Highly educated bores are by far the worst; they know so much, in such fiendish detail, to be boring about.
—Louis Kronenberger (1904–80) American Drama, Literary Critic
Boredom is just the reverse side of fascination: both depend on being outside rather than inside a situation, and one leads to the other.
—Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American Writer, Philosopher
The man who suspects his own tediousness is yet to be born.
—Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907) American Writer, Poet, Critic, Editor
As for boredom … I notice that it leaves me as soon as I am doing something that has got to be done.
—John Jay Chapman (1862–1933) American Biographer, Poet, Essayist, Writer
Nobody is bored when he is trying to make something that is beautiful, or to discover something that is true.
—William Ralph Inge (1860–1954) English Anglican Clergyman, Priest, Mystic
Each day provides its own gifts.
—Martial (40–104) Ancient Roman Latin Poet
I am one of those unhappy persons who inspire bores to the greatest flights of art.
—Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) British Poet, Literary Critic
He is an old bore; even the grave yawns for him.
—Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852–1917) English Actor, Theater Personality
When people are bored it is primarily with themselves.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
A dull ax never loves grindstones.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Boredom is the dream bird that hatches the egg of experience. A rustling in the leaves drives him away.
—Walter Benjamin
Banality is a symptom of non-communication. Men hide behind their cliches.
—Eugene Ionesco (1909–94) Romanian-born French Dramatist
One can be bored until boredom becomes a mystical experience.
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) American-British Essayist, Bibliophile
All kinds are good except the kind that bores you.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
All man’s troubles come from not knowing how to sit still in one room.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
A bore: Someone who persists in holding to his own views after we have enlightened him with ours.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
Surely life, if it be not long, is tedious, since we are forced to call in the assistance of so many trifles to rid us of our time, of that time which never can return.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
One must choose in life between boredom and suffering.
—Anne Louise Germaine de Stael (1766–1817) French Woman of Letters
The devil’s name is dullness.
—Robert E. Lee (1807–70) Confederate General during American Civil War
There’s no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there’s no excuse for boredom, ever.
—Viggo Mortensen (b.1958) Danish American Actor
Desire is half of life; indifference is half of death.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
The life of a creator is not the only life nor perhaps the most interesting which a man leads. There is a time for play and a time for work, a time for creation and a time for lying fallow. And there is a time, glorious too in its own way, when one scarcely exists, when one is a complete void. I mean—when boredom seems the very stuff of life.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
Want and boredom are indeed the twin poles of human life.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
Bores bore each other too; but it never seems to teach them anything.
—Don Marquis (1878–1937) American Humorist, Journalist, Author
I am convinced that boredom is one of the greatest tortures. If I were to imagine Hell, it would be the place where you were continually bored.
—Erich Fromm (1900–80) German-American Psychoanalyst, Social Philosopher
Boredom is the legitimate kingdom of the philanthropic.
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English Novelist
Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings.
—Soren Kierkegaard (1813–55) Danish Philosopher, Theologian
A bore is a person who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, action nor utterance, nor the power of speech, to stir men’s blood. I only speak right on. I tell you that which you yourselves do know.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright