


Quote: But curb thou the high spirit in thy breast, for gentle ways are best, and keep aloof from sharp contentions.

Author: Homer c. 850 -? BC, Greek Epic Poet


Quote: The sounder your argument, the more satisfaction you get out of it.

Author: Edgar Watson Howe 1853-1937, American Journalist, Author


Quote: Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause.

Author: Victor Hugo 1802-1885, French Poet, Dramatist, Novelist


Quote: An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town meeting or a vestry.

Author: Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826, Third President of the USA


Quote: It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle it without debate.

Author: Joseph Joubert 1754-1824, French Moralist


Quote: The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.

Author: Joseph Joubert 1754-1824, French Moralist


Quote: Myself when young did eagerly frequent doctor and saint, and heard great argument about it and about: but evermore came out by the same door as in I went.

Author: Omar Khayyam 1048-1131, Persian Astronomer, Poet


Quote: You punch me, I punch back. I do not believe it's good for ones self-respect to be a punching bag.

Author: Edward Koch 1924-, American Politician


Quote: The argument of the strongest is always the best.

Author: Jean De La Fontaine 1621-1695, French Poet


Quote: When all are wrong, everyone is right.

Author: La Lehaussee


Quote: Quarrels would not last so long if the fault lay only on one side.

Author: Francois De La Rochefoucauld 1613-1680, French Classical Writer


Quote: Heat and animosity, contest and conflict, may sharpen the wits, although they rarely do; they never strengthen the understanding, clear the perspicacity, guide the judgment, or improve the heart.

Author: Walter Savage Landor 1775-1864, British Poet, Essayist


Quote: When you argue with your inferiors, you convince them of only one thing: they are as clever as you.

Author: Irving Layton 1912-, Canadian Poet


Quote: There is no good in arguing with the inevitable. The only argument available with an east wind is to put on your overcoat.

Author: James Russell Lowell 1819-1891, American Poet, Critic, Editor


Quote: Debate is the death of conversation.

Author: Emil Ludwig 1881-1948, German Writer


Quote: The difficult part in an argument is not to defend one's opinion, but rather to know it.

Author: Andre Maurois 1885-1967, French Writer


Quote: He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak.

Author: Michel Eyquem De Montaigne 1533-1592, French Philosopher, Essayist


Quote: The purely agitation attitude is not good enough for a detailed consideration of a subject.

Author: Jawaharlal Nehru 1889-1964, Indian Nationalist, Statesman


Quote: One often contradicts an opinion when what is uncongenial is really the tone in which it was conveyed.

Author: Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900, German Philosopher


Quote: True disputants are like true sportsman: their whole delight is in the pursuit.

Author: Alexander Pope 1688-1744, British Poet, Critic, Translator


Quote: When much dispute has past, we find our tenets just the same as last.

Author: Alexander Pope 1688-1744, British Poet, Critic, Translator


Quote: In argument similes are like songs in love; they describe much, but prove nothing.

Author: Matthew Prior 1664-1721, British Diplomat, Poet


Quote: Soft words win hard hearts.

Author: Proverb


Quote: Two dogs strive for a bone and the third one runs off with it.

Author: Proverb


Quote: Use soft words and hard arguments.

Author: English Proverb Sayings of British Origin


Quote: It takes two to quarrel, but only one to end it.

Author: Spanish Proverb Sayings of Spanish Origin


Quote: Whenever you argue with another wiser than yourself in order that others may admire your wisdom, they will discover your ignorance.

Author: Saadi


Quote: It was completely fruitless to quarrel with the world, whereas the quarrel with oneself was occasionally fruitful and always, she had to admit, interesting.

Author: May Sarton 1912-, American Poet, Novelist


Quote: I will name you the degrees. The first, the Retort Courteous; the second, the Quip Modest; the third, the Reply Churlish; the fourth, the Reproof Valiant; the fifth, the Countercheck Quarrelsome; the sixth, the Lie with Circumstance; the seventh, the Lie Direct.

Author: William Shakespeare 1564-1616, British Poet, Playwright, Actor


Quote: In a false quarrel there is no true valor.

Author: William Shakespeare 1564-1616, British Poet, Playwright, Actor


Quote: The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.

Author: William Shakespeare 1564-1616, British Poet, Playwright, Actor


Quote: Concerning God, freewill and destiny: Of all that earth has been or yet may be, all that vain men imagine or believe, or hope can paint or suffering may achieve, we descanted.

Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822, British Poet


Quote: Argument, as usually managed, is the worst sort of conversation, as in books it is generally the worst sort of reading.

Author: Jonathan Swift 1667-1745, Anglo-Irish Satirist


Quote: When a thing is said to be not worth refuting you may be sure that either it is flagrantly stupid -- in which case all comment is superfluous -- or it is something formidable, the very crux of the problem.

Author: Miguel De Unamuno 1864-1936, Spanish Philosophical Writer


Quote: A lot of good arguments are spoiled by some fool who knows what he is talking about.

Author: Source Unknown


Quote: A sure way of getting the last word in an argument is to say you right.

Author: Source Unknown


Quote: An argument is like a country road, you never know where it is going to lead.

Author: Source Unknown


Quote: If you argue with a woman and win, you lose.

Author: Source Unknown


Quote: People who know the least always argue the most.

Author: Source Unknown


Quote: There are usually two sides to every argument but no end.

Author: Source Unknown


Quote: There is no point in arguing about matters of taste.

Author: Source Unknown


Quote: When two quarrel, both are in the wrong.

Author: Source Unknown


Quote: A long dispute means that both parties are wrong

Author: Voltaire 1694-1778, French Historian, Writer


Quote: Men argue, nature acts.

Author: Voltaire 1694-1778, French Historian, Writer


Quote: Weakness on both sides is, the motto of all quarrels.

Author: Voltaire 1694-1778, French Historian, Writer


Quote: Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.

Author: Richard Whately 1787-1863, British Prelate, Writer


Quote: Weak arguments are often thrust before my path; but although they are most insubstantial, it is not easy to destroy them. There is not a more difficult feat known than to cut through a cushion with a sword.

Author: Richard Whately 1787-1863, British Prelate, Writer


Quote: How beggarly appear arguments before a defiant deed!

Author: Walt Whitman 1819-1892, American Poet


Quote: Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.

Author: Oscar Wilde 1856-1900, British Author, Wit


Quote: I dislike arguments of any kind. They are always vulgar, and often convincing.

Author: Oscar Wilde 1856-1900, British Author, Wit