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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Power

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“The intention is to tell a story, to create a sonic world for us, a sonic painting, for us to walk into, without having to see her. She's transcending that. She's choosing to transcend that. And that's a very powerful thing to do.”
Tori Amos (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Society is the most powerful conception in the world and society has no existence whatsoever.”
Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you take as your pattern the wings of feathered birds, these are more powerful in structure of bone and sinew because they are penetrable, that is to say the feathers are separated from one another and the air passes through them. But the bat is aided by its membrane, which binds the whole together and is not penetrated by the air.”
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) said by 1519 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Charlottetown Patriot – in all that constitutes the real man, the honest statesman, the true patriot, the warm friend, and sincere Christian, he had few equals. Possessed of a clear intellect, a retentive memory, and a ready command of appropriate words, he was one of the most logical and powerful speakers we have ever heard. (Buckingham and Ross 1892, p. 662)”
Alexander Mackenzie (1822–1892) said by 1892 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This so-called bipartisan system prevailing in America and Britain has been one of the most powerful means of preventing the rise of an independent working-class, i.e., genuinely socialist, party.”
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) first seen 1912 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Results and Significance of the U.S. Presidential Elections (November 1912)
“You must side with one of the two immensely wealthy and immensely powerful groups of imperialist predators - that is how capitalist reality poses the basic issue of present-day foreign policy.”
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Monopolies, oligarchy, the striving for domination and not for freedom, the exploitation of an increasing number of small or weak nations by a handful of the richest or most powerful nations — all these have given birth to those distinctive characteristics of imperialism which compel us to define it as parasitic or decaying capitalism.”
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and thus free ourselves from the responsibility for acts which are prompted by our own questionable inclinations and impulses.”
Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Flaubert and Nietzsche have emphasized the importance of standing up and walking in the process of thinking. The peripatetics were perhaps motivated by the same awareness. Yet purposeful walking — what we call marching — is an enemy of thought and is used as a powerful instrument for the suppression of independent thought and the inculcation of unquestioned obedience.”
Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Entry (1960)
“She had a womanly instinct that clothes possess an influence more powerful over many than the worth of character or the magic of manners.”
Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) said by 1888 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.”
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If good music has charms to soothe the savage breast, bad music has no less powerful spells for filling the mildest breast with rage, the happiest with horror and disgust. Oh, those mammy songs, those love longings, those loud hilarities! How was it possible that human emotions intrinsically decent could be so ignobly parodied.”
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fears of children were simpler and usually more powerful. The fears of children could often be summoned up in a single face... and if bait were needed, why, what child did not love a clown?”
Stephen King (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Consider the impasse of a one-God universe. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. He can't go anywhere, since He is already everywhere. He can't do anything, since the act of doing presupposes opposition. His universe is irrevocably thermodynamic, having no friction by definition. So, He has to create friction: War, Fear, Sickness, Death, to keep his dying show on the road.”
William S. Burroughs (1914–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perform anonymous service. Whenever we do good for others anonymously, our sense of intrinsic worth and self-respect increases. … Selfless service has always been one of the most powerful methods of influence.”
Stephen Covey (1932–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe firmly in the efficacy of religion, in its powerful influence on a person's whole life. It helps immeasurably to meet the storms and stress of life and keep you attuned to the Divine inspiration. Without inspiration, we would perish.”
Walt Disney (1901–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nearly all the Escapists in the long past have managed their own budget and their social relations so unsuccessfully that I wouldn't want them for my landlords, or my bankers, or my neighbors. They were valuable, like powerful stimulants, only when they were left out of the social and industrial routine.”
Willa Cather (1873–1947) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Four Letters: Escapism" (1936)
“When both parties are lying and they both know the other party's lying, it comes powerful close to being the same thing as telling the truth.”
Orson Scott Card (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) first seen 1923 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech, quoted in The Times (February 15, 1923).
“You know, the truth can be really powerful stuff. You're not expecting it.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to the names of persons who have checked out those titles.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We think that a powerful and vigorous movement is impossible without differences — "true conformity" is possible only in the cemetery.”
Joseph Stalin (1878–1953) first seen 1912 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Stalin's article "Our purposes" Pravda #1, (22 January 1912)
“The press must grow day in and day out — it is our Party's sharpest and most powerful weapon.”
Joseph Stalin (1878–1953) first seen 1923 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at The Twelfth Congress of the R.C.P.(B.) (19 April 1923)
“Many instructional arrangements seem "contrived", but there is nothing wrong with that. It is the teacher's function to contrive conditions under which students learn. Their relevance to a future usefulness need not be obvious. It is a difficult assignment. The conditions the teacher arranges must be powerful enough to compete with those under which the student tends to behave in distracting ways.”
B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Free and Happy Student" in The Phi Delta Kappan (September 1973); later published in Reflections on Behaviorism and Society (1978)
“In order for music to free itself, it will have to pass over to the other side — there where territories tremble, where the structures collapse, where the ethoses get mixed up, where a powerful song of the earth is unleashed, the great ritornelles that transmutes all the airs it carries away and makes return.”
Gilles Deleuze (1925–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are few sources of energy so powerful as a procrastinating grad student.”
