“Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a quality that decides between success and failure.”
Edsger W. Dijkstra (1930–2002) Dutch computer scientist
1990s
Niklaus Wirth (1997) " A Few Words with Niklaus Wirth http://www.eptacom.net/pubblicazioni/pub_eng/wirth.html". Dr Carlo Pescio eds. June 1997.
“Elegance is not a dispensable luxury but a quality that decides between success and failure.”
Edsger W. Dijkstra (1930–2002) Dutch computer scientist
1990s
“Give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with its necessaries.”
John Lothrop Motley (1814–1877) American historian and diplomat
Quoted from Motley's conversation by his friend Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., in The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (Boston: Phillips, Sampson, 1858), ch. 6, p. 143.
Edward Abbey book Desert Solitaire
"Down the River", p. 148
Desert Solitaire (1968)
“The luxuries of the present are the necessities of the future.”
John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher (1841–1920) Royal Navy admiral of the fleet
Letter to Churchill, dated 16/1/1912, quoted in The World Crisis, Vol 1, 1911-14 (1923), Churchill, Thornton Butterworth (London), p. 139.
Context: The luxuries of the present are the necessities of the future. Our grandfathers never had a bath-room....
“Perfect humility dispenses with modesty.”
Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) Christian apologist, novelist, and Medievalist
The Weight of Glory (1949)
Jimmy Carter (1924) American politician, 39th president of the United States (in office from 1977 to 1981)
Presidency (1977–1981), Farewell Address (1981)
Context: We live in a time of transition, an uneasy era which is likely to endure for the rest of this century. During the period we may be tempted to abandon some of the time-honored principles and commitments which have been proven during the difficult times of past generations. We must never yield to this temptation. Our American values are not luxuries, but necessities— not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself.
“Protection is the first necessity of opulence and luxury.”
Joseph Conrad book The Secret Agent
Source: The Secret Agent (1907), Ch. 2
“Luxury is not a necessity to me, but beautiful and good things are.”
Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) writer of novels, short stories, and erotica
“Lifelong learning is no longer a luxury but a necessity for employment.”
Jay Samit (1961) American businessman
Source: Disrupt You! (2015), p.64
“Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves.”
Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist