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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“The harder the rain, the lower the flowers in the garden bend: I'd rather never talk again Than to continue to pretend that this never ends.”
Aaron Weiss wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sydneian showers Of sweet discourse, whose powers Can crown old Winter’s head with flowers.”
Richard Crashaw (1612–1649) said by 1649 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Sir John Denham
“The flowers you gave me are rotting And still I refuse to throw them away”
Regina Spektor (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The flowers of the forest are a’ wide awae.”
Jean Elliot (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Jane Elliott
“I went for a walk through the streets. My God, here I was again, roaming the town. I looked at the faces around me, and I knew mine was like theirs. Faces with the blood drained away, tight faces, worried, lost. Faces like flowers torn from their roots and stuffed into a pretty vase, the colors draining fast. I had to get away from that town.”
John Fante (1909–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nor rough, nor barren, are the winding ways Of hoar antiquity, but strown with flowers.”
Thomas Warton (1728–1790) first seen 1777 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sonnet Written in a Blank Leaf of Dugdale's Monasticon" (1777), line 13.
“Let me slumber in the hollow where the wattle blossoms wave, With never stone or rail to fence my bed; Should the sturdy station children pull the bush flowers on my grave, I may chance to hear them romping overhead.”
Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–1870) first seen 1870 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Sick Stockrider", in Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes (1870)
“The heart of God through his creation stirs, We thrill to feel it, trembling as the flowers That die to live again, — his messengers, To keep faith firm in these sad souls of ours.The waves of Time may devastate our lives, The frosts of age may check our failing breath, They shall not touch the spirit that survives Triumphant over doubt and pain and death.”
Celia Thaxter (1835–1894) first seen 1868 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rockweeds" in The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 21 (March 1868), p. 269
“at night we glimpsed the flowers blooming between women's legs but we were vegetarians and misogynists”
Lajos Kassák (1887–1967) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A ló meghal a madarak kirepülnek" ("The Horse Dies the Birds Fly Away"), 1922, translated by Edwin Morgan.
“I hied me off to Arcady— The month it was the month of May, And all along the pleasant way The morning birds were mad with glee, And all the flowers sprang up to see, As I went on to Arcady.”
Louise Chandler Moulton (1835–1908) said by 1908 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Note in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919):— Compare Henry Cuyler Bunner, "The Way to Arcady".
“I dwell no more in Arcady:— But when the sky is blue with May, And flowers spring up along the way, And birds are blithe, and winds are free, I know what message is for me,— Fotr I have been in Arcady.”
Louise Chandler Moulton (1835–1908) said by 1908 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every man who becomes heartily and understandingly a channel of the Divine beneficence, is enriched through every league of his life. Perennial satisfaction springs around and within him with perennial verdure. Flowers of gratitude and gladness bloom all along his pathway, and the melodious gurgle of the blessings he bears is echoed back by the melodious waves of the recipient stream.”
Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Too late I stayed,—forgive the crime! Unheeded flew the hours; How noiseless falls the foot of time That only treads on flowers.”
William Robert Spencer (1770–1834) said by 1834 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lines to Lady A. Hamilton, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Compare: "The inaudible and noiseless foot of Time", William Shakespeare, All's Well that Ends Well, Act v. Scene 3.
“And for a fortnight there, we were forever Run into you sometimes, ask about the weather Now you're in my backyard, turned into good neighbors Your wife waters flowers, I wanna kill her”
Taylor Swift (born 1989) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The world is in his cloak -- figures peer out of its folds -- mythological figures and snakes and pigs and flowers, naked fauns and heavy-breasted sirens and horses' heads -- they sprawl on the flagstones at his feet and peep out from under his arms...”
Peter Greenaway (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She picks up the baby and contemplates the Bonsai-bush, and, as we watch, in the growing half-dark, the Bonsai-bush flowers. On the black-and-white film, the thousands of flower-petals blush a deep red.”
Peter Greenaway (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pale in her fading bowers the Summer stands, Like a new Niobe with claspèd hands, Silent above the flowers, her children lost, Slain by the arrows of the early frost.”
Richard Henry Stoddard (1825–1903) first seen 1852 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In the earlier version, the third line is: "Mute o'er the faded flowers, her children lost" (Poems, 1852, p. 31).
