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Hope

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“For what did the creator prepare me, Why did he so terribly contradict The hopes of my youth?...”
Mikhail Lermontov (1814–1841) first seen 1837 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: My future is in darkness..." (1837)
“To the earth I gave the earthly tribute Of love, hopes, good and evil; I am ready to begin another life, I am silent and wait: the time has come; I shall leave no brother in this world, And dark and cold embrace My tired soul; Like a premature fruit, deprived of sap, It withered in the storms of fate Under the burning sun of existence.”
Mikhail Lermontov (1814–1841) first seen 1838 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I look upon the future with fear..." (1838)
“Elaine Kendall of the Los Angeles Times calls Dershowitz "the attorney of last resort for the desperate and despised, counselor for lost causes and forlorn hopes.”
Alan Dershowitz (born 1938) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Contemporary Authors Online (Gale, 2003-12-05).
“[W]hen the power of speaking was taken away, what was there left but the patience of implicit submission? What hopes could be entertained that grievances would be removed when those who felt them dared not complain? In such a case, it would give him but little anxiety that a spirit of resistance was found impossible to be suppressed.”
Charles James Fox (1749–1806) first seen 1795 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons against the Treason Bill and Seditious Practices Bill (17 November 1795), quoted in The Speeches of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox, in the House of Commons. Vol. VI (1815), p. 26
“For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay — Except the dream that's almost dead today.”
Langston Hughes (1901–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our poems formulate the implications of ourselves, what we feel within and dare make real (or bring action into accordance with), our fears, our hopes, our most cherished terrors.”
Audre Lorde (1934–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’ve got demons in my past so I’ve got daughters on the way, If the prophecy is correct then the child should have to pay, For the sins of the father so I barter my tomorrows against my yesterday’s In hopes that she’ll be okay”
Jay-Z (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The person who wants nothing, hopes for nothing, and fears nothing can never be an artist.”
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) first seen 1892 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to A.S. Suvorin (November 25, 1892)
“Our hopes, like towering falcons, aim At objects in an airy height; The little pleasure of the game Is from afar to view the flight.”
Matthew Prior (1664–1721) first seen 1692 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To the Honorable Charles Montague (1692).
“I 've lately had two spiders Crawling upon my startled hopes. Now though thy friendly hand has brush'd 'em from me, Yet still they crawl offensive to my eyes: I would have some kind friend to tread upon 'em.”
Colley Cibber (1671–1757) said by 1757 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perspective is that part of a poem, novel, or play which a writer never puts directly upon paper. It is that fixed point in intellectual space where a writer stands to view the struggles, hopes, and sufferings of his people. There are times when he may stand too close and the result is a blurred vision. Or he may stand too far away and the result is a neglect of important things.”
Richard Wright (1908–1960) said by 1960 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wild dreams! but such As Plato lov'd; such as with holy zeal Our Milton worshipp'd. Blessed hopes! awhile From man with-held, even to the latter days When Christ shall come, and all things be fulfill'd.”
Robert Southey (1774–1843) said by 1843 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh, ever thus, from childhood's hour, I 've seen my fondest hopes decay; I never loved a tree or flower But 't was the first to fade away. I never nurs'd a dear gazelle, To glad me with its soft black eye, But when it came to know me well And love me, it was sure to die.”
Thomas Moore (1779–1852) said by 1852 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Take the joy and bear the sorrow, looking past your hopes and fears: learn to recognize the measured dance that orders all our years.”
Archilochus (688–645 BC) said by 645 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Morgot and Myra would tell her there wasn’t any reason to make promises or seek changes because the Great Mother didn’t bargain. The deity didn’t change her mind for women’s convenience. Her way was immutable. As the temple servers said, “No sentimentality, no romance, no false hopes, no self-petting lies, merely that which is!” Which left very little room, Stavia thought, for womanly initiative.”
Sheri S. Tepper (1929–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was as if he had heard what I wanted," she said. But a skilled magician can do that, and it would be wrong to see Sai Baba as a conjurer. He has channeled the hopes and energies of his followers into constructive directions, both spiritual and philanthropic.”
Shashi Tharoor (born 1956) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Hindu, "Reality - Spiritual and Virtual", Nov 10, 2002 Available Online.
“Know, man hath all which Nature hath, but more, And in that more lie all his hopes of good.”
Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) said by 1888 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Experimentally she thinks about dumping toxic waste in pristine wilderness and killing the last great apes on earth with a club. She still finds both those thoughts disgusting. This is a relief; it seems to her that she’s just selfish, not evil. She was always taught they’re the same thing. She hopes she remembers, when she gets out of all this, that they’re not.”
