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. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“Tony the Beat Poet says the words alone, lonely and loneliness are three of the most powerful words in the English language. I agree with Tony. Those words say that we are human; they are like the words hunger and thirst. But they are not words about the body, they are words about the soul.”
Don Miller (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One of the joys of teaching with the anthology is to watch the excitement grow as students, who may think the past dull and irrelevant, find how fresh and new and powerful are the kinds of writings that are hundreds of years old.”
M. H. Abrams (1912–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Only now did the scales fall from my eyes. For how great is the force of credulity, how powerful the suggestion of terror! Such incomprehension! But this was a man! A chained-up man, whom I, by incomprehensible means, in a simplifying, metaphorical, and comprehensive elision, had taken for a dog.”
Bruno Schulz (1892–1942) said by 1942 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All world-images are apt to become corrupt when left to ecclesiastic bureaucracies. But this does not make the formation of world-images expendable. And I can only repeat that we deny the remnants of old-world images at our own risk, because we do not overcome them by declaring them — with all the righteousness of skepticism — something of a secret sin. They are not less powerful for being denied.”
Erik Erikson (1902–1994) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Gandhi's Truth : On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence (1969), Prologue : Echoes of an Event, p. 39
“Today, one of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban atheists.”
Michael Crichton (1942–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The notion that the natural world obeys its own rules and doesn't give a damn about your expectations comes as a massive shock... it will demand that you adapt to it — and if you don't, you die. It is a harsh, powerful, and unforgiving world, that most urban westerners have never experienced.”
Michael Crichton (1942–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Vytas Juozapaitis is simply terrific as the Don; lean, agile, and the possessor of a Zorro-like sexiness, he seemed part old fashioned matinee idol, yet firmly rooted in the here and now a la Johnny Depp. Like the singer, the voice is attractive, lean and powerful. His seduction of Zerlina, smooth as silk. He had the audience in the palm of his hand.”
Vytautas Juozapaitis (born 1963) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Paulo Padillo, Opera - L (September 24, 2003)
“Lithuanian baritone Vytautas Juozapaitis, last year's devilish, dark-toned Don Giovanni, Teatro Lirico has a powerful singer with an impressive stage presence. Sparks flew because Vasileva and Juozapaitis created such emotional tension: she more nuanced than the usual submissive heroine, he more sympathetic than the stock villain.”
Vytautas Juozapaitis (born 1963) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lloyd Schwartz, "Agonies and Ecstasies". The Boston Phoenix (April 9, 2004)
“I feel something like a powerful oppression, like an immense fatigue after marching across fever-laden jungles, or by the shores of deadly lakes…And I am flooded by discouragement, so that it seems I shall never be able to escape from myself again.”
Octave Mirbeau (1848–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No force is more powerful -- or more multiple -- than the family.”
Warren Farrell (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Harry Dresden: Santa is a much bigger and more powerful faery than Toot, and I don't know his true name anyway. You'd never see me trying to nab Saint Nick in a magic circle even if I did. I don't think anyone has stones that big.”
Jim Butcher (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...increasing remoteness of desires from needs. ...increasing confusion between means and ends. The ends are human needs... Instead they want the means they have been brainwashed to accept... Never was any society in human history as rich and as powerful as Western Civilization and the United States, and it is not a happy society.”
Carroll Quigley (1910–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For this reason Ahuramazda bore aid, and the other gods who are, because I was not hostile, I was not a Lie-follower, I was not a doer of wrong -- neither I nor my family. According to righteousness I conducted myself. Neither to the weak nor to the powerful did I do wrong.”
Darius I of Persia (550–486 BC) said by 486 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Art is not for the personal satisfaction of one or the other, but art wants to return all what’s in life... Art wants to give back everything what’s in our lives. The more comprehensive the artist stands in life the more powerful his work will speak, and therefore a work of art is a measure of the mental size of his creator.”
Bram van Velde (1895–1981) first seen 1926 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to H. E. Kramer, 25-10-1926, as quoted in: Bram van Velde, A Tribute, Municipal Museum De Lakenhal Leiden, Municipal Museum Schiedam, Museum de Wieger, Deurne 1994, p. 44 (English translation: Charlotte Burgmans)
“Paddington had a very persistent stare when he cared to use it. It was a very powerful stare. One which his Aunt Lucy had taught him and which he kept for special occasions.”
