Friends I beg you do not shirk your daily task of indolence.

— Don Marquis

From 'the lesson of the moth':and before I could argue him out of his philosophy he went and immolated himself on a patent cigar lighter do not agree with him myself I would rather have half the happiness and twice the longevity but at the same time i wish there was something i wanted as badly as he wanted to fry himself

— Don Marquis

Happiness comes fleetingly now and then to those who have learned to do without it and to them only.

— Don Marquis

Happiness comes fleetingly now and then To those who have learned to do without it And to them only.

— Don Marquis

Happiness is the interval between periods of unhappiness.

— Don Marquis

Ideas pull the trigger but instinct loads the gun.

— Don Marquis

Ideas pull the trigger, but instinct loads the gun.

— Don Marquis

If a child shows himself to be incorrigible, he should be decently and quietly beheaded at the age of twelve, lest he grow to maturity, marry, and perpetuate his kind.

— Don Marquis

If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you.

— Don Marquis

If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that's read by persons who move their lips when they're reading to themselves.

— Don Marquis