Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Said in the 1700s
“We are the boys That fear no noise Where the thundering cannons roar.”
Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774) said by 1774 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He proposes by this means to cure intermitting Fevers, by having the Air in the Room rarefied in the cold Fit, and condensed in the hot Fit; during the whole time of which, the Patient is to continue therein: And recommends the use of it, among other Distempers, to cure the Stone and the Pox.”
Stephen Hales (1677–1761) said by 1761 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is bad policy to fear the resentment of an enemy.”
Ethan Allen (1738–1789) said by 1789 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Response, refusing instructions by a timid Continental Congress to move war matériel captured from the British to a place of safe keeping until it could be returned; as quoted in "In the name of the Great Jehovah and th…
“Sir, a man might write such stuff for ever, if he would abandon his mind to it.”
James Macpherson (1736–1796) first seen 1207 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Samuel Johnson, quoted in James Boswell Life of Johnson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989) p. 1207.
“The course of Nature is the art of God.”
Edward Young (1683–1765) first seen 1267 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Line 1267.
“The landed men are the true owners of our political vessel, the moneyed men are no more than passengers in it.”
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (1678–1751) said by 1751 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Some Reflections on the Present State of the Nation (1753)
“That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.”
George Mason (1725–1792) first seen 1776 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Virginia Bill of Rights, Article 16 (12 June 1776); Henry was on the committee which drafted the Virginia constitution and he supported this Bill, but it is not clear to what extent he was the author of any portion of i…
Also quoted by: Patrick Henry (misattributed)
“What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom.”
Adam Smith (1723–1790) said by 1790 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I for one will never be accessory to subjecting my country to the control of France merely to get rid of England.”
Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763–1798) first seen 1763 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diary (13 April 1796), quoted in T. W. Moody, R. B. McDowell and C. J. Woods (eds.), The Writings of Theobald Wolfe Tone, 1763–98, Volume II: America, France and Bantry Bay, August 1795 to December 1796 (2001), p. 154
“After a storm comes a calm.”
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) said by 1714 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Mathew Henry
“Women, in my observation, have little or no difference in them, but as they are or are not distinguished by education.”
Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) said by 1731 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If a favour is asked of you, grant it if you can. If not, refuse it in such a manner as that one denial may be sufficient.”
James Burgh (1714–1775) said by 1775 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This extremely interesting girl, after giving me a single glance from her beautiful eyes, stubbornly refused to look at me again. My vanity at once made me think that it was only so that I would be at full liberty to study her impeccable beauty. It was on this girl that I instantly set my sights, as if all Europe were only a seraglio provided for my pleasures.”
Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798) said by 1798 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: History of My Life (trans. Trask 1967), 1997 reprint, v. 7, chapter 2, p. 19
“People will no more advance their civility to a bear, than their money to a bankrupt.”
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) first seen 1753 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 25 December 1753
“Ce corps qui s'appelait et qui s'appelle encore le saint empire romain n'était en aucune manière ni saint, ni romain, ni empire.”
Voltaire (1694–1778) first seen 1756 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Essai sur l'histoire générale et sur les mœurs et l'esprit des nations, Chapter 70 (1756)
“I find we are growing serious, and then we are in great danger of being dull.”
William Congreve (1670–1729) said by 1729 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A flower, when offered in the bud, Is no vain sacrifice.”
Isaac Watts (1674–1748) said by 1748 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Englishmen say that it is better that twelve culprits should escape human justice rather than that one innocent man should perish.”
César-François de Saussure (1705–1783) said by 1783 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is visible then that it was not any Heathen Religion or other Idolatrous Superstition, that first put Man upon crossing his Appetites and subduing his dearest Inclinations, but the skilful Management of wary Politicians; and the nearer we search into human Nature, the more we shall be convinced, that the Moral Virtues are the Political Offspring which Flattery begot upon Pride.”
Bernard Mandeville (1670–1733) said by 1733 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“His rash ambition had climbed a height where it was difficult to stand with firmness, and impossible to fall without instant destruction.”
Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) said by 1794 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am content; that is a blessing greater than riches; and he to whom that is given need ask no more.”
Henry Fielding (1707–1754) said by 1754 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Emulation is a handsome passion; it is enterprising, but just withal. It keeps a man within the terms of honor, and makes the contest for glory just and generous. He strives to excel, but it is by raising himself, not by depressing others.”
Jeremy Collier (1650–1726) said by 1726 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have sometimes thought that a squire and a vestry were a king and republic in miniature. The vestry is as tyrannic, in its way, as the squire in his. Any power necessarily leads to abuses of that power. It is difficult to stop any impetus of nature.”
Horace Walpole (1717–1797) said by 1797 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.”
John Wesley (1703–1791) first seen 1777 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter (10 December 1777)