Famous quotes

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“We define religion as the assumption that life has meaning. Religion, or lack of it, is shown not in some intellectual or verbal formulations but in one's total orientation to life. Religion is whatever the individual takes to be his ultimate concern. One's religious attitude is to be found at that point where he has a conviction that there are values in human existence worth living and dying for.”
Rollo May (1909–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ah, with the Grape my fading Life provide, And wash the Body whence the Life has died, And lay me, shrouded in the living Leaf, By some not unfrequented Garden-side.”
Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) said by 1131 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: XCI (1889)
“To us in Europe life had become absolutely intolerable, and it is to restore the possibility of living any civilised life at all that we have got to put an end to Nazi policy.”
Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Lord Tweedsmuir (25 September 1939), quoted in Keith Feiling, Neville Chamberlain (1946; 1970), p. 424
“He said to me once he had given up a normal life for the cyborgs. As if he could only create life if he gave up loving and living." (Yod about Avram, twenty-eight: HOW CAN WE TELL THE DANCER FROM THE DANCE?)”
Marge Piercy (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Movement is the translation of life, and if art depicts life, movement should come into art, since we are only aware of living because it moves.”
Arshile Gorky (1904–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now that I look back, I realize that a life predicated on being obedient and taking orders is a very comfortable life indeed. Living in such a way reduces to a minimum one's own need to think.”
Adolf Eichmann (1906–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who exercises faith in me, even though he dies, will come to life; and everyone who is living and exercises faith in me will never die at all.”
Jesus (6 BC–33) said by 33 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To look straight into the eyes of my death/ My non-being/ To face myself as living and dying/ In the bare nakedness of my life and non-life.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Where there had been hope, there was now hopelessness. Where there had been courage, there was now cynicism. Where there had been life, there was a living death. During Nixon's reign, much of life was transformed into a nightmare.”
Pierre Stephen Robert Payne (1911–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Personal religion has a supreme value for its own sake, not merely as a feeder of social morality, but as the highest unfolding of life itself, as the blossoming of our spiritual nature. Spiritual regeneration is the most important fact in any life history. A living experience of God is the crowning knowledge attainable to a human mind.”
Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've learned some things from having lived: If you're alive, experience largely, merge with rivers, heavens, cosmos For what we call living is a gift given to life And life is a gift bestowed upon us”
Ataol Behramoğlu (born 1942) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I've Learned Some Things" (1977)
“Artificial Life is concerned with tuning the behaviors of such low-level machines that the behavior that emerges at the global level is essentially the same as some behavior exhibited by a natural living system... Artificial Life is concerned with generating lifelike behavior.”
Christopher Langton (born 1948) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p.4-5 as cited in: Luis M. Rocha (2012) "The logical mechanisms of life" on indiana.edu, August 27, 2012
“Over many years of work all over the world, I've learned that if we organize in the same way that the rest of life does, we develop the skills we need: we become resilient, adaptive, aware, and creative. We enjoy working together. And life's processes work everywhere, no matter the culture, group, or person, because these are basic dynamics shared by all living beings.”
Margaret Wheatley (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life, he decided, was for living, not for having, and he wanted to experience every moment that he could. At the deepest level, he'd come to understand that life could end at any moment, and it was better to be happy than busy.”
Nicholas Sparks (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our National life is full of diversities. We have here a variety of languages, of faiths, of communities, of modes of living, and schools and styles of literature and art. This diversity reflects the abundance of our national life, and need to be preserved and promoted.”
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha Session, Indore – September, 7-8, 1968
“Life is not worth living without ambition. In this life, nothing is impossible. Don’t allow fear to hold you back”
Aliko Dangote (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The meaning of life is not to be discovered only after death in some hidden, mysterious realm; on the contrary, it can be found by eating the succulent fruit of the Tree of Life and by living in the here and now as fully and creatively as we can.”
Paul Kurtz (1925–2012) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Paul Kurtz, ‎Vern L. Bullough, ‎Tim Madigan (eds.). Toward a New Enlightenment: The Philosophy of Paul Kurtz. (1994) p. 20
“I have a profound faith that the times are ripe for a signal advance in religious belief and life and practice — for a Christianity translated into the terms of life and thought and action of the age in which we are actually living. There cannot be any great continuing civilization without the undergirding of religious inspiration….”
Rufus Jones (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Just see how well the Jains and the Marwaris do in life. It cannot be a co-incidence that they are so well educated and affluent. It is because of their way of life which involves least harm to a living being.”
