Quotes by Piet Hein

Losing one glove is certainly painful,but nothing compared to the pain,of losing one, throwing away the other,and finding the first one again.

THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF GASTRONOMY Theres a rule for proper dosesin the dinner-eaters lore:one should stop the filling processwhile one still has room for more. And if someone at the tablehad reminded me before -Hallelujah! Id be ableto absorb a little more.

THE WISDOM OF THE SPHERESHow instructiveis a star!It can teach usfrom afarjust how smalleach other are.

CANDLE WISDOM If you knewwhat you will knowwhen your candlehas burnt low,it would greatlyease your plightwhile your candlestill burns bright.

ASTRO-GYMNASTICSGo on a starlit night, stand on your head,leave your feet dangling outwards into space,and let the starry firmament you treadbe, for the moment, your elected base.Feel Earths colossal weight of ice and granite,of molten magma, water, iron, and lead;and briefly hold this strangely solid planetbalanced upon your strangely solid head.

THE CURE FOR EXHAUSTIONSometimes, exhaustedwith toil and endeavour,I wish I could sleepfor ever and ever;but then this reflectionmy longing allays:I shall be doing itone of these days.

VITA BREVIS A lifetimeis morethansufficiently longfor people to get what there is of itwrong.

BRAVETo be brave is to behavebravely when your heart is faint.So you can be really brave only when you really aint.

Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by fighting back.

ON PROBLEMSOur choicest planshave fallen through,our airiest castlestumbled over,because of lineswe neatly drewand later neatlystumbled over.

MankindMen, said the Devil,are good to their brothers:they don’t want to mendtheir own ways, but each others.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL TIPWhenever youre called on to make up your mind,and youre hampered by not having any,the best way to solve the dilemma, youll find,is simply by spinning a penny.No -- not so that chance shall decide the affairwhile youre passively standing there moping;but the moment the penny is up in the air,you suddenly know what youre hoping.

PRESCRIPTION A bitof virtuewill neverhurt you.

WHAT PEOPLE MAY THINKSome people cowerand wince and shrink,owing to fear ofwhat people may think.There is one answerto worries like these:people may thinkwhat the devil they please.

Whenever youre called on to make up your mind,and youre hampered by not having any,the best way to solve the dilemma, youll find, is simply by spinning a penny.No - not so that chance shall decide the affairwhile youre passively standing there moping; but the moment the penny is up in the air,you suddenly know what youre hoping.

As Eternity has reckonedTheres a lifetime in a second

Nobody can be lucky all the time,so when your luck deserts you in some fashiondont think youve been abandoned in your prime,but rather that youre saving up your ration.

The road to wisdom? Well its plain and simple to express: Err and err and err again. But less and less and less.

If no thought your mind does visit make your speech not too explicit.

The road to wisdom? Well its plain And simple to express: Err And err And err again But less And less And less.