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 first thing you learn in life is you’re a fool. The last thing you learn in life is you’re the same fool.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I had to strive for property and experience nausea and the depths of despair in order to learn not to resist them, in order to learn to love the world, and no longer compare it with some kind of desired imaginary world, some imaginary vision of perfection, but to leave it as it is, to love it and be glad to belong to it. These, Govinda, are some of the thoughts in my mind.”
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I started clipping and filing by categories on trends as early as 1930 and my "youngest" file was started in 1945. Span of time is important; the 3-legged stool of understanding is held up by history, languages, and mathematics. Equipped with these three you can learn anything you want to learn. But if you lack any one of them you are just another ignorant peasant with dung on your boots.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Happy Days Ahead" in Expanded Universe (1980)
“Prem Rawat's message is extremely simple. Extremely easy to learn and one wonders why we don't learn it when we're extremely small and keep it going that way. The secret of civil society seems to be no secret. We've heard sof rom Prem Rawat.”
Prem Rawat (born 1957) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cliff Hildebrand, President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Brisbane, April 2004
“Some people would rather drown our domes in blood than learn anything from history. Or learn anything at all.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don't let your heart depend on things That ornament life in a fleeting way! He who possesses, let him learn to lose, He who is fortunate, let him learn pain.”
Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) first seen 1803 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Die Braut von Messina (The Bride of Messina), Act IV, sc. iv (1803)
“Maya was very insistent that they learn their math well. “You’re getting a horrible education,” she would say, shaking her head darkly. “But if you learn your math you can catch up later.”
Kim Stanley Robinson (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook -- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”
Julia Child (1912–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go.”
Richard Bach (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences; all events are blessings given to us to learn from. There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub.”
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926–2004) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: Messenger of Love" by Lennie Kronisch in Yoga Journal, Issue 11, November-December 1976, pp. 18-20
“A few months ago I was visiting my mother, and she said that as a child I had always wanted to learn everything, and that it took me a long time to realize that you couldn't learn everything. I got really angry, and I shouted "I'm not done yet!”
Mark Jason Dominus (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Too often critics seem more intent on seeking new ways to alter Congress than to truly learn how it functions. They might well profit from the advice of Thomas Huxley, who said a century ago: "Sit down before facts as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion — or you shall learn nothing.”
Gerald Ford (1913–2006) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (3 November 1966); published in Gerald R. Ford,Selected Speeches (1973) edited by Michael V. Doyle
“Where have all the soldiers gone? Gone to graveyards, every one. Oh, when will they ever learn? Oh, when will they ever learn?”
Pete Seeger (1919–2014) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" (1955)
“The institution of marriage in all societies is a pattern within which the strains put by civilization on males and females alike must be resolved, a pattern within which men must learn, in return for a variety of elaborate rewards, new forms in which sexual spontaneity is still possible, and women must learn to discipline their receptivity to a thousand other considerations.”
Margaret Mead (1901–1978) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Male and Female" in Ladies' Home Journal, Vol. 66, (September 1949), p. 36;
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. ... People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love. ... For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/896523357272911872 Speaking via twitter on August 13, 2017 in response to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in harlottesville, Virginia and quoting Nelson Mandela. Archived via Waybac…
“I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering, “What if?” I would keep putting my dream to the test — even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there. If you can't live here, get back to YOUR roots and LEARN to live here!”
Alex Haley (1921–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Governments never learn. Only people learn.”
Milton Friedman (1912–2006) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement made in 1980, as quoted in The Cynic's Lexicon : A Dictionary Of Amoral Advice‎ (1984), by Jonathon Green, p. 77
“She had come to Aka to learn how to sing this world's tune, to dance its dance; and at last, she thought, away from the city's endless noise, she was beginning to hear the music and to learn how to move to it.”
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Knowing Yourself ...We also seldom know what gifts we are not endowed with. We will have to learn where we belong, what we have to learn to get the full benefit from our strengths, where our weaknesses lie, what our values are. We also have to know ourselves temperamentally: "Do I work well with people, or am I a loner? What am I committed to? And what is my contribution?”
Peter Drucker (1909–2005) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Managing Knowledge Means Managing Oneself Leader to Leader, No. 16 (Spring 2000)
“Folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ‘em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.”
Harper Lee (1926–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I learned long ago," she stoutly reiterated, "that one can't bargain in these affairs. If one wants to be effective, one hands in one's resignation and clears out. There's no other way for a man or an institution to learn that one is serious than to learn it too late.”
Mary McCarthy (1912–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One can't learn much and also be comfortable. One can't learn much and let anybody else be comfortable.”
Charles Fort (1874–1932) said by 1932 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.”
Newt Gingrich (born 1943) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Later claimed he was not referring to Spanish: "I never used the word Spanish in the conversation." {{citation|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-now/2012/01/language-of-the-ghetto-not-spanish-newt-says-112687|…
“Hegel is correct: we learn from history that we cannot learn from it.”
C. Wright Mills (1916–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My mother always told me the best way to learn to deal with a man was to learn to ride a mule. She said they have about equal brains most of the time. Sometimes the mule is smarter.”
Robert Jordan (1948–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My whole belief system is that our paths are drawn for us. I believe in reincarnation. I believe we're here to learn and grow. We choose how we come into this life based on what it is we have to learn. Some people have harder lessons than others.”
