Piet Hein Quotes

MEETING THE EYE
You'll probably find
that it suits your book
to be a bit cleverer
than you look.
Observe that the easiest
method by far
is to look a bit stupider
than you are.

Freedom means you're free to do just whatever pleases you; — if, of course that is to say, what you please is what you may.

Somebody said that Reason was dead. Reason said: No, I think not so.

PRESCRIPTION

A bit
of virtue
will never
hurt you.

Foes of what's cooking see no worth behind it. Those that are looking for nothing — will find it.

REFLECTION ON SIZE

Small people often overrate
the charm of being tall;
which is, that you appreciate
the charm of being small.

Knowing what
Thou knowest not
Is in a sense
Omniscience.

We ought to live each day as though
it were our last day here below.
But if I did, alas, I know
it would have killed me long ago.

The human spirit sublimates the impulses it thwarts; a healthy sex life mitigates the lust for other sports.

A WORD TO THE WISE

Let the world pass in its time-ridden race;
never get caught in its snare.
Remember, the only acceptable case
for being in any particular place
is having no business there.

Giving in is no defeat. Passing on is no retreat. Selves are made to rise above. You shall live in what you love.

WHAT PEOPLE MAY THINK

Some people cower
and wince and shrink,
owing to fear of
what people may think.
There is one answer
to worries like these:
people may think
what the devil they please.

A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Stomach-ache can be a curse;
heart-ache may be even worse;
so thank Heaven on your knees
if you've got but one of these.

VITA BREVIS

A lifetime
is more
than
sufficiently long
for people to get what there is of it
wrong.

Those who always
know what’s best
are
a universal pest.