“It began as a mistake.”

— Charles Bukowski , book Post Office

The quote "It began as a mistake." is famous quote by Charles Bukowski (1920–1994), American writer.

Post Office (1971)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update April 18, 2023. History

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Charles Bukowski 555

American writer 1920–1994

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Karen Marie Moning (1964) author

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“Perhaps some day — say 1938, their centenary — they might be allowed to return together for a holiday, to see the mistakes of their own lives made clear in the light of the mistakes of their successors; and perhaps then, for the first time since man began his education among the carnivores, they would find a world that sensitive and timid natures could regard without a shudder.”

Henry Adams (1838–1918) journalist, historian, academic, novelist

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Context: It was time to go. The three friends had begun life together; and the last of the three had no motive — no attraction — to carry it on after the others had gone. Education had ended for all three, and only beyond some remoter horizon could its values be fixed or renewed. Perhaps some day — say 1938, their centenary — they might be allowed to return together for a holiday, to see the mistakes of their own lives made clear in the light of the mistakes of their successors; and perhaps then, for the first time since man began his education among the carnivores, they would find a world that sensitive and timid natures could regard without a shudder.

“The world is mediocre. About that there is no mistake. Well then, has the world been mediocre since time immemorial? No. In the beginning, the world was chaos, and chaos is not mediocre. The mediocratization began when people separated the means of production from daily life.”

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1940s

“There is no mistake; there has been no mistake; and there shall be no mistake.”

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852) British soldier and statesman

In response to William Huskisson declaring there had been a mistake, and he had not intended to resign, after Wellington chose to interpret a letter to him detailing his obligation to vote for a measure opposed by him as a letter of resignation. As quoted in The Military and Political Life of Arthur Wellesley: Duke of Wellington (1852) by "A Citizen of the World", and in Wellingtoniana (1852), edited by John Timbs.

“America is a mistake, admittedly a gigantic mistake, but a mistake nevertheless.”

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Austrian neurologist known as the founding father of psychoanalysis

Remark to Ernest Jones as quoted in The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud: Years of maturity, 1901-1919‎ (1957) by Ernest Jones, p. 60
Also quoted as, "Yes, America is gigantic, but a gigantic mistake." in Memories of a Psycho-analyst, ch.9 (1959) by Ernest Jones; and as, "America is the most grandiose experiment the world has seen, but I am afraid it is not going to be a success." in Freud: the Man and his Cause, pt. 3, ch. 12, (1980), by Ronald W. Clark; as quoted in Penguin Dictionary of Modern Quotations by Robert Andrews, Penguin Books, 2001.
Attributed from posthumous publications