Gillian Anderson (born 1968) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Movieline Magazine "Gillian of the Spirits" (January, 1999)
“I went to Frankfort and got drunk With that most learn'd Professor Brunck: I went to Wortz and got more drunken With that more learn'd Professor Ruhnken.”
Richard Porson (1759–1808) said by 1808 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: [This epigram is wholly imaginary, for Porson was never out of England. The lines are from Facetiae Canitabrigienses (1825)]
“Delight is the secret. Learn of pure delight and thou shalt learn of God.”
Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You just learn to cope with whatever you have to cope with. I spent my childhood in New York, riding on subways and buses. And you know what you learn if you’re a New Yorker? The world doesn’t owe you a damn thing.”
Lauren Bacall (1924–2014) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview of 1996, quoted in "Lauren Bacall Dies at 89; in a Bygone Hollywood, She Purred Every Word" by Enid Nemy, in The New York Times (August 12, 2014)
“No one can learn to love by following a manual, and no one can learn to write by following a course. I’m not telling you to seek out other writers but to find people with different skills from yourself, because writing is no different from any other activity done with joy and enthusiasm”.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”
Mitch Albom (born 1958) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not proper to project our feelings onto things or to attribute our own sensations and passions to them. Can it also be improper to see in them a guide, a way of life? To learn the art of remaining motionless amid the agitation of the whirlwind, to learn to remain still and to be as transparent as this fixed light amid the frantic branches — this may be a program for life.”
Octavio Paz (1914–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Develop a sound sense of discipline, character, initiative and a solid academic background. You must devote yourself wholeheartedly to your studies, for that is your first obligation to yourselves, your parents and to the State. You must learn to obey, for only then you can learn to command.”
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reply to the Address Presented by Islamia College Students, Peshawar, 12 April 1948
“It is natural for a man's character and actions to be influenced by his friends and associates and for him to follow the local norms of behavior. Therefore, he should associate with the righteous and be constantly in the company of the wise, so as to learn from their deeds. Conversely, he should keep away from the wicked who walk in darkness, so as not to learn from their deeds.”
Maimonides (1135–1204) said by 1204 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If a person is to get the meaning of life he must learn to like the facts about himself — ugly as they may seem to his sentimental vanity — before he can learn the truth behind the facts. And the truth is never ugly.”
Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953) said by 1953 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: New York Herald Tribune (9 September 1956)
“You are white — yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That’s American. Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you. But we are, that’s true! As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me — although you’re older — and white — and somewhat more free.”
Langston Hughes (1901–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As we learn to bear the intimacy of scrutiny and to flourish within it, as we learn to use the products of that scrutiny for power within our living, those fears which rule our lives and form our silences begin to lose their control over us.”
Audre Lorde (1934–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you want to learn a culture, you have to learn how to like what it likes, rather than go looking for something that you like.”
John Barnes (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don't think goodness is something that you learn. If you're left adrift in the world to learn goodness from it, you would be in trouble.”
Cormac McCarthy (1933–2023) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2009, "Hollywood's Favorite Cowboy" by John Jurgensen
“Perhaps the most difficult ethical problem of the scientific community arises not so much from conflict with other subcultures as from its own success. Nothing fails like success because we don't learn from it. We learn only from failure.”
Kenneth Boulding (1910–1993) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Kenneth Boulding (1971) "The diminishing returns of science" in: New Scientist. (March 25, 1971) Vol. 49, nr. 744. p. 682
“Nothing fails like success because we don't learn from it. We learn only from failure.”
Kenneth Boulding (1910–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Orthodox practice can learn from complementary medicine. The West can learn from the East and new from old traditions.”
Charles III (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You must learn to think one octave higher. Only then will you learn how implosion energy works.”
Viktor Schauberger (1885–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The best way, we always say, to learn to write memoirs is to read memoirs and learn from those that don't work for you as well as from those who do. Look at how they did things. Separate out the craft elements. If you want to write detective stories, read them. If you want to write historical novels, read them.”
Marge Piercy (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'..learn to draw: that's where most of you [Troyon's pupils] are falling down today.. ..draw with all your might; you can never learn too much. However, don’t neglect painting, go to the country from time to time and make studies and above all develop them..' [Monet is quoting in his letter Troyon, a friend of Boudin in Paris]”
Claude Monet (1840–1926) first seen 1859 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: in a letter to , 1859; as quoted in Discovering Art, – The life time and work of the World's greatest Artists, MONET; K.E. Sullivan, Brockhamptonpress, London 2004, p. 11
“The best way to learn was by looking, to become articulate in the language of sight. The eye could learn to look after itself. (p. 180).”
Geoff Dyer (born 1958) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nations have not yet learnt to bear prosperity, liberty, and peace. They will learn it in a higher state of civilization. We think we are the models for posterity, when we are little better than beacons to help it to avoid the rocks and quicksands. The world is sadly slow to learn...”
Richard Cobden (1804–1865) first seen 1862 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to William Hargreaves, 1862., also quoted in Morley, 1905, p945
“We’ve gotta roll with the punches Learn to play all of our hunches. Makin’ the best of whatever comes your way. Forget that blind ambition And learn to trust your intuition. Plowin’ straight ahead come what may.”
Jimmy Buffett (1946–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’ve tried to make myself someone who can play a decent variety of stuff. I’ve even made myself learn things that I didn’t want to learn, a kind of picking or playing that I just never would’ve gotten into otherwise. It’s made me an all-around better player.”
Joe Trohman (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source