The Insolence Quotes

The St. Vincents arrived with their daughter Phoebe, a red-haired infant with an alarmingly changeable temperament. One moment the child was placid and adorable. The next, she was a squalling devil-spawn who could only be soothed by the sound of her father's voice. "There, darling," St. Vincent had been known to coo into the infant's ear. "Has someone displeased you? Ignored you? Oh, the insolence. My poor princess shall have anything she wants ... " And, appeased by her father's outrageous spoiling, Phoebe would settle into hiccupping smiles. ~ Lisa Kleypas

It was the face that disturbed me. The artist had lit it in such a way that it appeared very strong, actually, to my mind, brutal. The nose was long and thin, the full underlip protruberant [sic], and the blue eyes icy cold. There was a great deal of pride in his look - more than pride, arrogance, rather. I wondered if it were only animals he had hunted with that gun.
Yet there was no doubt that the face was well done. The contrast between light and dark was evidence enough of the artist's skill. The man, I thought, must have actually been proud of the insolence and brutality which I saw in his face. Otherwise he would never have let the artist depict so clearly those aspects of his character. ~ Barbara Cohen

There seems to be something in humanity which will not bow meekly to the insolence of power. ~ Terry Eagleton

I thought you did,' said the Mouse. `--I proceed. "Edwin and Morcar, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, declared for him: and even Stigand, the patriotic archbishop of Canterbury, found it advisable--"'

`Found WHAT?' said the Duck.

`Found IT,' the Mouse replied rather crossly: `of course you know what "it" means.'

`I know what "it" means well enough, when I find a thing,' said the Duck: `it 's generally a frog or a worm. The question is, what did the archbishop find?'

The Mouse did not notice this question, but hurriedly went on, `"--found it advisable to go with Edgar Atheling to meet William and offer him the crown. William's conduct at first was moderate. But the insolence of his Normans--" How are you getting on now, my dear?' it continued, turning to Alice as it spoke. ~ Lewis Carroll

We are less than atoms, I say, because the atom obeys the law of its being, whereas we in the insolence of our ignorance deny the law of nature. But I have no argument to address to those who have no faith. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

It is easy to misinterpret the child's counterwill as a drive for power. We may never be fully in control of our circumstances, but to raise children and to face their counterwill on a daily basis is to have our powerlessness driven home to us consistently. In present-day society it is neither surprising nor unusual for parents to feel tyrannized and powerless. With the sense of impotence we experience when child-adult attachments are not strong enough, we begin to see our children as manipulative, controlling, and even powerful. We need to get past the symptoms.

If all we perceive is the resistance or the insolence, we will respond with anger, frustration, and force. We must see that the child is only reacting instinctively whenever he feels he is being pushed and pulled. Beyond the counterwill we need to recognize the weakened attachment. The defiance is not the essence of the problem; the root cause is the peer orientation that makes counterwill backfire on adults and robs it of its natural purpose. The best response to a child's counterwill is a stronger parental relationship and less reliance on force. ~ Gabor Mate

The insolence of office. ~ William Shakespeare

The insolence of wealth will creep out. ~ Samuel Johnson

The madness of mobs or the insolence of soldiers, or both, when too near to each other, occasion some mischief. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Civilization has been an intermittent phenomenon; to this truth we have allowed ourselves to be blinded by the insolence of material success. ~ Richard M. Weaver

I have had to contend against the unkindness of his sister, and the insolence of his mother; and have suffered the punishment of an attachment, without enjoying its advantages. ~ Jane Austen

The insolence of authority is endeavoring to substitute money for ideas. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

The stupidity of men always invites the insolence of power. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

If now, after the collapse, should any of these lackeys of Adolf Hitler have the insolence to claim they were merely harmless onlookers, let them feel the scourge of avenging mankind ... Whoever cries about having lost the Nazi system or wants to resurrect National Socialism is to be treated as a lunatic. ~ Friedrich Kellner

Look at life: the insolence and idleness of the strong, the ignorance and brutishness of the weak, horrible poverty everywhere, overcrowding, degeneration, drunkenness, hypocrisy, lying
yet in all the houses and on the streets there is peace and quiet; of the fifty thousand people who live in our town there is not one who would cry out, who would vent his indignation aloud. We see the people who go to market, eat by day, sleep by night, who babble nonsense, marry, grow old, good-naturedly drag their feet to the cemetery, but we do not see or hear those who suffer, and what is terrible in life goes on somewhere behind the scenes. Everything is peaceful and quiet and only mute statistics protest. ~ Anton Chekhov

Of the insolence of the Scots, my father used to say, there is no end. ~ Bernard Cornwell

He raised his head and looked at her; she had not caught him noticing her approach; he looked up as if he expected her to be there, as if he knew she would be back. She saw the hint of a smile, more insulting than words. He sustained the insolence of looking straight at her, he would not move, he would not grant the concession of turning away - of acknowledging that he had no right to look at her in such manner. He had not merely taken that right, he was saying silently that she had given it to him. ~ Ayn Rand

The insolence of base minds in success is boundless; and would scarce admit of a comparison, did not they themselves furnish us with one in the degrees of their abjection when evil returns upon them. ~ Laurence Sterne

Patron: One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is repaid in flattery. ~ Samuel Johnson

They are fond of fun and therefore witty, wit being well-bred insolence. ~ Aristotle.

