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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“Painting the sensual with thy hues divine,— Thou turn'st away thy face, while scattering Perchance upon his brow some fading flowers, Of which he strives to twine a funeral crown, Spending his life to weave a wreath of death!”
Zygmunt Krasiński (1812–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As she climbed the staircase, Draupadi recalled her first visit to the palace after Krishna married Rukmini. She remembered the elaborate welcome ceremony Rukmini had organized in her honour...Draupadi experienced a difference in fragrance to the customary ritual after she was welcomed by Rukmini in Dwarika...She was showered with flowers and pearls before she could step inside the gate.”
“We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) first seen 1843 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Notes on the Analytical Engine invented by Charles Babbage (1843)
“The 114 chakras in the human body are like cosmic flowers, blooming in the celestial garden called the body.”
“Try and find somebody who is lonely. And when you go to see them, they will see you as the messiah. Go and visit a little old lady who has no friends or family. Bring her flowers. People say ‘but that’s nothing.’ It is nothing—but it’s also everything. It always begins with small little things. It all began in Bethlehem. That was pretty small.”
Jean Vanier (1928–2019) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Gift of Living With the Not Gifted Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2015
“She glimpsed the pink flowers of a magnolia protesting against the black-and-white half-timbered facade of a mock-Tudor side street.”
Edward St. Aubyn (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poor pitied youth! ... Bring fragrant flowers, the whitest lilies bring, With all the purple beauties of the spring; These gifts at least, these honours I'll bestow On the dear youth, to please his shade below.”
Christopher Pitt (1699–1748) first seen 1259 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Book VI, line 1259
“A colossal orange moon rolls as an unbelievable ball against intense blue. The silhouettes of the houses flank this blue on both sides, forming a childishly rigid little frame. As if we witness the birth of the song of flowers which are subordinated to this blue and dominated by the orange moon. [she wrote in 1905]”
Marianne von Werefkin (1860–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: Lettres a un Inconnu, (Notebook III, p. 120) - Aux sources de l'expressionnisme. Presentation par Gabrielle Dufour-Kowalska. Klincksieck, 1999. p. 156
“The flower-fed buffaloes of the spring In the days of long ago, Ranged where the locomotives sing And the prairie flowers lie low.”
Vachel Lindsay (1879–1931) said by 1931 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(May) the dead body of agony remain asleep resting its head on a pillow of flowers.”
Suman Pokhrel (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I mean the Pythagorean Diet, which consisted (i ) in the free and universal Ufe of every Thing that is vegetable, tender and fresh, which requires little or no Preparation to make it fit to eat, such as Roots, Leaves, Flowers, Fruits and Seeds: And in a general Abstinence from every Thing that is animal, whether it be fresh or dried. Bird, Beast, or Fish.”
Antonio Cocchi (1695–1758) said by 1758 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There can be no reason why man should not make towns liveable and healthy... just as much subject to the beneficent influence of bright sunshine, fresh air, flowers, and plants, as the country.”
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They say that people who like summer flowers die in the summer. [...] I like roses best. But they bloom in all four seasons. I wonder if people who like roses best have to die four times over again.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How cruel of you. What part of what you see here is carefree? If only you could understand the sadness of the ones who grow the delicate flowers of buffoonery, protecting them from but the slightest gust of wind and always on the verge of despair!”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’ll have you know that the most delicate flowers often produce the strongest scent when crushed.”
Maria V. Snyder (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At break of day I feel as if I'm clasping a bouquet of smiling flowers But the wind of time does not cease blowing And the hours wilt like falling petals.”
Xuân Diệu (1916–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Shattered Identities and Contested Images: Reflections of Poetry and History in 20th-Century Vietnam" by Neil Jamieson, in Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 7, No. 2…
“The flowers and my love Passed away under the rain, While I idly looked upon them Where is my yester-love?”
Ono no Komachi (825–900) said by 900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The picture of the 'New Flower' ['Het Bloempje', 1880] is really one of those I did with much idea of having to express loveliness and youth both in human feeling and in the naturally plants of flowers, and If I may say don't you find, that I have succeed in this composition?”
