“We are not created for any grander purpose than the ants that are there or the flies that are hovering around us or the mosquitoes that are sucking our blood.”

“Whence we see spiders, flies, or ants entombed and preserved forever in amber, a more than royal tomb.”

Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author

“Do what we can, summer will have its flies: if we walk in the woods, we must feed mosquitos: if we go a-fishing, we must expect a wet coat.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

“The best blood will at some time get into a fool or a mosquito.”

Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) Duce and President of the Council of Ministers of Italy. Leader of the National Fascist Party and subsequen…

“And so, from this day forth, we want all the more to let our thoughts revolve around and hover over Socrates and Christ at all times, openly taking pride that they are more alive for us than all those living today and that we listen to and love them as we do none of the living.”

Constantin Brunner (1862–1937) German philosopher

“After all, what bit of money I’ve made has been made among mosquitoes and sand-flies, snakes in the bedroom, long monotonous damp heat, boredom, exasperation with native clerks. Who are these sweet stay-at-homes, sweet well-contents, to try and suck it out of me and feel aggrieved if they can’t have it?”

Anthony Burgess (1917–1993) English writer

“We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose. And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law.”

James Mattis (1950) 26th and current United States Secretary of Defense; United States Marine Corps general

“It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to suck. Capitalism used to be like an eagle, but now it's more like a vulture. It used to be strong enough to go and suck anybody's blood whether they were strong or not. But now it has become more cowardly, like the vulture, and it can only suck the blood of the helpless. As the nations of the world free themselves, capitalism has less victims, less to suck, and it becomes weaker and weaker. It's only a matter of time in my opinion before it will collapse completely….”

Malcolm X (1925–1965) American human rights activist

“Reality is far more complex and messy than many of the grander themes and explanations would have us believe.”

Peter Dicken (1938) British geographer

“Fighting patents one by one will never eliminate the danger of software patents, any more than swatting mosquitoes will eliminate malaria.”

Richard Stallman (1953) American software freedom activist, short story writer and computer programmer, founder of the GNU project