139 Quotes by Phyllis McGinley

Seventy is wormwood, Seventy is gall But its better to be seventy, Than not alive at all.

Words can sting like anything, but silence breaks the heart.

When blithe to argument I come, Though armed with facts, and merry, May Providence protect me from The fool as adversary, Whose mind to him a kingdom is Where reason lacks dominion, Who calls conviction prejudice And prejudice opinion.

Praise is warming and desirable. But it is an earned thing. It has to be deserved, like a hug from a child.

Gossip isn't scandal and it's not merely malicious. It's chatter about the human race by lovers of the same. Gossip is the tool of the poet, the shop-talk of the scientist, and the consolation of the housewife, wit, tycoon and intellectual. It begins in the nursery and ends when speech is past.

Getting along with men isn't what's truly important. The vital knowledge is how to get along with one man.

Nothing fails like success; nothing is so defeated as yesterday's triumphant Cause.

In Australia, not reading poetry is the national pastime.

Ah, snug lie those that slumber Beneath Conviction's roof. Their floors are sturdy lumber, Their windows weatherproof. But I sleep cold forever And cold sleep all my kind, For I was born to shiver In the draft from an open mind.