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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“As for younger writers, Mencken wrote a friend in 1935, “all…seem to be headed toward the left….The left-wing movement…is bound to be transient, but while it lasts it has pretty well killed intelligent criticism in this country. Books are judged not by their worth as works of art, but by their political content…”
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Officious, innocent, sincere, Of every friendless name the friend.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My friend was of opinion that when a man of rank appeared in that character [as an author], he deserved to have his merit handsomely allowed.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1781 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (May 1781)
“I am a great friend to public amusements; for they keep people from vice.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1772 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (1772)
“Existence is so bitter for every one of us! Ought we not to forgive others much, my friend, if we wish to merit forgiveness ourselves?”
Émile Zola (1840–1902) first seen 1895 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 12 (tr. Victor Plarr, 1895)
“The true friend of property, the true conservative, is he who insists that property shall be the servant and not the master of the commonwealth; who insists that the creature of man's making shall be the servant and not the master of the man who made it. The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have called into being.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The true friend of property, the true conservative, is he who insists that property shall be the servant and not the master of the commonwealth; who insists that the creature of man's making shall be the servant and not the master of the man who made it. The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have themselves called into being.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you would keep your Secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend. Up, Sluggard, and waste not life; in the grave will be sleeping enough.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) first seen 1735 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: September 1741. “Poor Richard, 1741,” Founders Online, National Archives, accessed 27 May 2020. [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 2, January 1, 1735, through December 31, 1744, ed. Leonard W. Labar…
“The danger of asteroid or comet impact is one of the best reasons for getting into space ... I'm very fond of quoting my friend Larry Niven: "The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program. And if we become extinct because we don't have a space program, it'll serve us right!”
Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Meeting of the Minds : Buzz Aldrin Visits Arthur C. Clarke" by Andrew Chaikin (27 February 2001)
“The Dantean conceptions of Inferno were childish and unworthy of the Divine imagination: fire and torture. Boredom is much more subtle. The inner torture of a mind unable to escape itself in any way, condemned to fester in its own exuding mental pus for all time, is much more fitting. Oh, yes, my friend, we have been judged, and condemned, too, and this is not Heaven, but hell.”
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Goodbye, friend Elijiah, and remember that, although people apply the phrase to Aurora, it is, from this point on, Earth itself that is the true World of the Dawn.”
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is well-known that the friend of a conqueror is but the last victim.”
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[on Kelly's drummer friend] Anyone that beats fucking skins for a living has got to be somewhat weird.”
Ozzy Osbourne (1948–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Alas! Your dear friend and servant Galileo has been for the last month hopelessly blind; so that this heaven, this earth, this universe, which I by my marvelous discoveries and clear demonstrations had enlarged a hundred thousand times beyond the belief of the wise men of bygone ages, henceforward for me is shrunk into such a small space as is filled by my own bodily sensations.”
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) first seen 1638 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Élie Diodati (2 January 1638), as translated in The Private Life of Galileo: Compiled primarily from his correspondence and that of his eldest daughter, Sister Maria Celeste (1870) by Mary Allan-Olney, p. 279
“It’s just scrambling in the mud to find the hidden treasure, my friend, and I might suggest it is remarkably like politics!”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In short, there is everything about this season's entertainment to make the Hippodrome what it always is—a Temple of the Arts to all those who hang pennants on their automobiles, use “Shake hands with my friend” as a formula for introduction, and sprinkle powdered sugar on their sliced tomatoes. p. 106”
Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've got a hunch that you're following, To get your own back on me. So all I want to do is forget You, friend.”
“As the people here grow colder I turn to my computer And spend my evenings with it Like a friend.”
“I turn to my computer like a friend. I need deeper understanding. Give me deeper understanding...”
“Only you can do something about it. There's no-one there, my friend, any better.”
“The full potentialities of human fury cannot be reached until a friend of both parties tactfully intervenes.”
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) first seen 1929 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Sceptic as a Critic", in The Forum (February 1929)
“Bosh," he said, "On what else is the whole world run but immediate impressions? What is more practical? My friend, the philosophy of this world may be founded on facts, but its business is run on spiritual impressions and atmospheres.”
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Then spoke the thunder DA Datta: what have we given? My friend, blood shaking my heart The awful daring of a moment's surrender Which an age of prudence can never retract By this, and this only, we have existed.”
T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When weary with the long day's care, And earthly change from pain to pain, And lost and ready to despair, Thy kind voice calls me back again: Oh, my true friend! I am not lone, While thou canst speak with such a tone!”