“Let every birthday be a festival, a time when the gladness of the house finds expression in flowers, in gifts, in a little fête. Never should a birthday be passed over without note, or as if it were a common day, never should it cease to be a garlanded milestone in the road of life.”
Margaret Elizabeth Sangster (1838–1912) said by 1912 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sunlight of a sunlit land, A land of fruit, of flowers, and A land of love and calm delight; A land where night is not like night, And noon is but a name for rest, And love for love is reckoned best. Where conversations of the eyes Are all enough; where beauty thrills The heart like hues of harvest-home; Where rage lies down, where passion dies, Where peace hath her abiding place. . . .”
Joaquin Miller (1837–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A thousand miles of mighty wood Where thunder-storms stride fire-shod; A thousand flowers every rod, A stately tree on every rood; Ten thousand leaves on every tree, And each a miracle to me; And yet there be men who question God!”
Joaquin Miller (1837–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Dear, I took these trackless masses Fresh from Him who fashioned them; Wrought in rock, and hewed fair passes, Flower set, as sets a gem.Aye, I built in woe. God willed it; Woe that passeth ghosts of guilt. Yet I built as His birds builded — Builded singing as I built.All is finished! Roads of flowers Wait your loyal little feet. All completed? Nay, the hours Till you come are incomplete.”
Joaquin Miller (1837–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O flowers! the soul that faints or grieves New comfort from your lips receives; Sweet confidence and patient faith are hidden in your leaves.”
Elizabeth Chase Allen (1832–1911) said by 1911 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The national dress of Great Britain is, from the ground up, a pair of Roman sandals, a kilt, a gunbelt, a t-shirt bearing the likeness of Mr. T, a garland of flowers and a horned Viking helmet. (How to be British)”
Ben Croshaw (born 1983) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They were burning the stubbled fields and a great stain of smoke flooded the horizon. Nothing amiss here, nothing derelict, the roofs newly thatched, the hedges trimmed, the gardens bright with flowers.”
Beryl Bainbridge (1932–2010) said by 2010 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There's no dearth of kindness In this world of ours; Only in our blindness We gather thorns for flowers.”
Gerald Massey (1828–1907) said by 1907 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: There's no Dearth of Kindness, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Early on, I made the mistake of wanting spiritual feelings to endure and remain romantic. Like a new couple expecting to always feel in love, I operated my faith thinking God and I were going to walk around smelling flowers. When this didn't happen, I became confused.”
Don Miller (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The flowers left thick at nightfall in the wood This Eastertide call into mind the men, Now far from home, who, with their sweethearts, should Have gathered them and will do never again.”
Edward Thomas (poet) first seen 1915 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Memoriam (Easter 1915)", line 1, cited from Collected Poems (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978), p. 173.
“If April showers Should come your way, They bring the flowers That bloom in May.”
Buddy de Sylva (1895–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sweet ladies, long may ye bloom, and toughly I hope ye may thole, But was she not lucky? In flowers and lace and mourning, In love and great honour we bade God rest her soul After six little spaces of chill, and six of burning.”
John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974) said by 1974 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I only included things that everybody likes, like violence, flowers, children, women, friendship and death.”
Tomonobu Itagaki (1967–2025) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Talking about his Ninja Gaiden II game in the Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2008, p. B8, "The Game Turns Serious".
“I send thee pansies while the year is young, Yellow as sunshine, purple as the night; Flowers of remembrance, ever fondly sung By all the chiefest of the Sons of Light.”
Sarah Doudney (1841–1926) said by 1926 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For the flower glorifies God and the root parries the adversary. For the flowers have their angels even the words of God's Creation.”
Christopher Smart (1722–1771) said by 1771 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For flowers are peculiarly the poetry of Christ.”
Christopher Smart (1722–1771) said by 1771 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, in the poor man's garden grow Far more than herbs and flowers— Kind thoughts, contentment, peace of mind, And joy for weary hours.”
Mary Howitt (1799–1888) said by 1888 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The poor Man's , reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Buttercups and Daisies— Oh, the pretty flowers, Coming ere the spring time, To tell of sunny hours.”
Mary Howitt (1799–1888) first seen 1837 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Buttercups and Daisies," The Christmas Library: Birds and flowers and other country things, Volume 1 (1837).
