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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“All the same," said the Scarecrow, "I shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one." "I shall take the heart," returned the Tin Woodman; "for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.”
L. Frank Baum (1856–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Only a fool can't be fooled.”
Orson Scott Card (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Some goddamn fool once said that flanks have got to be secure. Since then sonofabitches all over the globe have been guarding their flanks. I don't agree with that. My flanks are something for the enemy to worry about, not me. Before he finds out where my flanks are, I'll be cutting the bastard's throat.”
George S. Patton (1885–1945) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Conference with his officers (1 August 1944), as quoted in General Patton : A Soldiers Life (2002) by Stanley P. Hirshon, p. 502
“It is a popular idea that a man is a hero just because he was killed in action. Rather, I think, a man is frequently a fool when he gets killed.”
George S. Patton (1885–1945) first seen 1940 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the Hatch Memorial Shell, Boston, Massachusetts (7 June 1945), quoted in The Last Days of Patton (1981), p. 85, by Ladislas Farago and The Patton Papers: 1940-1945 (1974), p. 721, edited by Martin Blumenson.
“I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool, an optimist must know what a sad place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The silliest woman can manage a clever man; but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool!”
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now it is not good for the Christian's health to hustle the Aryan brown, For the Christian riles, and the Aryan smiles and he weareth the Christian down; And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, with the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear: "A fool lies here who tried to hustle the East.”
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) first seen 1892 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Naulahka, ch. 5 (1892).
“A man in much business must either make himself a knave, or else the world will make him a fool.”
Abraham Cowley (1618–1667) said by 1667 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[T]hey share the traits of the acute successful randomness fool who, in addition, operates in the most random of environments. ...[T]heir bosses and employers shared the same trait. They, too, are permanently out of the market.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is a certain category of fool—the overeducated, the academic, the journalist, the newspaper reader, the mechanistic "scientist", the pseudo-empiricist, those endowed with what I call "epistemic arrogance", this wonderful ability to discount what they did not see, the unobserved.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To be the eyes and ears and conscience of the Creator of the Universe, you fool.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I still believe that peace and plenty and happiness can be worked out some way. I am a fool.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am of course notoriously hooked on cigarettes. I keep hoping the things will kill me. A fire at one end and a fool at the other.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To make a revolution it is not necessary to play the great drama of the area. We have left many dead on the roads to Rome and naturally anybody who deludes himself is a fool. We have the power and we shall hold it. We shall defend it against anybody! The revolution lies in this firm determination to hold power!”
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) first seen 1923 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Election Reform Bill,” speech (16 July 1923) delivered at the Chamber of Deputies, p. 354
“He's a pompous fool with bad advice and always has an agenda.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have a fool as a president.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 20 August 2024 cited in "Trump Counters DNC With Rally In Michigan - "That Was A Coup"", KTRH Local Houston and Texas News
“‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell is a FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Claimed about the Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, quoted in "Trump calls Fed Chair Jerome Powell a ‘fool’ after central bank keeps rates steady", CNBC (May 8, 2025)
“All the gang of those who rule us Hope our quarrels never stop Helping them to split and fool us So they can remain on top.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Solidarity song" [Solidaritätslied] (1931), trans. John Willett in Poems, 1913-1956, p. 186
“The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought not to be awakened from sleep.”
Chanakya (375–283 BC) said by 283 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poor Pymfyd! Your world is built of fear and dread! As for me, I have no time for such emotions.” Pymfyd spoke in an even voice. “You are a royal princess and I may not call you a witless little fool, even should the thought cross my mind.” Madouc turned him a sad blue-eyed glance. “So that, after all, is your concept of me.” “I will say only this: persons who fear nothing are soon dead.”
Jack Vance (1916–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Well I'm accustomed to a smooth ride, Or maybe I'm a dog that's lost its bite, I don't expect to be treated like a fool, no, no, I don't expect to sleep long nights, Some people say a lie is just a lie but I say, Why deny the obvious child?”
Paul Simon (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But wow! This goofy child president we have on our hands now. He is demonstrably a fool and a failure, and this is only the summer of '03. The American nation is in the worst condition I can remember in my lifetime, and our prospects for the immediate future are even worse. . . The Bush family must be very proud of themselves today, but I am not. Big Darkness, soon come. Take my word for it.”
Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Big Darkness" (22 July 2003)
“But wow! This goofy child president we have on our hands now. He is demonstrably a fool and a failure, and this is only the summer of '03. By the summer of 2004, he might not even be living in the White House. Gone, gone, like the snows of yesteryear.”
Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you can't read and write you can't think. Your thoughts are dispersed if you don't know how to read and write. You've got to be able to look at your thoughts on paper and discover what a fool you were.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Salon.com (29 August 2001)
“Ten thousand times a million sons of sons move Through one great and towering town Wearing their wits, which means their laughter, As their crown. Set free upon the earth By simple gifts of knowing how mere mirth can cut the bonds And pull the blood spikes out; Their conversation shouts of "Fool!”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am but a draper in a room of wool, looking at the patterns, feeling like a fool. I'm going to take my fabric, stretch it to the seams, I want to find what's woven underneath these tailored dreams”
Ralston Bowles (born 1952) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From the song "Draper" on the album Carwreck Conversations (2004)
“When asked to make the formal declaration that I did not intend to overthrow the Constitution of the United States, I was fool enough to reply that I had no such purpose, but that were I to do it by mistake I should be inexpressibly contrite.”
Peter Medawar (1915–1987) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: P. B. Medawar (1986), Memoir of a thinking radish: an autobiography, Oxford University Press, p. 117.
“A clever child brought up with a foolish one can itself become foolish. Man is so perfectable and corruptible he can become a fool through good sense.”
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–1799) said by 1799 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like a fool I went and stayed too long, Now I'm wondering if your love's still strong, Ooh, baby, here I am, Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours!”
Stevie Wonder (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Chill out, what're you yelling for? Lay back. It's all been done before, and if? You could only let it be? You will see, I like you the way you are. When we're driving in your car and you're talking to me one and one. But you've become somebody else, like everyone else! You're watching your back, like you can't relax. You're trying to be cool; you look like a fool to me.”
Avril Lavigne (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A knave, when tried on honesty's plain rule, And, when by that of reason, a mere fool.”
William Cowper (1731–1800) first seen 1782 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hope" (1782)
“Tis hard if all is false that I advance, A fool must now and then be right by chance.”
William Cowper (1731–1800) said by 1800 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Jim, you’re a fool,”Bowles answered. “No, I’m a bachelor. Why? Because I can’t stand the favorite sport of all women.” “Which is?” “Trying to geld stallions. Let’s get on with the job.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A brute kills for pleasure. A fool kills from hate.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He stared at the two bundles more than filling his lap in a kind of cosmic amazement. “We did it,” he muttered to Ekaterin, now perching on the chair arm. “Why didn’t anybody stop us? Why aren’t there more regulations about this sort of thing? What fool in their right mind would put me in charge of a baby? Two babies?”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let a fool be made serviceable according to his folly.”
Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.”
James Thurber (1894–1961) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Owl who was God", The New Yorker (29 April 1939); Fables for Our Time & Famous Poems Illustrated (1940). Parody of "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot…
“Fear that makes faith may break faith; and a fool Is but in folly stable.”
Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) said by 1909 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Who loves not woman, wine, and song / Remains a fool his whole life long.”
Martin Luther (1483–1546) said by 1546 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted by Anonymous, "On Luther's Love for and Knowledge of Music" in The Musical World. Vol VII, No. 83 (Oct 13, 1837).
“I would take to be quite a fool any man who would make a book full of laws and statutes for an apple tree telling it how to bear apples and not thorns, when the tree is able by its own nature to do this better than the man with all his books can describe and demand.”
Martin Luther (1483–1546) said by 1546 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One fool at least in every married couple.”
Henry Fielding (1707–1754) said by 1754 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I hear any man talk of an unalterable law, the only effect it produces upon me is to convince me that he is an unalterable fool.”
Sydney Smith (1771–1845) first seen 1808 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Peter Plymley's Letters (1808), Letter IV
“A fool is always troublesome, a man of sense perceives when he pleases or is tiresome ; he goes away the very minute before it might have been thought he stayed too long.”
Jean de La Bruyère (1645–1696) said by 1696 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we play the fool, how wide The theatre expands! beside, How long the audience sits before us! How many prompters! what a chorus!”
Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Plays, st. 2 (1846).
“A fine quotation is a diamond on the finger of a man of wit, and a pebble in the hand of a fool.”
Joseph Roux (1834–1905) said by 1905 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Devil is an Ass! fool'd off! and beaten!”
Ben Jonson (1572–1637) said by 1637 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lord knows I'm not a fool girl I really shouldn't care Lord knows I'm not a school girl In the flurry of her first affair.”
Noël Coward (1899–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“From now on I'm thinking only of me.” Major Danby replied indulgently with a superior smile: “But, Yossarian, suppose everyone felt that way?” “Then,” said Yossarian, “I'd certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn't I?”
Joseph Heller (1923–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let someone else get killed!" "Suppose everyone on our side felt that way?" "Well then I'd certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn't I?”
Joseph Heller (1923–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Any man who undertakes to write a play is either a damn fool or a hero, I don't know which. When you write a book, you pull it out of the typewriter and that's that. When you write a play you've got to go on with the producer and the director and the actors and the rehearsals and the ...”
Rex Stout (1886–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source