“The main obligation is to amuse yourself.”

—  S.J. Perelman

As quoted in I Seem to be a Verb (Bantam Books, 1970), p. 62

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The main obligation is to amuse yourself." by S.J. Perelman?
S.J. Perelman photo
S.J. Perelman15
American humorist, author, and screenwriter 1904–1979

Related quotes

Octave Mirbeau photo

“It is no exaggeration to say that the main aim of upper-class existence is to enjoy the filthiest of amusements.”

Octave Mirbeau (1848–1917) French journalist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, novelist, and playwright

Garden of Tortures

“Responsibility is a grace you give yourself not an obligation”

Dan Millman (1946) American self help writer

Gustave Flaubert photo

“Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.”

Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) French writer (1821–1880)

Correspondence, Letters to Mademoiselle Leroyer de Chantepie
Variant: Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the ambitious do to educate themselves. No, read to live.
Context: Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the ambitious do to educate themselves. No, read to live. (June 1857)

“The proper management of pain remains, after all, the most important obligation, the main objective, and the crowning achievement of every physician.”

John Bonica (1917–1994) Anesthesiologist; pioneer in pain management

The Management of Pain (1954)

“You can't invent yourself as you maunder on. Your fabrications aren't going to impress the blood test, the urinalysis or the chest X-ray. Science is not amused.”

John Leonard (1939–2008) American critic, writer, and commentator

"On Being Embarrassed" (p. 139)
Private Lives in the Imperial City (1979)

Abraham Lincoln photo

“In law it is a good policy never to plead what you need not, lest you oblige yourself to prove what you cannot.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States

Letter to former Illinois Attorney General Usher F. Linder (20 February 1848)
1840s

“In Islam, it is an obligation to prepare yourself for defense and to train. This is no different than any nation having its young people train to defend the nation.”

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith (1965) One of Al-Qaeda's official spokesmen

Source: Kronos US v Sulaiman Abu Ghayth Statement https://kronosadvisory.com/Kronos_US_v_Sulaiman_Abu_Ghayth_Statement.1.pdf (1st March 2013)

Gustave Flaubert photo

“Better to work for yourself alone. You do as you like and follow your own ideas, you admire yourself and please yourself: isn’t that the main thing? And then the public is so stupid. Besides, who reads? And what do they read? And what do they admire?”

Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) French writer (1821–1880)

Benjamin Franklin photo

“He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.”

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, …

Franklin himself calls this an &quot;old maxim&quot; when he repeats it at page 48 http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/autobiography/page48.htm of his autobiography. <br class="br">Franklin&#x27;s recognition of this effect caused it to be named after him. Wikipedia, Ben Franklin Effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Franklin_effect. <br class="br">Misattributed

Related topics