“The universe appears to me like an immense, inexorable torture-garden…Passions, greed, hatred, and lies; social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism, and religion: these are its monstrous flowers and its hideous instruments of eternal human suffering.” (Garden of Tortures)”
Octave Mirbeau (1848–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Meet me by moonlight alone, And then I will tell you a tale Must be told by the moonlight alone, In the grove at the end of the vale! You must promise to come, for I said I would show the night-flowers their queen. Nay, turn not away that sweet head, 'T is the loveliest ever was seen.”
J. Augustine Wade (1796–1845) said by 1845 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Meet me by Moonlight, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“You pulled out a gun, and you shot the gun over FLOWERS! Are you a MORON?!! ... You should be hiding under a rock, not acting as plaintiff in a lawsuit!”
Judith Sheindlin (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the roots of grammar, the stems of logic and the flowers of rhetoric take their being.”
Josephine Miles (1911–1985) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Style and Proportion The Language of Prose and Poetry"(1967) Little Brown and Company (INC.)
“No matter how much leaves are fixed face to face they always look at each other aslant, whereas all fruits end up head-on however carelessly jumbled. A bunch of flowers is a house of colored cards. A heap of fruit is a hive of colored bees.”
Malcolm de Chazal (1902–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The path which leads to the mount bf ascension does not lie among flowers; and he who travels it must climb the cold hillside, he must have his feet cut by the pointed rocks, he must faint in the dark valley, he must not seldom have his rest at midnight on the desert sand.”
Henry Giles (1809–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I know that as night and shadows are good for flowers, and moonlight and dews are better than a continual sun, so is Christ's absence of special use, and that it hath some nourishing virtue in it, and giveth sap to humility, and putteth an edge on hunger, and furnisheth a fair field for faith to put forth itself.”
Samuel Rutherford (1600–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We might well call this short Mock-play of ours A Posie made of Weeds instead of Flowers; Yet such have been presented to your noses, And there are such, I fear, who thought 'em Roses.”
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1627–1687) said by 1687 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The United Nations is useless...and also harmful. It is a land that flowers demagoguery with a bunch of newborn countries, devoid of any tradition.”
António de Oliveira Salazar (1889–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Memories of an unfinished war: Canada, the United States and the decolonization process in Angola, page 153; By Manuel Francisco Gomes; Collaborator Alberto João Jardim; Published by Edições Colibri, 2006, , 9…
“He who has two cakes of bread, let him dispose of one of them for some flowers of the narcissus; for bread is the food of the body, and the narcissus is the food of the soul.”
Galen (129–300) said by 300 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Arabian Society In The Middle Ages, by Edward William Lane, (1883) citing Nowwájee, En-, Shems-ed-deen Moḥammad (died 1454), Ḥalbet El-Kumeyt, at footnote 167.
“No life is so charming as a country one in England, and no flowers are sweeter or more lovely than the primroses, cowslips, bluebells, and violets that grow in abundance all around me here.”
Marianne North (1830–1890) said by 1890 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Recollections of a Happy Life:Being the autobiography of Marianne North, ed. Mrs John Addington Symonds, Macmillan (1892).
“Rain was the nemesis of the snow, and the snow for the flowers. I Answer as if Someone Really Meant to Ask, Birds of the Mind and Chameleons of the Heart (1978).”
Avner Strauss (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I thought that prattling boys and girls Would fill this empty room; That my rich heart would gather flowers From childhood's opening bloom.One child and two green graves are mine, This is God's gift to me; A bleeding, fainting, broken heart— This is my gift to Thee.”
Elizabeth Prentiss (1818–1878) first seen 1852 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. V: "In the School of Suffering", § II, p. 138 ("My Nursery. 1852", lines written following the deaths that year of two of her first three children).
“No flowers, by request.”
Alfred Ainger (1837–1904) said by 1904 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comment upon the style of the , made at the dinner in its honour. Quoted in Edith Sichel, "Canon Ainger", The Quarterly Review, no. 402 (January 1905) p. 177
“Somebody once said that a wedding is a funeral where you can smell your own flowers. Well, that's a harsh judgement in my book. I prefer to see it as a sexual relationship that is recognised by the police.”
John Cooper Clarke (born 1949) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Series 1 - Twisted Romance (2 Nov 2016)