Michael Bond (1926–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We may be sure that it is the love of God only that can make us come out of self. If His powerful hand did not sustain us, we should not know how to take the first step in that direction.”
François Fénelon (1651–1715) said by 1715 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are never less alone than when we are in the society of a single, faithful friend; never less deserted than when we are carried in the arms of the All-Powerful.”
François Fénelon (1651–1715) said by 1715 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As the idea of permanence of objects has faded, the idea of permanence of physical laws has become better established and more powerful.”
Frank Wilczek (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“On certain occasions, the eyes of the mind can supply the want of the most powerful telescopes, and lead to astronomical discoveries of the highest importance.”
François Arago (1786–1853) said by 1853 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My real fans understand what it is I do, but on another level I have fans who just love my music and don’t know I write it and enjoy it shallowly — and that’s OK too. I think art and music should be just as powerful if you drink it shallow as if you drink it deep.”
“Women are more powerful than they think. A mother’s warmth is the essence of motivation. If we could liquefy the encouragement, care and compassion we deliver to our children it would surely fill an expanse greater than the Pacific.”
Louise Burfitt-Dons (born 1953) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Women's Institute, 2007
“My people hunger for independence and will have it. [...] And are you forgetting some recent examples of what ragged bands can do against modern troops? Have you already forgotten the heroism of the Yugoslav partisans against the Germans? The spirit of man is more powerful than his own machines.”
Ho Chí Minh (1890–1969) first seen 1957 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: David Schoenbrun, As France Goes (page 234), Harper, 1957.
“Imagine if you could actually be that happy? That would be powerful, man. People would be tunneling under the street to avoid you. They'd go "Oh, man — is that happy guy still out there?”
Jim Carrey (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let the storm rage and the sky darken — not for that shall we be dismayed. If we trust as we should in Mary, we shall recognize in her, the Virgin Most Powerful "who with virginal foot did crush the head of the serpent.”
Pope Pius X (1835–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Popes and the Papacy (2001) by Brandon Toropov, p. 26
“Truth is the most powerful thing in the world, since even fiction itself must be governed by it, and can only please by its resemblance.”
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713) said by 1713 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our life energies are the most basic and the most powerful aspect of human beings. Though most people are unaware of it, whichever way our energies play, that’s the way our bodies and our minds and our emotions play. So, once we get the energies—the fundamentals—moving in one direction, we can make sure that our bodies, emotions, and minds are also moving in that direction. -Sadhguru”
Sadhguru (born 1957) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Isha Insights Magazine, Spring Edition 2009
“The Churches, which should have been the first to welcome the possibility... have... to be won over to the side of the humane man. They have hitherto... proved... the most bigoted and powerful opponents of the science.., alone... able to bring within... practical politics for the masses the Christian principles...”
Frederick Soddy (1877–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The benefits of science are not only material ones. The truths that science teaches are of common interest the world over. The language of science is universal, and is a powerful force in bringing the peoples of the world closer together.”
Arthur Compton (1892–1962) first seen 1927 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Banquet speech for his Nobel Prize, 1927.
“There is no technological magic bullet that will make the government as smart as it is powerful.”
James Bovard (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is suggested that all written works, including this one, have dangerous implications to the vitality of an oral tradition and to the health of a civilization, particularly if they thwart the interest of a people in culture, and following Aristotle, the cathartic effects of culture. "It is written but I say unto you" is a powerful directive to Western civilization.”
Harold Innis (1894–1952) said by 1952 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From the 2007 Voyageur Classics edition, pp. 19-20.
“The written word is far more powerful than simply a reminder: it re-creates the past in the present, and gives us, not the familiar remembered thing, but the glittering intensity of the summoned-up hallucination.”
Northrop Frye (1912–1991) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Great Code: The Bible and Literature (1981) according to Neil Postman Amusing Ourselves to Death p 13.
“I refer to the United States, the union of all the states. I ask then, if in union there is strength for our nation, would there not be for labor! What one state could not get alone, what one miner against a powerful corporation could not achieve, can be achieved by the union. What is a good enough principle for an American citizen ought to be good enough for the working man to follow.”