Paul Graham (born 1964) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: How to Start a Startup", March 2005
“I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves. Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it. I have seen firsthand how the system is rigged against our citizens, just like it was rigged against Bernie Sanders – he never had a chance.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fundamental problem with the immigration system in our country is that it serves the needs of wealthy donors, political activists and powerful politicians. Let me tell you who it doesn’t serve: it doesn’t serve you, the American people.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Immigration speech, Arizona (31 August 2016)
“They may allow me back in two years. We got to stop that. We can’t let it happen. So unfair. They are shutting down an entire group of people. Not just me. They are shutting down the voice of a much more powerful and a much larger group.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have become a drug infested, crime ridden nation which is incapable of solvin’ even the sollest smallest problem. The simplest of problems, we can no longer solve. We can’t do anything. We are an institute in a powerful death penalty. We will put this on.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trump utter's incoherent sentence about US not solving 'sollest smallest problem'", Indy 100 (January 23, 2024)
“We will make America powerful again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. We will make America great again!”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Presidential campaign slogans, Bronx, NY (25 May 2024)
“We have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe. And I think it is a combination of about four weeks of bombing and a very powerful blockade.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trump says 2nd round of Iran talks could be this weekend, war ‘should’ end soon" The Times of Israel (April 20, 2026)
“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”
Fred Rogers (1928–2003) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Source Commencement Address at Dartmouth College June 9th, 2002
“General, your tank is a powerful vehicle it smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men. but it has one defect: it needs a driver.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: General, Your Tank Is a Powerful Vehicle", in "From a German War Primer", part of the Svendborg Poems (1939); as translated by Lee Baxandall in Poems, 1913-1956, p. 289
“My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor hungry people in the mud for big powerful America. And shoot them for what? They never called me nigger, they never lynched me, they didn't put no dogs on me, they didn't rob me of my nationality, rape and kill my mother and father. ... Shoot them for what? How can I shoot them poor people? Just take me to jail.”
Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Regarding the Vietnam War and conscription (1967)
“Some people think, Swami calls himself a powerful magnet, but He is unable to attract us. The fault lies in them only.”
Sathya Sai Baba (1926–2011) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sanathana Sarathi (January 2003), page 10
“The public didn't know who said it first, but it was the most powerful question in human history. In nine words it overturned centuries of tortured logic and magical thinking. It pushed superstition into a cage and gave common sense room to maneuver. [...] The question was translated into thousands of languages, published billions of times. In English it was "If God is so smart, why do you fart?”
Scott Adams (1957–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Silence will create respect and dignity; justice and fairplay will bring more friends; benevolence and charity will enhance prestige and position; courtesy will draw benevolence; service of mankind will secure leadership and good words will overcome powerful enemies.”
Ali (599–661) said by 661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every Conservative desires peace. The threat to peace comes from Communism, which has powerful forces ready to attack anywhere. Communism waits for weakness, it leaves strength alone. Britain therefore must be strong, strong in arms, and strong in faith in her own way of life. The greatest hope for peace lies in friendship and co-operation with the United States of America.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1951 General Election Address (8 October 1951)
“In today's Britain, the idea that there could be a Constitution more powerful - and even sacrosanct - than any crowned head or elected politician (thus abolishing the false antithesis between hereditary monarchs and capricious presidents) is thought of as a breathtakingly new and daring idea.”
Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[T]here must be no concessions to the enemy. When a man is allowed to speak because he is rich and powerful, it aggravates the crime of denying the right to the poor and humble.”
Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Halp! My powerful brain is blowed itself up!”
Walt Kelly (1913–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The effect of music is so very much more powerful and penetrating than is that of the other arts, for these others speak only of the shadow, but music of the essence.”
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) said by 1860 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are two things which make it impossible to believe that this world is the successful work of an all-wise, all-good, and, at the same time, all-powerful Being; firstly, the misery which abounds in it everywhere; and secondly, the obvious imperfection of its highest product, man, who is a burlesque of what he should be.”
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) said by 1860 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An enormous amount of energy from every fiber of your body is released under LSD — especially sexual energy. There is no question that LSD is the most powerful aphrodisiac ever discovered by man.”
Timothy Leary (1920–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches. Use auto-suggestion, have faith, imagination and overcome fear and time is your opposite player as in checkerboard.”
Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Self-Motivation Through Risk Taking! : Are You Leading Or Do You Wither with Problems? (2005) by M. Nadarajan Munisamy <!-- part of this was cited to be from Think and Grow Rich (1938), but this does not ap…
“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.”
Ferdinand Foch (1851–1929) said by 1929 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The 32d Infantry Division in World War II (1956) by Harold Whittle Blakeley, p. 3
“We may deny the existence of ethnonationalism, detest it, condemn it. But this creator and destroyer of empires and nations is a force infinitely more powerful than globalism, for it engages the heart. Men will die for it. Religion, race, culture and tribe are the four horsemen of the coming apocalypse.”
Pat Buchanan (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have already found a high degree of personal liberty, and we are now struggling to enhance equality of opportunity. Our commitment to human rights must be absolute, our laws fair, our natural beauty preserved; the powerful must not persecute the weak, and human dignity must be enhanced.”
Jimmy Carter (1924–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Terror can be very efficient against a reactionary class which does not want to leave the scene of operations. Intimidation is a powerful weapon of policy, both internationally and internally. War, like revolution, is founded upon intimidation.”
Leon Trotsky (1879–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source