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
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatina
Nature
LoveFriendshipHappinessHopeFearCourageDeathLifeTimeWarPeaceFreedomTruthWisdomKnowledgeScienceArtMusicNatureMoneyWorkPowerGodBeautyLaughterFamilySuccess and failureChangeDreamsBooks and reading
“...Las Vegas is the only town in the world whose skyline is made up neither of buildings, like New York, nor of trees, like Wilbraham, Massachusetts, but signs.”
Tom Wolfe (1930–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Richer am I than he who owns Great fleets and argosies; I have a share in every ship Won by the inland breeze, To loiter on yon airy road Above the apple-trees. I freight them with my untold dreams; Each bears my own picked crew; And nobler cargoes wait for them Than ever India knew, — My ships that sail into the East Across that outlet blue.”
Lucy Larcom (1824–1893) said by 1893 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Within the sober realm of leafless trees, The russet year inhaled the dreamy air; Like some tanned reaper, in his hour of ease, When all the fields are lying brown and bare.”
Thomas Buchanan Read (1822–1872) said by 1872 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do not expect again the phoenix hour, The triple-towered sky, the dove's complaining, Sudden the rain of gold and heart's first ease Traced under trees by the eldritch light of sundown.”
Cecil Day-Lewis (1904–1972) said by 1972 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As the Moon rose and the hour grew late, The day help on a Coconut estate raked up the dry leaves that fell dead from the trees, Which they burned in a pile by the lake. The Beetle King summoned his men, and from the top of the Rhododendron stem: "Calling all volunteers who can carry back here, the Great Mystery's been lit once again.”
Aaron Weiss wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Leaves become most beautiful when they're about to die When they're about to fall from trees When they're about to dry”
Regina Spektor (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I prowled the city with my Ford: I found mysterious alleys, lonely trees, rotting old houses out of a vanished past. Day and night I lived in my Ford, pausing only long enough to order a hamburger and a cup of coffee at strange roadside cafes.”
John Fante (1909–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you walk though a forest that has not been tamed and interfered with by man, you will see not only abundant life around you, but you will also encounter fallen trees and decaying trunks, rotting leaves and decomposing matter at every step. (Ch 9)”
Eckhart Tolle (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“From all the misty morning air, there comes a summer sound,— A murmur as of waters from skies, and trees and ground. The birds they sing upon the wing, the pigeons bill and coo.”
Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909) said by 1909 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That was a day of delight and wonder. While lying the shade of the maple trees under— He felt the soft breeze at its frolicksome play; He smelled the sweet odor of newly mown hay.”
Thomas Dunn English (1819–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Under the Trees, reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 494
“Sometimes I think our central bank will keep printing money till we run out of trees.”
Jim Rogers (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: 占·羅傑斯 (zh)
“The game of Bees in the Trees is a variant of musical chairs and is best played with funeral music and in the open air. The object of the game is to sit down on a vacant chair when the music stops. If the chair sat in is occupied by bees, it is permissible to arrange a professional foul.”
Peter Greenaway (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The goldenrod is yellow; The corn is turning brown: The trees in apple orchards With fruit are bending down.”
Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–1885) said by 1885 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves. It was too green — an alien planet.”
Stephenie Meyer (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He seem'd as lithe and free and tall And restless as the boughs that stir Perpetual topt poplar trees. And one, that one, had eyes to teach The art of love, and tongue to preach Life's hard and sober homilies; And yet his eager hands, his speech, All spoke the bold adventurer; While zoned about the belt of each There swung a girt of steel, till all Did seem a walking arsenal.”
Joaquin Miller (1837–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Beyond are greens where pink chestnuts, may trees and copper beeches flaunt themselves gaily.”
Arthur Mee (1875–1943) said by 1943 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.”
Hal Borland (1900–1978) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Countryman: A Summary of Belief, Lippincott, 1965, p. 99
“Wilderness? No, I don’t consider forests wilderness. It’s my home. It’s a difficult question you asked. How does one develop preferences, not just preferences, but move into options as if it’s the most natural, obvious thing in the world? All I can say is that, well, I grew up in a parsonage, which is very wooded, with rocks, trees, and all kinds of vegetation.”
