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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“An honest curator will admit that judgement is fallible, especially for art made yesterday.”
Nicholas Serota (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My dear Duret, I went to see Monet yesterday. I found him heart-broken and completely on the rocks. He asked me to find him someone who would take from ten to twenty of his paintings at their choice, for 111 fr. apiece. Shall we do it between us, making 500 fr. each? Naturally, no one, least of all he, must know that it is we who are doing it..”
Édouard Manet (1832–1883) first seen 1875 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from Manet's letter to the Paris' art-critic Théodore Duret, 1875, as quoted in Letters of the great artists – from Blake to Pollock -, Richard Friedenthal, Thames and Hudson, London, 1963, p. 121
“Someday I must be able to paint truly remarkable colors. Yesterday I held in my lap a wide, silver-gray satin ribbon, which I edged with two narrower black, patterned silk ribbons. And I placed on top of these a plump, bottle-green velvet bow. I'd like to be able to paint something one day in those colors..”
Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) first seen 1897 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: excerpt of her Journal (1897); as quoted in Voicing our visions, – Writings by women artists; ed. Mara R. Witzling, Universe New York, 1991, p. 196
“Yesterday the Soros-funded far left group Media Matters made a big issue of Pat Robertson’s idiotic statement that the US should assassinate Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Today Robertson’s comment is all over mainstream media. Are we supposed to think it’s news that Robertson has a few screws loose?”
Charles Foster Johnson (born 1953) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: August 23, 2005
“When i say Abhinaya, oh, I can't do the abhinaya like what the great man did here yesterday” - Great Bharatanatyam dancer Balasaraswati next day after Chakyar's lecture-demonstration at Madras Music Academy in 1973.”
Mani Madhava Chakyar (1899–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gone, lost, scattered to the four winds. It still surprises me how little now remains, one first person sing., temporarily declined in human form, just now making such a fuss about a blue umbrella left yesterday on a bus.”
Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have been thinking about our conversation and about your book, and I am afraid that I expressed myself badly yesterday. When I said that one may love and be loved at any age I ought to have added that sometimes this love comes too late. It comes when one no longer has the right to prove to the loved one how much she is loved, except by love's sacrifice.”
Paul Bourget (1852–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You gave me the key of your heart, my love; Then why did you make me knock? Oh that was yesterday, saints above! And last night—I changed the lock!”
John Boyle O'Reilly (1844–1890) said by 1890 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fool hath said … The fool hath said And we, who deemed him wise, We, who believed that Thou wast dead, How should we seek Thine eyes?How should we seek to Thee for power, Who scorned Thee yesterday? How should we kneel in this dread hour? Lord, teach us how to pray.”
Alfred Noyes (1880–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Senator Douglas holds, we know, that a man may rightfully be wiser today than he was yesterday — that he may rightfully change when he finds himself wrong. But can we, for that reason, run ahead, and infer that he will make any particular change, of which he, himself, has given no intimation?”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Included in Portrait-Life of Lincoln (1910) by Francis T Miller
“I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.”
Spike Lee (born 1957) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mo' Better Blues (1990), character of Bleek Gilliam.
“The hounds are all fagged out after yesterday's Jehovah's Witnesses ... we do not want more blood all over the lawns again”
Vivian Stanshall (1943–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even today the official position of the Arabs, implicit or avowed, brutal or tactical, is nothing but a perpetuation of that anti-Semitism which we have experienced. Today, as yesterday, our life is at stake. But there will come a day when the Moslem Arabs will have to admit that we, the “Arab Jews” as well – if that is how they wish to call us – have the right to existence and to dignity.”
Albert Memmi (1920–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The history of human knowledge is nothing more than the realization that yesterday's pieties are actually shameful errors.”
Glenn Greenwald (born 1967) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: France's censorship demands to Twitter are more dangerous than 'hate speech'", The Guardian (January 2, 2013).
“… yesterday’s enemies are in power and from there, they are trying to establish a Marxist regime.”
Jorge Rafael Videla (1925–2013) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Alexei Barrionuevo (23 December 2010). "Argentina: Ex-Dictator Sentenced in Murders". The New York Times.
“At the opening of the Joburg Sexpo at Gallagher Estate in Midrand yesterday, Patch, who paints under the name Pricasso, elicited gasps of amazement from the hundreds of people who looked on.”
“The Hindenburg and Bleecker bastions were so strong that it was decided to bypass them on D-Day, and let this group of Nazis stew in their own juice. There was no hurry; the Germans couldn't do much damage there. They were completely isolated and could be cleaned out at will. Yesterday, the order came to blast them out.”