John Barnes (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lord, for the erring thought Not into evil wrought: Lord, for the wicked will Betrayed and baffled still: For the heart from itself kept, Our thanksgiving accept. For ignorant hopes that were Broken to our blind prayer: For pain, death, sorrow, sent Unto our chastisement: For all loss of seeming good, Quicken our gratitude.”
William Dean Howells (1837–1920) said by 1920 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I half wrote a discourse on modern democracy, how the rule of numbers is to be reconciled with the rule of sage judgment, and the passion for liberty and equality is to be reconciled with sovereign regard for law, authority, and order; and how our hopes for the future are to be linked to wise reverence for tradition and the past.”
John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn (1838–1923) first seen 1887 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'Aphorisms', an address delivered before the Edinburgh Philosophical Institutions (11 November 1887), quoted in John Morley, Studies in Literature (1901), p. 54
“Memory is not just the imprint of the past time upon us; it is the keeper of what is meaningful for our deepest hopes and fears.”
Rollo May (1909–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In practice we always base our preparations against an enemy on the assumption that his plans are good; indeed, it is right to rest our hopes not on a belief in his blunders, but on the soundness of our provisions. Nor ought we to believe that there is much difference between man and man, but to think that the superiority lies with him who is reared in the severest school.”
Thucydides (461–395 BC) said by 395 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No inventor could introduce an invention, however excellent, unless he could get capitalists to take it up, and this usually they would not do unless the inventor relinquished to them most of his hopes of profit from the discovery.”
Edward Bellamy (1850–1898) said by 1898 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hopes were only shadows that too often vanished in the pitiless light of reality.”
Harry Turtledove (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise! One thing at least is certain — This Life flies.”
Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) said by 1131 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: LXIII (1889)
“Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise! One thing at least is certain — This Life flies; One thing is certain and the rest is Lies; The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.”
Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) said by 1131 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: LXIII (5th ed. 1889)
“I consider it vitally important to preserve the democratic achievements which have been attained in the last few years. We have paid with all our history and tragic experience for these democratic achievements, and they are not to be abandoned, whatever the circumstances, and whatever the pretexts. Otherwise, all our hopes for the best will be buried.”
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If one looks at the evolution of Europe, you can say we've got a customs union, we've got the common agricultural policy, we've got certain other forms of integration and cohesion, but many of the hopes of the founding fathers are still very far from being realized.”
Roy Jenkins (1920–2003) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with The Times (5 January 1977), p. 8
“Don’t mourn your luck that’s failing now, work gone wrong, your plans all proving deceptive — don’t mourn them uselessly. As one long prepared, and graced with courage, say goodbye to her, the Alexandria that is leaving. Above all, don’t fool yourself, don’t say it was a dream, your ears deceived you: don’t degrade yourself with empty hopes like these.”
Constantine P. Cavafy (1863–1933) first seen 1911 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The God Abandons Antony (1911).
“He who hopes to grow in spirit will have to transcend obedience and respect. He'll hold to some laws but he'll mostly violate both law and custom, and go beyond the established, inadequate norm. Sensual pleasures will have much to teach him. He won't be afraid of the destructive act: half the house will have to come down. This way he'll grow virtuously into wisdom.”
Constantine P. Cavafy (1863–1933) first seen 1903 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Growing in Spirit (1903)
“[It is] a question of personal appeal and conviction, rather than any argument. The cards I fancy are sympathy, understanding of his hopes, suspicions and disappointments, but above all, striving to convey to him, through what one says, a real echo of the sincerity that pervaded your doings in London.”
Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (1881–1959) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter (16 February 1931), quoted in Birkenhead, Halifax (1965), p. 296
“The first opinion the Court ever filed has a dissenting opinion. Dissent is a tradition of this Court... When someone is writing for the Court, he hopes to get eight others to agree with him, so many of the majority opinions are rather stultified.”
William O. Douglas (1898–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with the New York Times (29 October 1973).
“I say to my colleagues never confine your best work, your hopes, your dreams, the aspiration of the American people to what will be signed by George W. Bush because that is too limiting a factor.”
Nancy Pelosi (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I write about race in America in hopes of undermining the notion of race in America.”
Richard Rodriguez (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is more real antiquity in the Veda than in all the inscriptions of Egypt or Ninevah . . . old thoughts, old hopes, old faith, and old errors, the old Man altogether. (Müller 1895: 1.75–76)”
Max Müller (1823–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Max Muller, quoted in Dorothy M. Figueira, Aryans, Jews, Brahmins: Theorizing Authority Through Myths of Identity, New Delhi, Navayana Publishing Pvt Ltd. (2002), Reprint 2017
“Just cause things aren't what they seem, it doesn't mean you shouldn't dream, just don't get your hopes too high, cause once things don't turn out right, your world comes crashing dow.”
Kris Roe (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are not to retreat from life, pinning our hopes on ‘elsewhere.’ but to know that we will come to that final destination best by living full here and now, be it through joy, or pain, or a mix of both.”
Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Beauty in this Iron Age must turn From fluid living rainbow shapes to torn And sootened fragments, ashes in an urn On whose gray surface runes are traced by a Norn Who hopes to wake the Future to arise In Phoenix-fashion, and to shine with rays To blast the sight of modern men whose dyes Of selfishness and lust have stained our days...”
Philip José Farmer (1918–2009) first seen 1953 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Beauty in This Iron Age" in Starlanes #11 (Fall 1953); re-published in Pearls From Peoria (2006)
“The history of the (Jewish) people is written in black ink, and has included a series of murders of the prophets, the Mujaheedin, and righteous people. Oh Sons of brave Mujaheedin...You have revived the hopes of this nation through your blessed Jihad...The Islamic nation will not spare money or effort in support of your cause, which is the supreme Muslim cause.”
Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais (born 1962) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Imam Sudayyis in a Friday Sermon at Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca: Either Victory or Martyrdom April 2004.
“At sixty I look back on a life of deep disappointments, of withered hopes, of unlooked for suffering, of severe discipline. Yet I have sometimes tasted exquisite joy and have found solace for many a woe in the innocence and earnest love of Theodore's children. But for this my life would have little to record of mundane pleasures.”
Sarah Grimké (1792–1873) first seen 1853 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Harriot Hunt (1853), as quoted in The Grimké Sisters from South Carolina: Pioneers for Woman's [sic] Rights and Abolition, p. 241, by Gerda Lerner. Editorial Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0195106032.
“If you'd listen, even for a little while I'd be pleased Remember, once more we were born into this world crying. Your dreams and hopes for tomorrow are all in this world.”
Ayumi Hamasaki (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The thought of Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni nursing secret, unfulfilled ambitions saddened Mma Ramotswe, as did the thought of people wanting something very much indeed and not getting the thing they yearned for. When we dismiss or deny the hopes of others, she thought, we forget that they, like us, have only one chance in this life.”
Alexander McCall Smith (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the United States and the United Nations truly want peace and security let them fulfill the hopes of the common people everywhere – let them work together to accomplish on a worldwide scale, precisely the kind of democratic association of free people which characterizes the Soviet Union today.”
Paul Robeson (1898–1976) first seen 1945 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Daily Worker (15 November 1945)
“The returning good sense of our country threatens abortion to their hopes, & they believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: and enough, too, in their opinion.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1800 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On members of the clergy who sought to establish some form of "official" Christianity in the U.S. government. Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush (23 September 1800)
“Life's visions are vanished, it's dreams are no more. Dear friends of my bosom, why bathed in tears? I go to my fathers; I welcome the shore, which crowns all my hopes, or which buries my cares. Then farewell my dear, my lov'd daughter, Adieu! The last pang in life is in parting from you. Two Seraphs await me, long shrouded in death; I will bear them your love on my last parting breath.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1782 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A death-bed Adieu from Th. J. to M. R." Jefferson's poem to his eldest child, Martha "Patsy" Randolph, written during his last illness in 1826. Two days before his death, Jefferson told Martha that in a certain drawer i…
“Enjoy the blessings Heaven bestows, Assist his friends, forgive his foes; Trust God, and keep his statutes still, Upright and firm, through good and ill;Thankful for all that God has given, Fixing his firmest hopes on heaven; Knowing that earthly joys decay, But hoping through the darkest day.”
Anne Brontë (1820–1849) said by 1849 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It may be we shall know in the hereafter Why we, begetting hopes, give birth to fears, And why the world's too beautiful for laughter, Too gross for tears.”
Percy Addleshaw (1866–1916) first seen 1895 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: It May Be (1895).
“Why, alas! is life decreed Full of pain and full of sorrow? All uncertain as it is, Can we rest upon to-morrow? Why should blessings yet in store, Hold us still in expectation? Leading thro' succeeding sorrows, By some fond anticipation: 'Tis to give a tender interest To the scenes in which we're moving: While those hopes so often blasted, Sensual pleasures are reproving.”
Elizabeth Bath (1776–1844) first seen 1806 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An Effusion", from Poems, on Various Occasions (1806)
“’T was ever thus from childhood’s hour! My fondest hopes would not decay: I never loved a tree or flower Which was the first to fade away.”
Charles Stuart Calverley (1831–1884) said by 1884 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Disaster; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Compare:
“At the back of their personal troubles, hopes and fears, this less immediate trepidation grew, this intangible suggestion of change, that most unforgivable of all heresies.”
Mervyn Peake (1911–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source