Wole Soyinka (born 1934) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And elm-trees, massed like ostrich feather plumes, Are streaked and shot with fire.”
Dorothy Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington (1889–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Dead trees enclosed the bodies of men and women, violently distorted and subjected to hideous and shameful tortures.” (Garden of Tortures)”
Octave Mirbeau (1848–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Dear Joe The letter said The windows rattle without you, you bastard. The trees are the cause, rattling in the wind, you jerk, the wild scraping those leaves and twigs against my window. They'll keep on doing this, you terrible husband, and slowly wear away our entire apartment.”
Daniel Handler (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To Sheikh Kuttub dated 1st December 1788. I am happy finding the report you have sent. Whoever has come in your hands, all above age of twenty should be hung on trees. If they hide in nooks and corners and forests, to find them out, instruct Dilkhan to split his force in to three.”
Tipu Sultan (1751–1799) first seen 1099 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sardar K.M. Panicker, the renowned historian and political analyst has translated Tippu’s letters into Malyalam which were published in Bhasha Poshini magazine of 1099 Chingam 1st (Malayalam era) Tirur Dinesh - Moplah R…
“Sex without death gets you single-celled algae and fungi; sex with a mortal soma gets you the rest of the eukaryotic creatures. Death is the price paid to have trees, and clams and birds and grasshoppers, and death is the price paid to have human consciousness, to be aware of all that shimmering awareness and all that love.”
Ursula Goodenough (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They stood in silence, in their beauty: like two young trees of the plain, when the shower of spring is on their leaves, and the loud winds are laid.”
James Macpherson (1736–1796) said by 1796 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am never not cross-referencing the trees with the forests, and it can be a very exhausting way to engage – but I wouldn’t change it for the world, because I believe communities need thinkers like me.”
Hannah Gadsby (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As we rush, as we rush in the train, The trees and the houses go wheeling back, But the starry heavens above that plain Come flying on our track.”
James Thomson (poet, born 1834) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The daughter of a captain on the rolling seas, She would stare across the water from the trees. Last time he was home he held her on his knees And said the next time they would sail away just where they pleased.”
Jackson Browne (born 1948) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jamaica Say You Will", from Jackson Browne; previously recorded by The Byrds on Byrdmaniax (1971)
“Trees and humans are in an intimate relationship. What they exhale, we inhale, what we exhale they inhale. This is a constant relationship that nobody can afford to break or live without. -Sadhguru (on Project GreenHands mass tree planting initiative)”
Sadhguru (born 1957) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Isha Insights Magazine, Spring Edition 2009
“when I learned to read and write, I devoured books, and I thought that they were like trees, like animals, something that is born. I didn’t know there was an author behind it all. Eventually, I discovered that that’s how it was, and I said, “I want that, too.”
Clarice Lispector (1920–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ascended Kynthos alone, the cave of Apollo – half-way magnificent and majestic. A pool with fine fig trees nearby full of giant (sacred?) toads – leaping and barking. Also green frogs.”
Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Diogenes compared them to fig-trees growing over precipices; for their fruit was devoured by daws and crows, not by men.”
Galen (129–300) said by 300 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Galen, on Diogenes's views on the ignorant rich, in Exhortation to Study the Arts, Wakefield (1796), p. 217; cf. Stobaeus, iv. 31b. 48.
“Damn, I ain't lyin' These hoes love providin' When my dick hits your pussy, there's no denyin' Kissin' my body Make me come like shotties Love them trees, but I got a new favorite hobby There ain't no stoppin' From hoes gone ho-woppin' When I come to town, you know what the fuck's poppin'”
Eamon (singer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Smoke and grime built up in the air until the train seemed to ride on a smog tide. The sounds of industry increased. The train flew through clutches of vast, sparse chimneys like blasted trees as the train passed through Sunter.”
China Miéville (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There was only a single sharpshooter up in the trees to keep the croc away from me.”
