380 Simplicity Quotes

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

Everything deep is also simple and can be reproduced simply as long as its reference to the whole truth is maintained. But what matters is not what is witty but what is true.

It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences.

In a logically perfect language, there will be one word and no more for every simple object, and everything that is not simple will be expressed by a combination of words, by a combination derived, of course, from the words for the simple things that enter in, one word for each simple component.

I drive a jeep. An old jeep, so nobody will say I'm driving a BMW anymore. I couldn't stand that BMW, ha ha ha! BMW make pure trouble!

All I want to do, ever, is play chess.

Out of chaos, find simplicity, From discord, find harmony.

Simplicity is the key to brilliance.

Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.

To me, the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity. The easy way is also the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special; the closer to the true way of martial arts, the less wastage of expression there is.

A great part of its theories derives an additional charm from the peculiarity that important propositions, with the impress of simplicity on them, are often easily discovered by induction, and yet are of so profound a character that we cannot find the demonstrations till after many vain attempts; and even then, when we do succeed, it is often by some tedious and artificial process, while the simple methods may long remain concealed.

I revere the memory of Mr. F. as an estimable man and most indulgent husband, only necessary to mention Asparagus and it appeared or to hint at any little delicate thing to drink and it came like magic in a pint bottle; it was not ecstasy but it was comfort.

Paradoxically, the simpler poetry is, the more difficult it becomes for a critic to discuss intelligently. Trained to explicate, the critic often loses the ability to evaluate literature outside the critical act. A work is good only in proportion to the richness and complexity of interpretations it provokes.

I'm an instant star. Just add water and stir.

I'd sooner exchange ideas with the birds on earth than learn to carry on intergalactic communications with some obscure race of humanoids on a satellite planet from the world of Betelgeuse.

It is not at all simple to understand the simple.

When struck by a thunderbolt it is unnecessary to consult the Book of Dates as to the precise meaning of the omen.

Perfect beauty implies perfect simplicity, a quality that at first sight does not arouse the emotions which we feel before gigantic works, objects whose very disproportion constitutes an element of beauty.

Simplicity is a great element of good breeding.

Less is only more where more is no good.

Organic architecture seeks superior sense of use and a finer sense of comfort, expressed in organic simplicity.

Oh, rather give me commentators plain, Who with no deep researches vex the brain; Who from the dark and doubtful love to run, And hold their glimmering tapers to the sun.

Perfect simplicity is unconsciously audacious.

My manner of living is plain and I do not mean to be put out of it. A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready.

I like a thing simple but it must be simple through complication. Everything must come into your scheme, otherwise you cannot achieve real simplicity.

Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers.

The public mind [is] a cloudy region where only the simplest shapes are discerned with any accuracy.

The greatest artists have never been men of taste. By never sophisticating their instincts they have never lost the awareness of the great simplicities, which they relish both from appetite and from the challenge these offer to skill in competition with popular art.

The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other.

Dear common flower, that grow'st beside the way, Fringing the dusty road with harmless gold, First pledge of blithesome May, Which children pluck, and, full of pride uphold.

To win the secret of a weed's plain heart.

Some men enjoy the constant strife Of days with work and worry rife, But that is not my dream of life: I think such men are crazy. For me, a life with worries few, A job of nothing much to do, Just pelf enough to see me through: I fear that I am lazy.

The job of the architect today is to create beautiful buildings. That's all.

Be, as you have been, my happiness; Let me sleep beside you, each night, like a spoon.

No caparisons, miss, if you please. Caparisons don't become a young woman.

Contented wi' little and cantie wi' mair.

Her cutty sark, o' Paisley harn, That while a lassie she had worn, In longitude tho' sorely scanty, It was her best, and she was vauntie.

A six-year-old will not understand that 'By and large it has been demonstrated that violence is counterproductive to the constructive interaction of persons and societies.' True. But a child can better understand that the rule out in the world and in the school is the same: Don't hit people. Bad things happen. The child must understand this rule is connected to the first rule: People won't share or play fair if you hit them.

They say we offer simple answers to complex problems. Well, perhaps there is a simple answer - not an easy answer - but simple.

Sooth't were a pleasant life to lead, With nothing in the world to do But just to blow a shepherd's reed, The silent season thro' And just to drive a flock to feed,- Sheep-quiet, fond and few!

Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods.

The priests have so disfigured the simple religion of Jesus that no one who reads the sophistications they have engrafted on it, from the jargon of Plato, of Aristotle & other mystics, would conceive these could have been fathered on the sublime preacher of the sermon on the mount.

Beat all your feathers as flat down as pancakes.

A flat case as plain as a pack-staff.

A Persian's heaven is easily made: 'Tis but black eyes and lemonade.

Let me see if I can put it in words that even the inebriated might understand.

'I merely leap and pause.'

Be content -- Expansions, diffusions -- content to be The unspotted imbecile revery, The heraldic center of the world Of blue, blue sleek with a hundred chins, The amorist Adjective aflame...

An unaffected man in a negative light Could not have borne his labor nor have died Sighing that he should leave the banjo's twang.

Good news! I saw a dog today!

A fancifully fancyless medium of unvarnished news.

I am out here in the far West, in San Francisco, in a small room on Carl Street, writing a letter to common people, telling them in simple language what they already know.

All I had to do was do it.

The multitude of formulas (for living the Christian life with success) proposed byt Christian writers, preacher, conference speakers, and televangelists simply confuse me. The have different ideas about how it is done, offering promises of fulfillment and joy based on three easy steps, four points of action, or the five smooth stones that David threw.

Here's what I've started thinking: All the wonder of God happens right above our arithmetic and formula. The more I climb outside my pat answers, the more invigorating the view, the more my heart enters into worship.

Marcia: I appreciated the simplicity and when you just stand there and people hear your voice it's beautiful.

Today is Sunday. For the first time they took me out into the sun today. And for the first time in my life I was aghast that the sky is so far away and so blue and so vast I stood there without a motion. Then I sat on the ground with respectful devotion leaning against the white wall. Who cares about the waves with which I yearn to roll Or about strife or freedom or my wife right now. The soil, the sun and me... I feel joyful and how.

And thus among these rocks he lived, Through summer heat and winter snow: The Eagle, he was lord above, And Rob was lord below.

The superfluous does not deserve to be enhanced.

I think one of Kurt's strengths was his simplicity. He knew how to write really catchy songs that said a lot without doing too much.

His simplicity was his power. He knew nature as no one else did... His affection for the commonplace little pine-needle was as genuine as that for the most beautiful flower or the grandest tree, and the little flakes of snow and the little crumbs of granite were each to him real life, and each has a personality worthy of his wonderful mind's attention; and he talked and wrote of them as he did of the ouzel or the Douglas squirrel- made real persons of them, and they talked and lived with him and were a part of his life as is our own flesh and blood. One cannot describe Mount Rainier, one cannot describe the Grand Canyon, one cannot describe his beloved Yosemite; humanity is silent in their presence. So it was with John Muir to all who knew him; so has his influence affected mankind, and so will his life and work impress generations to come. This most wonderful of men, lifted above death and time by his human sympathy no less than by his genius, will forever influence the world, and it will be the better for his example and his inspiration.

Could It Be Any Easier? -campaign slogan

When you understand the degree of attention which the requisitions of your physical nature demand, you will perceive how little labour suffices for their satisfaction. Your Heavenly Father knoweth you have need of these things. The universal Harmony, or Reason, which makes your passive frame of thought its dwelling, in proportion to the purity and majesty of its nature will instruct you, if ye are willing to attain that exalted condition, in what manner to possess all the objects necessary for your material subsistence. All men are to become thus pure and happy. All men are called to participate in the community of Nature's gifts. The man who has fewest bodily wants approaches nearest to the Divine Nature

Part of me remained forever at Latitude 80 degrees 08 minutes South: what survived of my youth, my vanity, perhaps, and certainly my skepticism. On the other hand, I did take away something that I had not fully possessed before: appreciation of the sheer beauty and miracle of being alive, and a humble set of values. All this happened four years ago. Civilization has not altered my ideas. I live more simply now, and with more peace. ~ Ch. 12

Mahomet himself, after all that can be said about him, was not a sensual man. We shall err widely if we consider this man as a common voluptuary, intent mainly on base enjoyments, - nay on enjoyments of any kind. His household was of the frugalest; his common diet barley-bread and water: sometimes for months there was not a fire once lighted on his hearth. They record with just pride that he would mend his own shoes, patch his own cloak. A poor, hard-toiling, ill-provided man; careless of what vulgar men toil for

In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints.[...] His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting a regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonials of respect were shown to him. If he aimed at a universal dominion, it was the dominion of faith; as to the temporal rule which grew up in his hands, as he used it without ostentation, so he took no step to perpetuate it in his family

To be, or not to be; that is the bare bodkin.