Twice two makes four seems to me simply a piece of insolence. Twice two makes four is a pert coxcomb who stands with arms akimbo barring your path and spitting. I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too. ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A criminal trial is like a cultural in-flight test in which society projects its own history, fears, impatience, insolence, clemency, insecurities, dreams and nightmares upon facts ... What's inside is every fairy-tale monster, a brutal ogre, a bloodthirsty werewolf, an elegant vampire, a scheming devil, a bullying giant, a sneering troll, or maybe just an abusive stepfather. ~ Ron Franscell

Wit is well-bred insolence. ~ Aristotle.

Are you not justified in feeling inferior, when you seek to cover it up with arrogance and insolence? ~ Malcolm Forbes

Very well. On my love for Mencheres, I swear that I will honor both you and Leila as my true partners, and I will keep my insolence, trickiness , filthiness, and general knavery to as much a minimum as I can manage. ~ Jeaniene Frost

I'm all for Christianity, but insolence must be put down. ~ J.P. Donleavy

I find a dash of insolence to be quite enjoyable from time to time. ~ Jessica Cluess

Idleness leads to insolence. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

Imagination magnifies small objects with fantastic exaggeration until they fill our soul, and with bold insolence cuts down great things to its own size, as when speaking of God. ~ Blaise Pascal

Wit is cultured insolence. ~ Aristotle.

It is doubt that makes faith precious,
deciet that makes honesty precious,
grief that makes happiness precious,
error that makes truth precious,
fear that makes love precious,
pride that makes humility precious,
shame that makes honor precious,
anger that makes peace precious,
greed that makes contentment precious,
despair that makes hope precious,
cruelty that makes kindness precious,
disloyalty that makes commitment precious,
lawlessness that makes justice precious,
vengance that makes forgiveness precious,
frustration that makes patience precious,
hatred that makes tolerance precious,
disbelief that makes trust precious,
uncertainty that makes confidence precious,
skepticism that makes conviction precious,
insolence that makes courtesy precious,
impoliteness that makes manners precious,
imprudence that makes civility precious,
contempt that esteem precious,
meanness that makes hospitality precious,
stinginess that makes generosity precious,
roughness that makes gentleness precious,
negligence that makes discipline precious,
and confusion that makes order precious. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

Adolescence is usually typified by an unanswerable combination of innocence and insolence. ~ Alice Thomas Ellis

Insolence was spreading like butter across his red and pitted face. ~ Esme Ellis

Alcohol is decisiveness juice. It's also bad idea punch, intellect intoxicant, insolence nectar, fighting fluid, boastfulness booze, smartass sauce, injury water, aggressiveness aqua vitae, felony-committin' firewater, and, of course, maybe above all else...depression drink. ~ Aaron Goldfarb

There is only one way to be relieved from her service: death. I would like to avoid it." "I see. You wouldn't happen to have some wildly irrational reason for doing all this, would you? I love acts of futile insolence. They're so whimsical!" Trying not to sound like a pansy, he admitted, "I no longer wish to kill for her." "A vampire who doesn't want to ... kill? You don't want to - " Cimil broke off, laughing hysterically. "That totally qualifies! ~ Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

But it was not her beauty that was arresting. It was her style, a sort of insolence toward life, her total lack of caution, her fearless and abundant pride. ~ Nancy Milford

Your heart and your mouth wil be in two separate parts of your body if you again forget in whose presence you stand. ~ George Bernard Shaw

To our betters eve can reconcile ourselves, if you please
respecting them sincerely, laughing at their jokes, making allowance for their stupidities, meekly suffering their insolence; but we can't pardon our equals going beyond us. ~ William Makepeace Thackeray

Talent is culture with insolence. ~ Aristotle.

Youth is insolent; it is its right – its necessity; it has got to assert itself, and all assertion in this world of doubts is a defiance, is an insolence…
~ Joseph Conrad

There are people who are known to be very liberal, yet they never give without scolding or pride or even insolence. ~ John Calvin

Knowledge cannot lose when it bets against unawareness.
Insight cannot lose when it bets against obliviousness.
Intellect cannot lose when it bets against shallowness.
Wisdom cannot lose when it bets against ignorance.

Truth cannot lose when it bets against deceitfulness.
Sight cannot lose when it bets against blindness.
Virtue cannot lose when it bets against sinfulness.
Light cannot lose when it bets against darkness.

Patience cannot lose when it bets against hastiness.
Joy cannot lose when it bets against unhappiness.
Faith cannot lose when it bets against fickleness.
Mercy cannot lose when it bets against vengefulness.

Humility cannot lose when it bets against insolence.
Kindness cannot lose when it bets against callousness.
Dignity cannot lose when it bets against uncouthness.
Love cannot lose when it bets against bitterness.

Innocence cannot lose when it bets against unrighteousness.
Patience cannot lose when it bets against intolerance.
Trust cannot lose when it bets against doubtfulness.
Purity cannot lose when it bets against hatefulness.

Existence cannot lose when it bets against unconsciousness.
Time cannot lose when it bets against impermanence.
Life cannot lose when it bets against existence.
Eternity cannot lose when it bets against coincidence. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo