Sanity is a madness put to good uses; waking life is a dream controlled.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
Sanity is the lot of those who are most obtuse, for lucidity destroys one’s equilibrium: it is unhealthy to honestly endure the labors of the mind which incessantly contradict what they have just established.
—Georges Bataille (1897–1962) French Essayist, Intellectual
A lunatic may be “soothed,”… for a time, but in the end, he is very apt to become obstreperous. His cunning, too, is proverbial, and great…. When a madman appears thoroughly sane, indeed, it is high time to put him in a straight jacket.
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) American Poet
There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
A man might pass for insane who should see things as they are.
—William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) American Unitarian Theologian, Poet
Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane.
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) German-born Swiss Novelist, Poet
I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) American Poet
In things pertaining to enthusiasm, no man is sane who does not know how to be insane on proper occasions.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Insanity in individuals is something rare—but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
There is a pleasure sure
In being mad which none but madmen know.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
What frightens us most in a madman is his sane conversation.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
Are you so unobservant as not to have found out that sanity and happiness are an impossible combination?
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
An asylum for the sane would be empty in America.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
A man who is “of sound mind” is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.
—Paul Valery (1871–1945) French Critic, Poet
I haven’t lost my mind; I have a tape back-up somewhere.
—Unknown
Might we not say to the confused voices which sometimes arise from the depths of our being: “Ladies, be so kind as to speak only four at a time?”
—Sophie Swetchine (1782–1857) Russian Mystic, Writer
Sanity is very rare: every man almost, and every woman, has a dash of madness.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Insanity: A perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.
—R. D. Laing (1927–89) Scottish Psychiatrist
To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
There is no insanity so devastating in man’s life as utter sanity.
—William Allen White (1868–1944) American Editor, Politician, Author
No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Sanity is madness put to good uses.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
There is no great genius without some touch of madness.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
—Anonymous
A civilized society is one which tolerates eccentricity to the point of doubtful sanity.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
Sanity: that which is within the frame of reference of conventional thought.
—Erich Fromm (1900–80) German-American Psychoanalyst, Social Philosopher
Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.
—Unknown
Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked. Good mental machinery ought to break its own wheels and levers, if anything is thrust among them suddenly which tends to stop them or reverse their motion. A weak mind does not accumulate force enough to hurt itself; stupidity often saves a man from going mad.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
You only require two things in life: your sanity and your wife
—Tony Blair (b.1953) British Statesman
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b.1929) American Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer
Sanity is not statistical.
—George Orwell (1903–50) English Novelist, Journalist
The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you.
—Rita Mae Brown (b.1944) American Writer, Feminist
I don’t suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.
—Anonymous
There is a thin line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.
—Oscar Levant (1906–72) American Musician, Composer, Author, Comedian, Actor
Most men are within a finger’s breadth of being mad.
—Diogenes Laertius (f.3rd Century CE) Biographer of the Greek Philosophers
Madness is rare in individuals – but in groups, political parties, nations, and eras it’s the rule.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
One of the definitions of sanity is the ability to tell real from unreal. Soon we’ll need a new definition
—Alvin Toffler (1928–2016) American Writer, Futurist
If you are physically sick, you can elicit the interest of a battery of physicians; but if you are mentally sick, you are lucky if the janitor comes around.
—Martin H. Fischer
Sanity is a cozy lie
—Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American Writer, Philosopher
Today I felt pass over me
A breath of wind from the wings of madness.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
Madness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death.
—R. D. Laing (1927–89) Scottish Psychiatrist
Every madman thinks all other men mad.
—Latin Proverb
In a mad world, only the mad are sane.
—Akira Kurosawa (1910–98) Japanese Film Director, Film Producer, Screenwriter
We take our bearings, daily, from others. To be sane is, to a great extent, to be sociable.
—John Updike (1932–2009) American Novelist, Poet, Short-Story Writer
If we weren’t all crazy, we would go insane.
—Jimmy Buffett (b.1946) American Musician, Author
I have my own little world, but it’s okay – they know me here.
—Unknown
A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King.
—Emily Dickinson (1830–86) American Poet
I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Everything great in the world comes from neurotics. They alone have founded our religions and composed our masterpieces.
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922) French Novelist