In a mad world, only the mad are sane.
—Akira Kurosawa (1910–98) Japanese Film Director, Film Producer, Screenwriter
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
Sanity is a madness put to good uses; waking life is a dream controlled.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
Sanity is madness put to good uses.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
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
When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane.
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) German-born Swiss Novelist, Poet
You only require two things in life: your sanity and your wife
—Tony Blair (b.1953) British Statesman
There is a pleasure sure
In being mad which none but madmen know.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
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
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
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
An asylum for the sane would be empty in America.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Most men are within a finger’s breadth of being mad.
—Diogenes Laertius (f.3rd Century CE) Biographer of the Greek Philosophers
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
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
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
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
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
I haven’t lost my mind; I have a tape back-up somewhere.
—Unknown
To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
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
Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.
—Unknown
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
No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
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
If we weren’t all crazy, we would go insane.
—Jimmy Buffett (b.1946) American Musician, Author
Everything great in the world comes from neurotics. They alone have founded our religions and composed our masterpieces.
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922) French Novelist