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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“You and I will meet again When we're least expecting it. One day in some far off place I will recognize your face. I won't say good-bye my friend, For you and I will meet again.”
Tom Petty (1950–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But if you shoot at everyone you see, Can't be my friend 'cause you might shoot at me.”
Tom Petty (1950–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A friend loves you for your intelligence, a mistress for your charm, but your family's love is unreasoning; you were born into it and are of its flesh and blood. Nevertheless it can irritate you more than any group of people in the world.”
André Maurois (1885–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He was living in the world of 120 years ago, more like a descendant of the Bourbons than the descendant of Voltaire’s friend; he regarded Jaurès in the Chamber of Deputies as Jaurès on the throne, and at the bottom of his heart considered all those people who desired to be something more than subjects as only fit to be shot down—except that hanging them would be more suitable.”
Emil Ludwig (1881–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Art thou a friend to Roderick?”
Walter Scott (1771–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Sir Walter Scott
“The specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy.”
Carl Schmitt (1888–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The political is the most intense and extreme antagonism, and every concrete antagonism becomes that much more political the closer it approaches the most extreme point, that of the friend-enemy grouping.”
Carl Schmitt (1888–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The friend, enemy, and combat concepts receive their real meaning precisely because they refer to the real possibility of physical killing. War follows from enmity. War is the existential negation of the enemy.”
Carl Schmitt (1888–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War as the most extreme political means discloses the possibility which underlies every political idea, namely, the distinction of friend and enemy.”
Carl Schmitt (1888–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Political thought and political instinct prove themselves theoretically and practically in the ability to distinguish friend and enemy. The high points of politics are simultaneously the moments in which the enemy is, in concrete clarity, recognized as the enemy.”
Carl Schmitt (1888–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Failure can get to be a rather comfortable old friend.”
Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When a stranger identifies you from a friend's description, it's just as well you didn't hear the description.”
Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The two women were alone in the London flat. "The point is," said Anna, as her friend came back from the telephone on the landing, "the point is, that as far as I can see, everything's cracking up.”
Doris Lessing (1919–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our good friend LeRoi Moore passed on and gave up his ghost today, and we will miss him forever.”
Dave Matthews (born 1967) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Concert the night of Moore's death. (2008)
“Would you like to play With the thought of a friend In a distant passing stage While you lie around With your hands up and out So resigned you will fall down.”
Dave Matthews (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You've got your ball, You've got your chain. Tied to me tight, tie me up again. Who's got their claws In you my friend? Into your heart, I'll beat again. Sweet like candy to my soul, Sweet you rock And sweet you roll. Lost for you, I'm so lost for you.”
Dave Matthews (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To discover evil in a new friend is to most people only an additional experience.”
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But please remember, especially in these times of group-think and the right-on chorus, that no person is your friend (or kin) who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow and be perceived as fully blossomed as you were intended.”
Alice Walker (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It would be one kind of penance. And there are never enough kinds. Not for him. Not for me. And certainly not for you, my friend.”
John D. MacDonald (1916–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I repudiate these attacks on him...a German of the Germans...his honour so assailed. Who made this infamous attack upon our friend? Men who till now have been looked upon as Germans, but who henceforth are unworthy of that name. And these men come from the Reich's working classes, who owe so infinite a debt of gratitude to Krupp!”
Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941) first seen 1587 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the funeral of Friedrich Alfred Krupp (27 November 1902), quoted in William Manchester, The Arms of Krupp 1587-1968 (London: Michael Joseph, 1968), p. 275
“You British are mad, like bulls seeing a red rag! What has happened to you to overwhelm us with suspicions that are unworthy of a great nation! What else shall I do? I have always described myself as a friend of Britain. ... Have I ever broken my word? ... This misunderstanding strikes me as a personal insult.”
Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941) first seen 1908 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement in The Daily Telegraph (27 October 1908), quoted in W. W. Coole (ed.), Thus Spake Germany (London: George Routledge & Sons, 1941), p. 161
“Let me assure the Sultan and the three hundred million Moslems... That the German Emperor will ever be their friend.”
Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The same blood runs in English and German veins. I am a friend of England. The prevailing sentiment among large sections of the middle and lower classes of my own people is not friendly to England. I am, therefore, so to speak, in a minority in my own land; but it is a minority of the best elements.”
Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Who are you?" I asked the phantom, "I am rest from Hate and Pride. "I am friend to king and beggar, "I am Alpha and Omega, "I was councilor to Hagar "But men call me suicide." I was weary of tide breasting, Weary of the world's behesting, And I lusted for the resting As a lover for his bride.”
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Come, my friend, let us cuss things in general.”
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) first seen 1926 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From a letter to Tevis Clyde Smith (January 14, 1926)
“What shall a man say when a friend has vanished behind the doors of Death? A mere tangle of barren words, only words.”
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) first seen 1928 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From a letter to Tevis Clyde Smith (c. May 1928)
“Fear. It's unacknowledged; shared by friend and foe if nothing else is.”
Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Fear Eats the Soul" (2003)
“He [the victim] was my friend, I always took him hunting with me”
Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the six-year-old daughter of a friend of mine overheard her father telling someone that I had been awarded the Nobel Prize, she asked whether I had ever received it before. He replied that the Prize was something you could get only once. Whereupon the small girl thought a moment: 'Oh' she said, 'so it's like chicken-pox.'”
Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's been said that happiness writes white. It doesn't show up on the page. When you're on holiday and writing a letter home to a friend, no one wants a letter that says the food is good and the weather is charming and the accommodations comfortable. You want to hear about lost passports and rat-filled shacks.”
Martin Amis (1949–2023) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Sadistic Muse" - an interview with Laura Miller at salon.com (10 February 1998)
“Political criticism is our enemies' best friend.”
Bernard Kerik (1955–2025) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Newsday, October 20, 2003
“A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else.”
Len Wein (1948–2017) first seen 1001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in "1001 Affirmations" - by Herbert P. Windschitl - Poetry - 2003
“It is the glistening and softly spoken lie; the amiable fallacy; the patriotic lie of the historian, the provident lie of the politician, the zealous lie of the partisan, the merciful lie of the friend, and the careless lie of each man to himself, that cast that black mystery over humanity, through which we thank any man who pierces, as we would thank one who dug a well in a desert.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No one deserves to live who has not at least one good-man-and-true for a friend.”
Democritus (461–361 BC) said by 361 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We do not even inquire whether a black man is a rebel in arms, or not, if he is black, be he friend or foe, he is thought best kept at a distance. It is hardly possible God will let us succeed while such enormities are practiced.”
James A. Garfield (1831–1881) first seen 1862 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Regarding slavery (1862), as quoted in Garfield: A Biography (1978), by Allan Peskin, p. 145
“Lorenzo Fertitta was a good friend of mine since we were kids. He and I were going to do something together in boxing anyway, so I called Lorenzo - he was down in Miami - and I said, ‘You know what, I just found out the UFC is for sale. What do you think?’ And he said, ‘That’s interesting.'”
Dana White (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Ade Edmondson]’s a good and loyal friend. I adore him. It’s like a marriage. We chose each other in ’75 and we’ve been together ever since.”
Rik Mayall (1958–2014) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: News of the World, November 1999
“Your hand on his arm, the hay stack charm around your neck, strung out and thin, calling some friend trying to cash some check, he's acting dumb, that's what you've come to expect. * I can't beat myselfI can't beat myselfAnd I don't want to talk.I'm taking the cure so I can be quietWhenever I want.So leave me aloneYou ought to be proud that I'm getting good marks.”
Elliott Smith (1969–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O wise man, wash your hands of that friend who associates with your enemies.”
Saadi (1210–1292) said by 1292 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An enemy to whom you show kindness becomes your friend, excepting lust, the indulgence of which increases its enmity.”
Saadi (1210–1292) said by 1292 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[H]e was indebted to his right honourable friend [Edmund Burke] for the greatest share of the political knowledge he possessed,—his political education had been formed under him,—his instructions had invariably governed his principles.”
Charles James Fox (1749–1806) first seen 1790 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (2 March 1790), quoted in The Speeches of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox, in the House of Commons. Vol. IV (1815), p. 72
“He was once asked what a friend is, and his answer was, "One soul abiding in two bodies.”
Diogenes Laërtius wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Tertullian
“When Zeno was asked what a friend was, he replied, "Another I.”
Diogenes Laërtius wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Tertullian
“a light of freedom and democracy in what is otherwise a region of darkness will always have Canada as a friend”
Stephen Harper (born 1959) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: describing Israel in December 2013 ("last month") according to 18 January 2014 article from Times of Israel
“Water! Of all liquids on Earth, the only one chosen for scrubbin' and flushin'. The liquid they rinse baby's nappies in, the fluid that floods the gutters o' this cloud-squeezer town; a single drop o' water discolors a glass of Irish, and you, false friend, are wantin' me to pour this abrasive substance into me defenseless body!”
Tom Robbins (1932–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Your friend insults the homeless by giving them no credit for having made the decisions that shaped their lives, and demeans them further by declaring them powerless to alter their situations. There’re many ways, my dear, to victimize people. The most insidious way is to persuade them that they’re victims.”
Tom Robbins (1932–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One's present personality cannot share all the thoughts of one's older personalities — and yet it has some sense that they exist. This is one reason why we feel that we possess an inner Self — a sort of ever-present person-friend, inside the mind, whom we can always ask for help.”
Marvin Minsky (1927–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My old friend Pal had a philosophy: “When you lack understanding, or subtlety, you can still get your argument across with a monkey wrench.”
David Brin (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Who God doth late and early pray, More of his grace than gifts to send, And entertains the harmless day With a well-chosen book or friend.”
Henry Wotton (1568–1639) first seen 1614 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Character of a Happy Life (1614), stanza 5.
“The Muses' friend, Tea, does our fancy aid, Repress the vapours which the head invade, And keeps the palace of the soul serene.”
Edmund Waller (1606–1687) said by 1687 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source