Maneka Gandhi (born 1956) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On vegetarian communities like Jains and Marwaris, as quoted in "Being vegetarian is the only way to save the planet: Maneka Gandhi", The Times of India (20 April 2013)
“If definitive proof emerges that we’re living in a simulation, the correct response to that news will be So what. A life lived in a simulation is still a life.”
Emily St. John Mandel (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Dreams are the fuel for your success. Without them there can never be any meaningful and lasting success in your life. Like a car engine without high-quality fuel you risk living a life that never quite gets started.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Saying ‘yes’ to major life decisions when inside you are crying out to say ‘no’ is more serious. Doing the opposite of what you feel is right can destroy your chances of achieving your dreams and goals. I have coached too many people who regret going with the flow on major life decisions and now need help living with the consequences.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Working yourself into the ground serves no one. It only decreases your chances of living a long and healthy life. Do you really want to sacrifice your health and long life for a big house, fancy car and hefty bank account?”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you understand life, you know that it wants to continue. If you feel life throbbing under your touch, you know it’s desecration to set your hand to stop that living pulse. If you love something, you don’t kill it.”
Jim Sinclair (activist) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: If you love something, you don't kill it, 1998
“Life has no rules, there is no right or wrong, my wrong could be your right. When I broke into the industry I was the girl living a lavish life”
Khanyi Mbau (born 1985) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we want eternal life, then we’ll need to rewrite our bug-ridden genetic code and become god-like. “May all that have life be delivered from suffering”, said Gautama Buddha. It’s a wonderful sentiment. Sadly, only hi-tech solutions can ever eradicate suffering from the living world. Compassion alone is not enough.”
David Pearce (philosopher) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Nick Bostrom and David Pearce", Dec. 2007
“From a young age, we pick up many false assumptions about the world, about life, and about exactly who we are living life.”
Mooji (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(You said once that the life of a poet oscillates between ecstasy and agony, and what mitigates those extremes is the necessary daily business of living.) Yes. Friends, conversation, gardens. Daily life. It’s what we have. I believe in the world. I trust it to provide me.”
Louise Glück (1943–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe that trauma is something to be embraced rather than healed or recovered from. I believe that grief is something which situates the place/space of the dead within the living; and that, through repeatedly revisiting that place, through our pained and silent embrace of it over the course of a whole life, life is, perhaps paradoxically, made possible.”
Han Kang (born 1970) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Interview with Han Kang" in The White Review (March 2016)
“I was shooting Man with the Binoculars, which was my first feature film, and I discovered these children and villagers celebrating life [while] living in deprivation. It made me realize what I was missing in Mumbai even surrounded with all this technology. (about the inspiration for Village Rockstars, and life in rural Assam)”
Rima Das (born 1977) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Asia Times Article - India’s Rima Das takes Village Rockstars on prize path - 16 March 2017 - Archive
“She understood what perhaps they are only just learning. That if you attempt to clean the messiness of life you end up scrubbing the life away from living. We can't excise joy from pain.”
Yewande Omotoso (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Maybe I'm wrong, living high and chancing. I feel an ice cold look in your eye cut me down with glances. We both said "No", but we can't let go, and I'm feeling like we try to hide. I know I've waited so long. Now that yesterday's gone you need me there by your side. Just once in your life show me that you know how to make it right. For once in your life take a look around you and hold on tight.”
John Miles (1949–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life ought to be about living beyond one self and that despite our own challenges in life.”
Zoleka Mandela (1980–2023) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Zoleka Mandela: A story of a fighter for road safety" by Nourhan Magdi, EgyptToday (27 February 2020)
“We must acknowledge that the Christian life cannot be lived only in front of a computer's screen. Christian life calls for living in community. Then I can encounter Jesus thanks to the rich and purposeful help of an Internet site, but afterwards I must find a community that receives me and enables me to undertake a concrete journey of faith.”
Claudio Maria Celli (born 1941) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Archbishop Celli: The Digital Continent Is a Great Challenge and Opportunity (17 March 2015) Zenit
“I’ve always wanted to build a city where the standard of living for residents is above average, a city within a city that looks and feels like Singapore, where life isn’t perfect but the quality of life sets a standard in the Philippines.”
Alice Eduardo (born 1965) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Alice & Jacqueline Eduardo: Two for the road" in Philippine Star (19 March 2021)
“Life is just vanity. Pray daily for a life worth living.”
