Why should I know Georg Christoph Lichtenberg?

“A book is a mirror: if an ape looks into it an apostle is hardly likely to look out.”

“A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents.”

“A sure sign of a good book is that you like it more the older you get.”

“Don't judge a man by his opinions, but what his opinions have made of him.”

“Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.”

“I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is that they must change if they are to get better.”

“Love is blind, but marriage restores its sight.”

“Man loves company - even if it is only that of a small burning candle.”

“The fly that does not want to be swatted is safest if it sits on the fly-swat.”

“The thoughts written on the walls of madhouses by their inmates might be worth publicizing.”

“There is no mistaking a good book when one meets it. It is like falling in love.”

“We accumulate our opinions at an age when our understanding is at its weakest.”

“What a blessing it would be if we could open and shut our ears as easily as we open and shut our eyes!”