Bill Downs (1914–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you get to know a fellow, know his joys and know his cares, When you've come to understand him and the burdens that he bears, When you've learned the fight he's making and the troubles in his way, Then you find that he is different than you thought him yesterday. You find his faults are trivial and there's not so much to blame In the brother that you jeered at when you only knew his name.”
Edgar Guest (1881–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I unreservedly condemn the cowardly terrorist attacks in Ahmedabad, India, yesterday, killing and injuring a large number of persons, as well as the terrorist attacks in Bangalore the previous day.”
Mahinda Rajapaksa (born 1945) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa condeming the serial blasts in a statement. Int`l community says terror attacks in India "unacceptable" Zee News {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731012635/http:/…
“I must tell you, sir, that yesterday the pharisaical devil was let loose, cursed me and my little book, and condemned the book to the fire. He charged me with shocking vices; with being a scorner of both Church and Sacraments, and with getting drunk daily on brandy, wine, and beer; all of which is untrue; while he himself is a drunken man.”
Jakob Böhme (1575–1624) first seen 1624 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Writing about Gregorius Richter, chief pastor of Görlitz, who had condemned his writings (2 April 1624), as quoted in Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence (1910), edited by Paul Deussen, Introduction
“It matters little that there are thousands of beings plunged in the densest ignorance; He whom we saw yesterday is on earth; his presence is enough to prove that a day will come when darkness shall be transformed into light, and Thy reign shall actually be established upon earth.”
Mirra Alfassa (1878–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: When she met Sri Aurobindo for the first time with her husband Richards at rue Fransçois Martin at Pondicherry, quoted in "Diary notes and Meeting with Sri Aurobindo", and also in Biblio, Volume 3 Asia-Pacific Communica…
“I had rather thought I was yesterday's man.”
Mark Tully (1935–2026) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: ""It's Sir Mark Tully in UK honors list" CNN (31 December 2001)
“Yesterday Sisley was looking for me everywhere. Madame Latouche told me that he wanted some information about the technique of painting fans. Well, this means my fans are spoken of.. .I only fear one thing: that they will finally say that's all I am good for! [fans!]”
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) first seen 1886 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: letter, Paris, 5 February 1886, to his son Lucien; in Camille Pissarro - Letters to His Son Lucien ed. John Rewald, with assistance of Lucien Pissarro; from the unpublished French letters; transl. Lionel Abel; Pantheon …
“I stayed in bed all day yesterday, for instance, while she [Elizabeth Taylor] spent the entire day until well after midnight sitting in the main room, gossiping, etc. And, of course, inevitably sipping away at the drinks... What is more frightening is that she has become bored with everything in life.”
Richard Burton (1925–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have just completed a brigade return for the vacancies in the different regiments. My brigade is so dispersed that it is difficult getting returns seasonably. I should have made this return yesterday, but could not get Colonel Hand's until last evening.”
Nathanael Greene (1742–1786) said by 1786 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The enemy fell back to their strong ground, and the day terminated with a cannonade and skirmishes. Both armies continued in their position all day yesterday, cannonading each other every now and then. Last night we effected a very good retreat, without the loss of men or stores.”
Nathanael Greene (1742–1786) said by 1786 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I will not be a slave to my yesterday. I am creator, not a parrot.”
Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931) said by 1931 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter quoted in Eleonor Ruggles, The West Going Heart (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1959) ch. 71, p. 412
“I would like to inform you that yesterday (26 November 2022), I refused to use a Mercedes S600 vehicle that was purchased and obtained by the Prime Minister's Department before I came into office (of Prime Minister).”
Anwar Ibrahim (born 1947) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Anwar Ibrahim (2022) cited in: "PM Anwar Ibrahim to use existing vehicle at office, rejects Mercedes S600" in The Edge Markets, 28 November 2022.
“Thank God, my name isn't in the list of those who died or were killed yesterday!”
Suman Pokhrel (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Home was a dream she’d had yesterday. A place where children used to play. Among towers near the mountains, by a river, on curving sweeps of white or golden sand beside a palace at the edge of the sea.”
Guy Gavriel Kay (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Business reengineering isn't about fixing anything. Business reengineering means starting all over, starting from scratch. Business reengineering means putting aside much of the received wisdom of two hundred years of industrial management,... How people and companies did things yesterday doesn't matter to the business reengineer.”
Michael Hammer (1948–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The creation of a front against hegemonism is the number one priority today, as the creation of an anti-Nazi alliance was the number one priority yesterday. No European project can make any progress unless the strategy of the United States is put to flight.”