Eniola Badmus (born 1983) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: , Twitter (July 22, 2020)
“I sometimes think I should have made it after many other films, at the end of my career. [...] I remember saying to myself, how can I make a better film? But it was also exactly the film I had to make then. It says something about a woman, about a way of living a life, about life after the war. It was the first thing I had to pour out of myself. [...] I would have changed nothing about it.”
Chantal Akerman (1950–2015) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Then as Now, the Terrors of the Routine" The New York Times (January 16, 2009)
“Until we overcome our fear about talking about death, few of us can have the end of life we envision. We've been so focused on living and accomplishing and moving forward that we don't think about death as part of life.”
Diane Rehm (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Most of my fans are children under 15, I am a role model to them, I have to be careful about the things I do— I am young, I feel the vibes of modernity but I pay more attention to them (children) because I am an example and I am not only living my life but a life of a generation, I do not want to mislead people, so I try to keep myself clear,”
Miss Jojo (born 1983) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: , She is best known for her contemporary Rwandan music, but really she is skilled in many different aspects of music. Miss Jojo is currently the most famous female Rwandan musician (19 November 2009)
“It felt like something was missing. After maturing, seeing life and experiencing the death of people close to me, it kind of felt like life really is short and I need to start living and I started small from there.”
Dawn Okoro (born 1980) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Earl Hopkins, From small galleries to primetime TV, Dawn Okoro is shining under international spotlight, American-Statesman, 28 May 2022.
“Human rights are about human dignity and how people are treated. It is about wellbeing, about living a self-sufficient life, a life in which you are not below the poverty line. It also encompasses self-esteem. It’s about not treating people as inferior.”
Usha Prashar, Baroness Prashar (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you're abducted for speaking truth to power, if you're in prison for speaking truth to power, it's hard, but if you're waking up and you're living a life, a shell of a life that is limited in opportunity and possibility, that is also hard.”
Namatai Kwekweza (born 1999) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Zimbabwean activist wins German Africa Prize 14 November, 2025
“You can have all the richness in the world, but if you have no love in your life, it's not a life worth living.”
Heart Evangelista (born 1985) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: . "Heart Evangelista Talks Marriage with Chiz Escudero". 12 May 2023.
“I’ve embarked on a fresh new chapter and I’m finally taking control of my life, pursuing dreams that I’ve always had a hold off on. It’s exciting, it’s terrifying, it’s anxiety-filled, and it’s confusing. But what I know for sure is that for the first time, I’m finally living my life for me.”
Lisa Soberano (born 1998) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: . "The times Liza Soberano's quotes made headlines". PEP.ph. 28 February 2023.
“The strongest argument for the truth of Christianity is the true Christian, the man filled with the Spirit of Christ. [...] The best proof of Christ's resurrection is a living Church, which itself is walking in new life, and drawing life from him who has overcome death.”
Theodor Christlieb (1833–1889) first seen 1873 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Best Methods of Counteracting Modern Infidelity: A Paper Read before the General Conference of the Evangelical Alliance, New York, October 6, 1873 (New York: Harper & Bros, 1874) p. 87. Reported slightly differently…
“If I know someone well enough, I'm quite open, free to talk about anything and everything. What would I say about myself? I'm very focused but relaxed, and I like to enjoy the things I do. In everyday life and in football. Enjoying life's little things and living in the moment.”
Michael Olise (born 2001) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: March 2025
“Do you remember my favorite tutu dress that I wanted to wear every single day? And I did wear it every day that I could. Every now and then we’d have a little scare, and then we’d go back to living life with our cousins. We made soccer balls out of rubber bands that we just kept tying together. We didn’t know that there was another life other than that.”
Adut Akech (born 1999) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“New York to me was completely eye opening and life changing," Peeples says. "You have a city full of people from all around the world who are just living their life. There's art everywhere. It was my first experience of being in the big city, and I was only 18 years old. It was where I grew up, really.”
Erica Peeples wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Progressive art can assist people to learn not only about the objective forces at work in the society in which they live, but also about the intensely social character of their interior lives. Ultimately, it can propel people toward social emancipation.”
Angela Davis (born 1944) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: For a People's Culture." Political Affairs, March 1995.
“I wept that all must die — "Yet Love," I cried, "doth live, and conquer death —" And Time passed by, And breathed on Love, and killed it with his breath Ere Death was nigh.More bitter far than all It was to know that Love could change and die — Hush! for the ages call "The Love of God lives through eternity, And conquers all!”
Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864) said by 1864 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source