Jozef Israëls (1824–1911) first seen 1824 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from his letter, 23 March 1906, to F.W. Gusaulus in Toledo, (TMA); as cited in Jozef Israëls, 1824 – 1911, ed. Dieuwertje Dekkers; Waanders, Zwolle 1999, p. 306
“Femen is the feminist, the girl with the Ukrainian sign, the flowers in the hair, the naked boobs with painted slogans, and in comfortable boots to run and make action in front of the enemy on the streets.”
Oksana Shachko (1987–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Once he had turned the steak onto the other side, the madness began, as in a soul in love. Everything that followed after that, the salads, garnishes, and other accompaniments to the steak, was turned into the love letters, bouquets of flowers, and serenades by which men signal their desires and transmit news about the flow of their blood.”
Doina Ruști (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I tried to listen, take notes ... ...and stared out on the New England meadow straight from Frost: acres of grasses and flowers tossed by a wind which whirled with the continual roar of a thousand voices from Babel.”
Julia Alvarez (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everything I do is because of writing. If I go for a walk, it’s because I’m thinking of writing. I go look at flowers, I go look at the garden, I go look at a museum, but it’s all coming back to writing. I don’t really do anything that isn’t about writing, and I don’t really know who I am if I’m not thinking about writing.”
Jamaica Kincaid (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I spent the day gathering flowers and weaving them into festoons, while the dead body of my father was lying within a mile of me. What cared my owners for that? He was merely a piece of property. Moreover, they thought he had spoiled his children, by teaching them to feel that they were human beings. This was blasphemous doctrine for a slave to teach…”
Buchi Emecheta (1944–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I like the idea that stories are active, that if you stepped on them they would become alive, like plants, and that the same memory can grow new shoots and flowers, and can change over the course of people’s lives…”
Jackie Kay (born 1961) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the living nature of stories in "The SRB Interview: Jackie Kay" Scottish Review of Books (21 March 2016)
“Fallen petals on the grass or scattered flowers across a field do unexpected things when you examine them – Primroses seem to cluster together in a shape that recalls a single flower; Bluebells become entirely anonymous in a hovering mist; Daffodils group together into crowns of thorns and barbed wire.”
Brian Clarke (1953–2025) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Clarke in 2016, in conversation with art critic Robert Storr, from the HENI publication Night Orchids.
“Even though the gusts of zephyr knock till eternity on the red stone walls behind the city of flowers, no change will occur. Only that they will tire themselves.”
Parveen Shakir (1952–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They lash me with insults, serenade me with curses. Their barking means nothing to me. Even if they came with soul-flowers to offer, I couldn’t care less. Untouched, I move on.”
Lalleshwari (1320–1392) said by 1392 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'In the end, defeat, and the cold, must come. First to the system, then the galaxy, then the universe, and the rest will be silence. Not to admit that is a foolish vanity.' She paused. 'Yet one grows flowers because they are lovely - not because one wishes them to live for ever.'”
John Wyndham (1903–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love is so powerful, it's like unseen flowers under your feet as you walk.”
Bessie Head (1937–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For me, being an actor and being a reggae musician are two flowers blooming from the same root. I see it as my strongest asset in order to make the world a better place. Acting and being a musician is like being an instrument mixing dreams and reality.”
Yōsuke Kubozuka (born 1979) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Yôsuke Kubozuka Talk ‘Silence’, Martin Scorsese, His Reggae Career, Japan and More (March 16, 2017)
“There are so many different types of flowers, we all grow in numerous different ways and bloom separate from the next. I believe it would be an injustice to hide such beauty from the rest of the world and the next budding flower. And now that I am a part of the world of pageantry, I find myself humbled at the thought of a little girl who looks at me and feels like a fire light up inside her.”
Palesa Molefe (born 1990) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Palesa Molefe crowned Miss Botswana (1 November 2021)
“When the flowers of the church, mosque and temple gather together, Spring will blossom forth in your garden, O Lord.”
Darshan Singh (spiritual master) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nobody will meet the the Russian Army in Ukrain with bread, salt and flowers.”
Mikhail Khodaryonok (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I admire things like mountains and flowers, which only God can create. We can build bridges and buildings but only God can build a soft petal.”