Mother Jones (died 1930) said by 1930 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He objected on principle to the powerful.”
Jack McDevitt (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Commodification has led most people to view God as a device to be used rather than an all-powerful Creator to be revered.”
Skye Jethani (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Boxing Helena was something that I think was pretty cool, but people judged it without even having seen it. It’s not perfect, but I think for the story that we were trying to tell, it turned out pretty good. What it signified was really powerful to me: how society puts us in boxes one way or another.”
Sherilyn Fenn (born 1965) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Fenn & Now", by Dennis Hensley. Movieline (USA). June 1999. p. 54-59.
“Francis Bacon once said there is no beauty that hath not some strangeness to its proportion. Cameron Diaz proves that- she's got a mouth like a slice of watermelon. But the Flying Scotsman proves it to be wrong. There is no strangeness at all. He is exquisite to behold, partly because he is so nicely balanced and partly because he seems to shout "I AM VERY POWERFUL'.”
Jeremy Clarkson (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In an environment without public platform nor protection, the individual is the most powerful and most responsible.”
Ai Weiwei (born 1957) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ai Weiwei on Twitter in English (beta). http://aiwwenglish.tumblr.com/ (January 10, 2011)
“Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.”
“I'm reading Kristin Lavransdatter again - it's one of the greatest poetic books, and the most powerful portrayal of medieval Christendom I know....I must admit that it makes me cry every time - because it's so real, so true , reaching to the depths of human nature, touching one to the quick.”
Ida Friederike Görres (1901–1971) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Broken Lights Letters 1951-59.
“Our tendency is to be strong, self-sufficient, and dependent on our own willpower, but rather than try harder, we should reach out to the God who is all-powerful…”
John Townsend (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Modigliani's theory was a powerful searchlight on what was happening... It is the best explanation of what has actually been happening in the great swing of American life since the 1950's.”
Paul Samuelson (1915–2009) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Paul Samuelson in: . "Franco Modigliani, 85, Nobel-Winning Economist, Dies" in New York Times, September 26, 2003.
“The magic of drama is infinitely more powerful than the magic of trickery. It is as available to the conjurer as it is to the actor. The only difference is that actors take it for granted, whereas few conjurers are even aware that it exists.”
Milbourne Christopher (1914–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That physical tingle, that powerful audible experience(not with poets projecting their work to an audience) but more intimate, less planned than that.”
Robert Pinsky (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Cynicism is often seen as a rebellious attitude in western popular culture, but in reality, our cynicism advances the desires of the powerful: cynicism is obedience.”
Alex Steffen (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The biogeographic evidence for evolution is now so powerful that I have never seen a creationist book, article, or lecture that has tried to refute it. Creationists simply pretend that the evidence doesn’t exist.”
Jerry Coyne (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Jews have no such all-powerful plot. They DO have a deadly plot of the top Jew-Communist-Zionists, and it is taking over the world, -but not because they are so brilliant or so daring. They have been winning because we have let them goad us into being stupid, weak and disorganized.”
George Lincoln Rockwell (1918–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is simply not feasible for sovereignty to be exercised unilaterally by individual nation-states, however powerful. It is a principle which will yield only slowly and reluctantly to the imperatives of global environmental cooperation.”
Maurice Strong (1929–2015) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Maurice Strong, 1992 essay entitled Stockholm to Rio: A Journey Down a Generation
“I'm not afraid to be sexy. A woman who is intelligent and also knows how to weaponize her beauty… there's nothing more dangerous than that. There's nothing more powerful than that.”
Megan Fox (born 1986) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Megan Fox reveals thoughts on being Hollywood 'sex symbol' at Met Gala: 'I'm not afraid to be sexy' USA Today. (September 13, 2021)
“There is poetry and there is beauty in real sympathy; but there is more—there is action. […] The noblest and most powerful form of sympathy is not merely the responsive tear, the echoed sigh, the answering look—it is the embodiment of the sentiment in actual help.”
Octavius Winslow (1808–1878) first seen 1862 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Sympathy of Christ with Man: Its Teaching and Consolation (London: Janes Nisbet, 1862), Preface, pp. iii–iv.
“One of the most powerful forms of information is feedback on our own actions.”
John Kotter (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source