Bruce Bennett (1906–2007) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On some dangers in his role as Tarzan, in an interview in Christian Science Monitor (1999), quoted in "Film Star and Olympian Herman Brix" by Adam Bernstein, in The Washington Post (28 February 2007)
“I was total trailer trash, babe. I can’t remember any real tornadoes, although there were a couple of times when we had to tie our bicycles to trees to keep them from blowing away.”
Cameron Richardson (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Making money out of paper, making paper out of trees We’re making so much money we can hardly breathe”
Todd Snider (1966–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The stars are silent. Voyager among dark harbors, I listen, but the midnight wind carries only the sound of trees and water lapping against the gunwale and the solitary cry of the night swallow. There is no dawn. No searing sun rises in east or west. The rocks over Calumal do not silver, and the great round world slides through the void.”
Jack McDevitt (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Throw thy bold banner to the breeze! Front with thy ranks the threatening seas Like thine own proud armorial trees, Carolina! Fling down thy gauntlet to the Huns, And roar the challenge from thy guns; Then leave the future to thy sons, Carolina!”
Henry Timrod (1828–1867) said by 1867 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An adaptation of this poem , edited by G.R. Goodwin and set to music by Anne Curtis Burgess, was adopted as the official state song of Carolina in 1911.
“Without land we are not secure. The reason I am saying land is important, is that when you look at the trees, you feel satisfied. Not because you have eaten, but because it is your land. Without land you are like a bird that is flying from one place to another without a nest. That is why land is important.”
Roy Sesana (born 1950) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: APTN report, January 2002
“There was no shame, but only graciousness, sun-soaked air, and, at the last, a peace such as the moss knows in the deepening corridors of trees.”
Alexander Knox (1907–1995) first seen 1933 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bride of Quietness (1933), ch. 4
“Botany has introduced us to a more intimate acquaintance with the names and characters, and with something also of the physical economy of both "the trees of the wood" and of the smallest plants which flourish at their feet; so that wherever we cast our eyes, we behold matter for both admiration and research.”
William Howitt (1792–1879) said by 1879 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“David in his psalms, Solomon in his songs and proverbs, the Prophets in the sublime outpourings of their awful inspiration, and Christ in his parables, those most beautiful and perfect of all allegories, luxuriate in signs and similes drawn from the fair trees of the East.”
William Howitt (1792–1879) said by 1879 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sunlight falling bright Over village garden walls Moonlight shower's gold where leaving waterfalls People walk in splendour Under trees hung in starlight.”
Mike Oldfield (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The trees that whisper in the evening Carried away by a moonlight shadow Sing a song of sorrow and grieving Carried away by a moonlight shadow All she saw was a silhouette of a gun Far away on the other side He was shot six times by a man on the run And she couldn't find how to push trough I stay, I pray, see you in heaven far away I stay, I pray, see you in heaven one day...”
Mike Oldfield (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How's it feel when There's time to remember? ...Branches bare, Like the trees in november. Had it all, Threw it all away; Now's a time to walk away.”
Mike Oldfield (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the birds sing outside And you see the trees Changing into green The sun invites one To be out in the open air. When the sky is so blue, then, Oh! Then I wish for so much!.”
Mike Oldfield (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I stood willingly and gladly in the characters of everything — other people, trees, clouds. And this is what I learned, that the world's otherness is antidote to confusion — that standing within this otherness — the beauty and the mystery of the world, out in the fields or deep inside books — can re-dignify the worst-stung heart.”
Mary Oliver (1935–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How multiform the universe is, how branching, how structured, how crystalline! Mountain ranges, clouds, trees, human relations, human literary inventions-how fractal they all are! (Introduction)”
Joanna Russ (1937–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I knew a parson who frightened his congregation terribly by telling them that the second coming was very imminent indeed, but they were much consoled when they found that he was planting trees in his garden.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Riven and torn with cannon-shot, the trunks of the trees protruded bunches of splinters like hands, the fingers above the wound interlacing with those below.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source