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A collection of thought-provoking quotes. Scroll through, or select randomly by clicking on a number. ~~~~~~~ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 - 43 - 44 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 - 49 - 50 ^^^^^^^ Eric Hoffer Learning In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer (1902-83), U.S. philosopher. Reflections on the Human Condition, aph. 32 (1973).
Ernest Hemingway Learning There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things and because it takes a man’s life to know them, the little new that each man gets from life is very costly and the only heritage he has to leave. Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), U.S. author. Death in the Afternoon, ch. 16 (1932). This passage was used as the epigraph in A. E. Hotchner, Papa Hemingway (1955).
Albert Einstein Ends and Means Perfection of means and confusion of goals seem— in my opinion— to characterize our age. Albert Einstein (1879–1955), German-born U.S. theoretical physicist. Out of My Later Years, ch. 14 (1950).
Evelyn Waugh Heaven The human mind is inspired enough when it comes to inventing horrors; it is when it tries to invent a Heaven that it shows itself cloddish. Evelyn Waugh (1903-66), British novelist. Ambrose, in Put Out More Flags, ch. 1, sct. 7 (1942).
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Relationships When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944), French aviator, author. Flight to Arras, ch. 19 (1942).
Arnold Bennett Knowledge There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours. To the cognition of the brain must be added the experience of the soul. Arnold Bennett (1867-1931), British novelist. The Journals of Arnold Bennett (1932), entry for 18 March 1897.
Hebrew Bible Knowledge For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Hebrew Bible. Ecclesiastes 1:18.
F. Scott Fitzgerald Burden of Consciousness His was a great sin who first invented consciousness. Let us lose it for a few hours. F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940), U.S. author. John, in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, ch. 11 (1922), uttered before falling asleep.
George Bernard Shaw Death and Humor Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh. George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Anglo-Irish playwright, critic. Ridgeon, in The Doctor’s Dilemma, act 5.
Tony Benn Doctrine A faith is something you die for, a doctrine is something you kill for. There is all the difference in the world. Tony Benn (b. 1925), British Labour politician. Television broadcast, 11 April 1989, BBC-TV.
Jiddu Krishnamurti Truth I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986), Indian mystic. Speech, 3 Aug. 1929, Holland. Quoted in: Lilly Heber, Krishnamurti, ch. 2 (1931).
David Jenkins Belief As I get older I seem to believe less and less and yet to believe what I do believe more and more. David Jenkins (b. 1925), British ecclesiastic, Bishop of Durham. Quoted in: Daily Telegraph (London, 2 Nov. 1988).
Pearl S. Buck Euthanasia Euthanasia is a long, smooth-sounding word, and it conceals its danger as long, smooth words do, but the danger is there, nevertheless. Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973), U.S. author. The Child Who Never Grew, ch. 2 (1950).
Sir William Osler Dogmatism The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism. Sir William Osler (1849–1919), Canadian physician. Montreal Medical Journal (Sept. 1902).
François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld Forgiveness We pardon to the extent that we love. François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80), French writer, moralist. Sentences et Maximes Morales, no. 330 (1678).
Lord Tennyson Forgiveness
Forgive! How many will say, "forgive," and
find Lord Tennyson (1809–92), English poet. Sea Dreams.
C. S. Lewis God Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), British author. A Grief Observed, pt. 4 (1961).
Miguel de Unamuno Consciousness The only way to give finality to the world is to give it consciousness. Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936), Spanish philosophical writer. The Tragic Sense of Life, ch. 7 (1670).
Henry Miller Death and Life In the attempt to defeat death man has been inevitably obliged to defeat life, for the two are inextricably related. Life moves on to death, and to deny one is to deny the other. Henry Miller (1891-1980), U.S. author. The Wisdom of the Heart, "Creative Death" (1947).
Aldous Huxley Humane & Scientific Death Ignore death up to the last moment; then, when it can’t be ignored any longer, have yourself squirted full of morphia and shuffle off in a coma. Thoroughly sensible, humane and scientific, eh? Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), British author. Bruno Rontini, in Time Must Have a Stop, ch. 26 (1944). But in his 1936 novel Eyeless in Gaza, ch. 31, Huxley wrote, "Death . . . the only thing we haven’t succeeded in completely vulgarizing."
Aldous Huxley Rumors Of Mortality A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumour. Aldous Huxley (1894–1963), British author. Themes and Variations, "Variations on a Baroque Tomb" (1950).
Sylvia Plath Dying Sylvia Plath (1932-63), U.S. poet. Lady Lazarus.
Erica Jong Love Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. . . . It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more. Erica Jong (b. 1942), U.S. author. Hans, in How to Save Your Own Life, "Intuition, extuition . . ." (1977).
C. S. Lewis The Reality Of Illusion It is hard to have patience with people who say "There is no death" or "Death doesn’t matter." There is death. And whatever is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are irrevocable and irreversible. You might as well say that birth doesn’t matter. C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), British author. A Grief Observed, pt. 1 (1961).
George Bernard Shaw Consequences Nothing is worth doing unless the consequences may be serious. George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Anglo-Irish playwright, critic. Hypatia, in Misalliance.
John Cheever Our Perceptions Of "Spirituality" We praise Him, we bless Him, we adore Him, we glorify Him, and we wonder who is that baritone across the aisle and that pretty woman on our right who smells of apple blossoms. Our bowels stir and our cod itches and we amend our prayers for the spiritual life with the hope that it will not be too spiritual. John Cheever (1912–82), U.S. author. John Cheever: The Journals, "The Late Forties and the Fifties" (ed. by Robert Gottlieb, 1991), entry for 1956.
