E. W. Howe Quotes

The government is mainly an expensive organization to regulate evildoers, and tax those who behave: government does little for fairly respectable people except annoy them.

E. W. Howe

• People
• Government
• Organization

I try to have no plans the failure of which would greatly annoy me. Half the unhappiness in the world is due to the failure of plans which were never reasonable, and often impossible.

E. W. Howe

• World
• Failure

How good we all are, in theory, to the old; and how in fact we wish them to wander off like old dogs, die without bothering us, and bury themselves.

E. W. Howe

• Good
• Age
• Die

I declare my belief that it is not your duty to do anything that is not to your own interest. Whenever it is unquestionably your duty to do a thing, then it will benefit you to perform that duty.

E. W. Howe

• Belief
• Duty
• Benefits

One trouble with growing old is that it gets progressively tougher to find a famous historical figure, who didn't amount to much when he was your age.

E. W. Howe

• Age
• Growing
• Famous

Nothing pleases a woman quite so well as to look so sweet that a man wants to kiss her, and then abuse him for his impudence.

E. W. Howe

• Sweet
• Kiss
• Abuse

I express many absurd opinions. But I am not the first man to do it; American freedom consists largely in talking nonsense.

E. W. Howe

• American
• Freedom

There is something in the red of a raspberry pie that looks as good to a man as the red in a sheep looks to a wolf.

E. W. Howe

• Good
• Red
• Wolf

Where the guests at a gathering are well-acquainted, they eat 20 per cent more than they otherwise would.

E. W. Howe

As a man handles his troubles during the day, so he goes to bed at night a General, Captain, or Private.

E. W. Howe

• Night