Alice Eduardo (born 1965) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'Cherish each day'" in Philippine Star (29 March 2022)
“The severity of Monsieur Ingres frightened me. I tell you, because he doubted the courage and perseverance of a woman in the field of painting. He wished to impose limits. He would assign to them only the painting of flowers, of fruits, of still lifes, portraits and genre scenes...I quickly understood that I could take no part in that school except to waste my time.”
Marie Bracquemond (1840–1916) first seen 1850 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Becker, Jane R. (2017). "Marie Bracquemond, Impressionist Innovator: Escaping the Fury". In Laurence Madeline (ed.) Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900. Yale University Press. pp. 55-68. …
“Come on," she said. "Let's go home." They turned and started back toward the house. Mark carried the dead brown flowers. Susan carried her memories and grief. Behind them they left Henry and the tombstone, which read: HENRY EVANS 1981-1993 WITHOUT DARKNESS THERE CAN BE NO LIGHT”
Todd Strasser (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I feel like this long string of lights, They lit up our whole house on Christmas day. But now it's January, and the bulbs have all burned out. But still, they hang, Like dead flowers.”
Miranda Lambert (born 1983) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I found school to be a fun place, making friends, learning and discovering new things. The most impactful teachers were those who smiled, encouraged, tolerated, and who recognized that some flowers take time to bloom.”
Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One has to love, Sara, she says softly, one has to love, human beings are so pitiful, we can't prevent a single death, all we can do is stave it off a little. Give comfort. "That's what Dr. Bimbi says too, but he sees that staving off as a sign of human strength." "Oh, no," Thérèse recoils. "Human beings have no strength. We live like flowers, by the grace of God." (chapter 7 p146)”
Shulamith Hareven (1930–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am bright colors with a mixture of summer flowers. I am sensitive and made up of emotions and poetry. Also, I’m a woman who allows myself to grow through feeling everything in full.”
Kuukua Eshun (born 1994) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How often does pleasure pass us by because we are not ready to accept it! When we are preoccupied or in pain it is hard even to see, let alone pluck, the flowers of pleasure on our way. We may even walk blindly over them. ("Open the Door to Pleasure")”
Laura Huxley (1911–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Beauty starvation is almost as widespread as love starvation. Often we do not realize that this is what we are hungry for. In our world of traffic jams and artificial flowers we are so far removed from the pure experiences of our senses that we do not even realize our deprivation. (16: "AS IF FOR THE FIRST TIME, or Five Minutes of Beauty a Day")”
Laura Huxley (1911–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The small front garden was ablaze with colours and bursting with birdsong. The bright flowers of late summer were talking to each other intimately in their own, wordless language.”
Esther Kreitman (1891–1954) said by 1954 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even though Malpensa is in the countryside, there is no one to sell a bouquet of flowers. (from Malpensandoti, n. 4)”
Dargen D'Amico (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Matteo Strukul, The carousel of broken flowers. The case of the exterminating angel, Mondadori, C.E.2017. ISBN 978-8804678977”
Matteo Strukul (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My gospels are not four... We have been following the gospel according to De André for years and years, that is, a path in an obstinate and contrary direction. And we can confirm it, note it: nothing comes from diamonds, flowers bloom from manure.”
Andrea Gallo (1928–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The mimosa is, among flowers, what the canary is among birds. (February 20, C.E.1896; Vergani, p. 108)”
Jules Renard (1864–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Peasant women are like the flowers of the field that, if you smell them, either taste of nothing or stink. (May 23, C.E.1904; Vergani, p. 218)”
Jules Renard (1864–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So, in the meantime one must not put flowers at the window of the cell of which he is prisoner because otherwise even if one day the door is open he will not want to go out. He must always think, with a perfect conscience: "These people are stealing my life, in exchange for two and a half million a month, all right, while I am a masterpiece whose value is unspeakable.”
Silvano Agosti (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Initially it was difficult. People were not into giving out flowers. But with the course of time, they see beautiful things and yes I have this, I can do this in my house and all of that. So with that people started warming up to it.”
Akua Sarpong-Ayisa first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Little things around inspires me to create new things- Akua Sarpong-Ayisa,31 March 2017, Portia Arthur