As wise in thought as bold in deed: For in the principles of things He sought his moral creed. Said generous Rob, 'What need of books? Burn all the statutes and their shelves: They stir us up against our kind; And worse, against ourselves.' 'We have a passion - make a law, Too false to guide us or control! And for the law itself we fight In bitterness of soul.' 'And, puzzled, blinded thus, we lose Distinctions that are plain and few: These find I graven on my heart: That tells me what to do.' 'The creatures see of flood and field, And those that travel on the wind! With them no strife can last; they live In peace, and peace of mind.' 'For why? - because the good old rule Sufficeth them, the simple plan, That they should take, who have the power, And they should keep who can.' 'A lesson that is quickly learned, A signal this which all can see! Thus nothing here provokes the strong To wanton cruelty.' 'All freakishness of mind is checked; He tamed, who foolishly aspires; While to the measure of his might Each fashions his desires.' 'All kinds, and creatures, stand and fall By strength of prowess or of wit: 'Tis God's appointment who must sway, And who is to submit.' 'Since, then, the rule of right is plain, And longest life is but a day; To have my ends, maintain my rights, I'll take the shortest way.'

Go to work on an egg.

Play me no plays.

A nice unparticular man.

I am a simple Buddhist monk - no more, no less.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.

Complexity is best expressed through simplicity.

I'm full of fears and I do my best to avoid difficulties and any kind of complications. I like everything around me to be clear as crystal and completely calm.

The aim of science is to seek the simplest explanations of complex facts. We are apt to fall into the error of thinking that the facts are simple because simplicity is the goal of our quest. The guiding motto in the life of every natural philosopher should be, 'Seek simplicity and distrust it.'

We do not require elaborate training merely in order to refrain from embarking upon intricate trains of inference. Such abstinence is only too easy.

Common sense is genius in homespun.

It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.

The most important things to say are those which often I did not think necessary for me to say- because they were too obvious.

Truth that is naked is the most beautiful, and the simpler its expression the deeper is the impression it makes; this is partly because it gets unobstructed hold of the hearer's mind without his being distracted by secondary thoughts, and partly because he feels that here he is not being corrupted or deceived by the arts of rhetoric, but that the whole effect is got from the thing itself.

The law of simplicity and naivete applies to all fine art, for it is compatible with what is most sublime. True brevity of expression consists in a man only saying what is worth saying, while avoiding all diffuse explanations of things which every one can think out for himself; that is, it consists in his correctly distinguishing between what is necessary and what is superfluous. On the other hand, one should never sacrifice clearness, to say nothing of grammar, for the sake of being brief. To impoverish the expression of a thought, or to obscure or spoil the meaning of a period for the sake of using fewer words shows a lamentable want of judgment.

The finest pieces of software are those where one individual has a complete sense of exactly how the program works. To have that, you have to really love the program and concentrate on keeping it simple, to an incredible degree.

The important things which were said to humanity were always simple things.

Well, if you die... that's a bummer...

People who advocate simplicity have money in the bank; the money came first, not the simplicity. (from inside the cover)

The life of the husbandman,-a life fed by the bounty of earth and sweetened by the airs of heaven.

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.

'Any bloody fool can lay a wreath at the thingamy.'

Then they'd beam down to an oval of gravel with 6 big rocks in the back : every week. 'Oh Captain, strong deja-vu here.' And they'd get out these machines: Widly-we widly-we widly-we widly-we widly-we 'Captain, this entire planet is made of widly-we. And so are you Captain, and Chekov, and Sulu, and Uhura, and everything we've ever thought of is widly-we. I think this might just be a box with widly-we written on it.''

A narrow compass! and yet there Dwelt all that 's good, and all that 's fair; Give me but what this riband bound, Take all the rest the sun goes round.