Samir Amin (1931–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yesterday I visited Rotterdam for a while.. .It is a beautiful city. Always turbulent, dirty and picturesque, especially the vest and the harbor-neighborhoods. For the newer city I don't care at all.”
George Hendrik Breitner (1857–1923) first seen 1882 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from Breitner's letter to A. P. van Stolk, The Hague, 8 Febr. 1882; as cited in Breitner en Parijs' – master-thesis 9928758], by Jacobine Wieringa, Faculty of Humanities Theses, Utrecht, (translation from the orig…
“Yesterday it was divinely beautiful [at Scheveningen beach]. These barges lay in dense rows against the slope [of the beach], and between them one walked as between a fancy-built city and from above between all those tarred hulls coal-black, gray, green and white, a deep blue sky. (translation from the original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek)”
George Hendrik Breitner (1857–1923) first seen 1883 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Breitner's letter to A.P. van Stolk, nr. 49, Den Haag 17 Dec. 1883; in the RKD-Archive, The Hague; as cited in the master-thesis Van Gogh en Breitner in Den Haag, Helewise Berger, University of Utrecht, The Netherlan…
“One’s own yesterday is a ghost that will not be laid. Death is the only exorcism.”
“Yesterday, we were a weak and small country trampled upon by big powers. Today, our geopolitical location remains the same, but we are transformed into a proud political and military power and an independent people that no one can dare provoke. The days are gone forever when our enemies could blackmail us with nuclear bombs.”
Kim Jong-un (born 1984) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: April 15th 2012 speech in Kim Il-Sung Square,
“I had a strong, Christian lawyer tell me yesterday that, under this decision that he has read, what it brings about is: It only requires one human being in this relationship -- that you could marry your lawnmower with this decision. I think he's right.”
Steve King (born 1949) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: July 1, 2015 (; ; ; ; )
“We have received some clues about yesterday's incident, which shows that a neighbouring country, and some terrorist organisations active there are behind it.”
L. K. Advani (born 1927) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Christian. Faith, Family, then Baseball. If what you did yesterday still seems big today, then you haven't done anything today!”
Aaron Judge (born 1992) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Little sister, do you know why humanity passes down ancient tales, from hand to hand, from generation to generation? It is so that each generation can add something that was not there yesterday. ...The miracle of today is in the hands of those who go unshod, their hearts bare.”
Chế Lan Viên (1920–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Translation as Transhumance by Mireille Gansel (Feminist Press, 2017),
“Wipe out the paints, unmould the clay, Let nothing remain of that yesterday.”
Kamala Surayya (1934–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yesterday’s woman was expected to have individual interests, caring for the brightness of the hearth fire and the comforts of the family group. Today she has inherited the community and the community’s welfare. Civics, religion and education have become her field of activity. She is homemaker and citizen.”
Aurelia Henry Reinhardt (1877–1948) first seen 1917 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Writing in Mills Quarterly in 1917, as quoted in
“In a racially diverse society, it makes sense to phase out state sanction for the battle flag — as South Carolina governor Nikki Haley advocated yesterday, in calling on the state legislature to vote for the removal of the battle flag that has been flying over the grounds of the state capitol...”
Victor Davis Hanson (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Made desperate attempts - worked for 3 weeks on a self-portrait [in Paris] intended for you, have scratched off everything yesterday! Maybe I can go on with it again in the studio [she was would get on the Rue des Plantes in Paris]. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
Charley Toorop (1891–1955) first seen 1930 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a letter from Paris, to art-seller C. van Lier, 11 Febr. 1930; in Archive Van Lier, R.K.D., The Hague
“A friend unexpectedly died yesterday. He was young. I searched my email because I remembered he recently sent a kind note. I had a response in my drafts that I never finished. I feel awful. A sad reminder life is short.”
Eric Swalwell (born 1980) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 10:37 PM tweet on Friday 3 Dec 2020
“Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested the expansion of a coal mine in Germany. We were kettled by police and then detained but were let go later that evening... Climate protection is not a crime.”
Greta Thunberg (born 2003) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted by: Reuters, Davos 2023: Greta Thunberg to meet IEA chief Birol, By Maha El Dahan, January 19, 2023
“Yesterday, a man sharing that member’s rhetoric tried to assassinate the Speaker and her spouse. What has @GOPLeader said? Nothing. This is who he is”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born 1989) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All I’m hearing is ‘I can’t’ when I needed that data yesterday. Go bore someone else with your excuses.”
David Walton (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All day yesterday she read a new kind of writing called poems. Some of them she read aloud. In places they were like chess—incomprehensible—and in other places they said strange and interesting things.”
Walter Tevis (1928–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source