George Orwell - Richard Feynman - Baruch Spinoza - Samuel Butler - Harvey Fierstein -
It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it; consequently, the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning. George Orwell
We can’t define anything precisely. Richard Feynman, The Feynman Lectures
A definition, if it is to be called perfect, must explain the inmost essence of a thing, and must take care not to substitute for this any of its properties. Baruch Spinoza
A definition is the enclosing a wilderness of idea within a wall of words. Samuel Butler, 1835-1902
Accept no-one’s definition of your life; define yourself. Harvey Fierstein