Extracts From the Biography of Starswirl the Bearded

by SWEETOLEBOB18

Chapter 4 Further Quotes From Starswirl

"You say that I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am vast, I contain multitudes"

"Walden Pond said 'Most ponies lead lives of quiet desperation.' "
"So what?'
"So, shut up"
(To a classmate during an argument)

"You've heard of the "Graveyard of the Elephants?"
"You mean the mythical place that elephants supposedly go to die? Of course."
"This cafeteria is where old grease goes to die."
(Expressing his opinion of the school's food)

“It is not the critic who counts; not the one who points out how the strong stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the one who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

"Ponies who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do."

"Arrogance, pedantry, and dogmatism...the occupational diseases of those who spend their lives directing the intellects of the young."

Author's Note:

Some of the quotes are from https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/curmudgeon.html

"It is not the critic..." Teddy Roosevelt

"....I contradict myself?... Walt Whitman