Emily Brontë (1818–1848) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To Imagination", st. 1 (1846)
“This fellow they've nominated claims he's the new Thomas Jefferson. Well let me tell you something; I knew Thomas Jefferson. He was a friend of mine and Governor... You're no Thomas Jefferson!”
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Republican National Convention (17 August 1992); (statement modeled after Lloyd Bentsen's jibe at Dan Quayle during debate in 1988)
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“it's love by whom (my beautiful friend) the gift to live is without until: ...love was and shall be this only truth (a dream of a deed, born not to die)”
E. E. Cummings (1894–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than walk alone in the light.”
Helen Keller (1880–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy", Joseph P. Lash (1980)
“Treat your friend as if he might become an enemy.”
Publilius Syrus (101–101 BC) said by 101 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Publius Syrus
“Each finding like a friend Something to blame, and something to commend.”
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) first seen 1717 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Epistle to Mr. Jervas" (1717), lines 21–22
“Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear.”
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) first seen 1721 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Epistle to Robert, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer" (1721)
“Let me tell you I am better acquainted with you for a long Absence, as men are with themselves for a long affliction: Absence does but hold off a friend, to make one see him the truer.”
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) first seen 1725 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter, written in collaboration with Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, to Jonathan Swift (14 December 1725)
“Good God! how often are we to die before we go quite off this stage? in every friend we lose a part of ourselves, and the best part.”
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) first seen 1732 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter, written in collaboration with Dr John Arbuthnot, to Jonathan Swift (December 5, 1732) upon the death of John Gay.
“And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The poor dog, in life the firmest friend, The first to welcome, foremost to defend.”
Lord Byron (1788–1824) first seen 1808 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inscription on the monument of a Newfoundland dog (1808).
“For life, with all it yields of joy and woe, And hope and fear (believe the aged friend), Is just our chance o' the prize of learning love,— How love might be, hath been indeed, and is.”
Robert Browning (1812–1889) said by 1889 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O Death! the poor man's dearest friend, The kindest and the best!”
Robert Burns (1759–1796) first seen 1786 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Man was made to Mourn, st. 11 (1786)
“And friend received with thumps upon the back.”
Edward Young (1683–1765) said by 1765 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Universal Passion; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“A friend is worth all hazards we can run.”
Edward Young (1683–1765) said by 1765 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Better make a weak man your enemy than your friend.”
Josh Billings (1818–1885) said by 1885 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I 've often wish'd that I had clear, For life, six hundred pounds a year; A handsome house to lodge a friend; A river at my garden's end; A terrace walk, and half a rood Of land set out to plant a wood.”
Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) said by 1745 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Imitation of Horace, book ii. Sat. 6.; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
“A Wolf eats sheep but now and then; Ten thousands are devour'd by men. An open foe may prove a curse, but a pretend friend is worse.”
John Gay (1685–1732) said by 1732 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don't enquire after your Affairs-- --so whatever happens, I wash my hands on't---- It hath always been my Maxim, that one Friend should assist another-- --But if you please----I'll take one of the Scarfs home with me. 'Tis always good to have something in Hand.”
John Gay (1685–1732) said by 1732 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No dolphin came, no Nereid stirred; Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard. A favourite has no friend!”
Thomas Gray (1716–1771) said by 1771 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere, Heav'n did a recompense as largely send: He gave to Mis'ry all he had, a tear, He gained from Heav'n ('twas all he wished) a friend.”
Thomas Gray (1716–1771) said by 1771 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If it is abuse,—why one is always sure to hear of it from one damned goodnatured friend or another!”
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) first seen 1779 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: ‘The Critic’ (1779) act 1, sc. 1
“Evil men of every degree will use you, flatter you, lead you on until you are useless; then, if the virtuous do not pity you, or God compassionate, you are without a friend in the universe.”
Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887) said by 1887 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do not believe as the friend seems to do that an individual may gain spiritually and those who surround him suffer. I believe in advaita [nonduality], I believe in the essential unity of man and for that matter of all that lives. Therefore I believe that if one man gains spiritually, the whole world gains with him and if one man falls, the whole world falls to that extent.”
Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) first seen 1924 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Young India (4 December 1924)
“I hate the idea of causes, and if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.”
E. M. Forster (1879–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[M]y friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, "What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and most hostile to, the idea of escape?" and gave the obvious answer: jailers.”
C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories (1966), "On Science Fiction
Also quoted by: J. R. R. Tolkien