I call you metaphysicians because you reason metaphysically,” Ernest went on. “Your method of reasoning is the opposite to that of science. There is no validity to your conclusions. You can prove everything and nothing, and no two of you can agree upon anything. Each of you goes into his own consciousness to explain himself and the universe. As well may you lift yourselves by your own bootstraps as to explain consciousness by consciousness.”

Miss Tarabotti was not one of life’s milk-water misses–in fact, quite the opposite. Many a gentleman had likened his first meeting with her to downing a very strong cognac when one was expecting to imbibe fruit juice–that is to say, startling and apt to leave one with a distinct burning sensation.

Americans don’t like puns and plays on words, which is totally opposite in the comedy world to France or even Italy and Germany.

How can you do both? In physics we try to tell people in such a way that they understand something that nobody knew before. In the case of poetry, it’s the exact opposite.” Flattered, Robert just laughed.

Capitalism is not an ‘ism.’ It is closer to being the opposite of an ‘ism,’ because it is simply the freedom of ordinary people to make whatever economic transactions they can mutually agree to

For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert, but for every fact there is not necessarily an equal and opposite fact

There now ensued a series of incidents which transported me to the opposite extremes of ecstasy and horror; incidents which I tremble to recall and dare not seek to interpret.

I think you kind of hope for people gush over movies, but I think the opposite is great sometimes, too. I’d rather have a movie that you’re angry about and that you’re talking about the next day, than something you forget about when the popcorn goes into the trash.

I think just the opposite is true: love is an ideology for eternal militants, and the more misfortunes life tries to burden us with, the more essential love becomes.

Not to oversimplify it, somebody once said a good rule of thumb in interpreting a character is to find the good in the bad people that you portray and the bad in the good.

The teens are emotionally unstable and pathic. It is a natural impulse to experience hot and perfervid psychic states, and it is characterized by emotionalism. We see here the instability and fluctuations now so characteristic. The emotions develop by contrast and reaction into the opposite.

We’re probably the opposite of the Osbournes. We run a very tight ship.

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.

Collectivists would have you believe that individualism is merely another word for selfishness, because individualists oppose welfare and other forms of coercive redistribution of wealth, but just the opposite is true. Individualists advocate true charity, which is the voluntary giving of their own money, while collectivists advocate the coercive giving of other people’s money; which, of course, is why it is so popular.

There is a sad tendency in our world today for persons to cut one another down. Did you ever realize that it does not take very much in the way of brainpower to make remarks that may wound another? Try the opposite of that. Try handing out compliments.

The opposite of Loneliness is not Togetherness, It’s Intimacy.

I figured something out. And it is no secret what I figured out. Whatever the majority of people were doing, I found myself doing the opposite. I wanted to chase something great.

I invented my life by taking for granted that everything I did not like would have an opposite, which I would like

The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice… it is conformity.

The opposite of nature is impossible.

You can achieve anything if you believe in yourself. But the opposite is also true; without strong self-belief you will not go far.

If ‘pro’ is the opposite of ‘con’ what is the opposite of ‘progress’?

Every idea, extended into infinity, becomes its own opposite.

Dialectic is here understood in the grasping of opposites in their unity or of the positive in the negative.

This is the inevitable fate of the sentimentalist. All his opinions change into their opposites at the first brush of reality.

To be free is better than to be unfree – always. Any politician who suggests the opposite should be treated as suspect.

All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.

We’re intellectual opposites. Well, I’m intellectual and you’re opposite.

To any action there is always an opposite and equal reaction; in other words, the actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal and always opposite in direction.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Shoutout to my competition. These shots to my opposition.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Life defined only as the opposite of death is not life.