Henry Miller Growth All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience. Henry Miller (1891–1980), U.S. author. The Wisdom of the Heart, "The Absolute Collective" (1947).
Martin Luther King Disappointment There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68), U.S. clergyman, civil rights leader. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (published in Why We Can’t Wait, 1963).
Friedrich Nietzsche Life and Death Let us beware of saying that death is the opposite of life. The living being is only a species of the dead, and a very rare species. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), German philosopher. The Gay Science, aph. 109 (rev. ed., 1887).
James Baldwin Belief We have all had the experience of finding that our reactions and perhaps even our deeds have denied beliefs we thought were ours. James Baldwin (1924–87), U.S. author. “The Crusade of Indignation,” in Nation (New York, 7 July 1956; repr. in The Price of the Ticket, 1985).
Golo Mann Truth Closest to the truth are those who deal lightly with it because they know it is inexhaustible. Golo Mann (b. 1909), German historian, son of Thomas Mann. Quoted in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Thomas Mann and His Family, “Golo Mann: The Liberation of an Unloved One” (1987; tr. 1989), of satirist Heinrich Heine.
Henrik Ibsen Truth I’m plotting revolution against this lie that the majority has a monopoly of the truth. What are these truths that always bring the majority rallying round? Truths so elderly they are practically senile. And when a truth is as old as that, gentlemen, you can hardly tell it from a lie. Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906), Norwegian dramatist. Dr. Stockmann, in An Enemy of the People, act 4.
Jean Cocteau Truth There are truths which one can only say after having won the right to say them. Jean Cocteau (1889–1963), French author, filmmaker. Le Rappel à l’Ordre, “Le Coq et l’Arlequin” (1926; repr. in Collected Works, vol. 9, 1950).
Alexander Pope Learning
A little learning is a dangerous thing; Alexander Pope (1688–1744), English satirical poet. An Essay on Criticism. Pieria was the fabled birthplace of the muses.
Samuel Butler Life and Living Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises. Samuel Butler (1835–1902), English author. Notebooks, ch. 1 (1912).
Charles Horton Cooley Individuality Each man must have his “I”; it is more necessary to him than bread; and if he does not find scope for it within the existing institutions he will be likely to make trouble. Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929), U.S. sociologist. Human Nature and the Social Order, ch. 6 (1902).
Saul Alinsky Individuality The greatest enemy of individual freedom is the individual himself. Saul Alinsky (1909–72), U.S. radical activist. Rules for Radicals, Prologue (1971).
Susan Sontag Psychology A large part of the popularity and persuasiveness of psychology comes from its being a sublimated spiritualism: a secular, ostensibly scientific way of affirming the primacy of “spirit” over matter. Susan Sontag (b. 1933), U.S. essayist. Illness As Metaphor, ch. 7 (1978).
Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Religion It is not God that is worshipped but the group or authority that claims to speak in His name. Sin becomes disobedience to authority not violation of integrity. Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975), Indian philosopher, statesman. Quoted in: J. A. C. Brown, Techniques of Persuasion, ch. 11 (1965), speaking of organized religion.
Michel de Montaigne Religion Oh senseless man, who cannot possibly make a worm, and yet will make Gods by dozens. Michel de Montaigne (1533–92), French essayist. Essays, bk. 2, ch. 12, “An Apology of Raimond Sebond” (tr. by John Florio, 1580).
Václav Havel Hope Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. Václav Havel (b. 1936), Czech playwright, president. Disturbing the Peace, ch. 5 (1986; tr. 1990).
William Shakespeare Despair
O God, O God, William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English dramatist, poet. Hamlet, in Hamlet, act 1, sc. 2 in his first soliloquy of the play, voicing his unhappiness at his mother’s marrying Claudius so soon after his father’s death.
Salman Rushdie Self-knowledge Our lives teach us who we are. Salman Rushdie (b. 1947), Indian-born British author. Independent on Sunday (London, 4 Feb. 1990).
Logan Pearsall Smith Friends I can’t forgive my friends for dying; I don’t find these vanishing acts of theirs at all amusing. Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946), U.S. essayist, aphorist. Afterthoughts, “Age and Death” (1931).
James Montgomery Home
Yet nightly pitch my moving tent, James Montgomery (1771–1854), English poet. At Home in Heaven.
Robert Wilensky Chance We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. Computer science sage Robert Wilensky
Rebecca West Experience
There is no wider gulf in the
universe
Rebecca West (1892-1983),
British author.
Aldous Huxley Experience
Experience is not a matter of
having
Henry James Experience
The power to guess the unseen
from the
Henry James (1843-1916), U.S.
author. The
Aldous Huxley
Goodness Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), British author. Grey Eminence, ch. 10 (1941).
Note: Most of these quotes were obtained from: Microsoft Bookshelf 98- Book of Quotes, most of which were taken from the Columbia Dictionary of Quotations. Copyright © 1993, 1995 by Columbia University Press. # 46 I must have gotten off the internet somewhere. Attributed last words of a few famous people. *********************
It is very beautiful over there. ***
God will pardon me, that's his line of work. ***
Let us cross over the river and sit in the shade of the
trees. ***
Either that wallpaper goes, or I do. ***
Go away. I'm all right.
Note: These attributed Last Words were obtained from: |
