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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“Death, as the human consciousness understands it, pain and sorrow, loss and disaster, joy and distress, are only such because man, as yet, identifies himself with the life of the form and not with the life and consciousness of the soul...p. 76”
Alice Bailey (1880–1949) said by 1949 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We plucked down all His altars, left not one Save where, perchance (and ah, the joy was fleet), We laid our garlands in the sun At the white Sea-born's feet.”
Alfred Noyes (1880–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like Andromach, Hector's wife, Was weary of her life, When she had lost her joy, Noble Hector of Troy; In like manner alsó Increaseth my deadly woe, For my sparrow is go.”
John Skelton (1460–1529) said by 1529 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Long ailments wear out pain, and long hopes joy.”
Stanisław Leszczyński (1677–1766) said by 1766 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With careless joy we thread the woodland ways And reach her broad domain. Thro' sense of strength and beauty, free as air. We feel our savage kin, And thus alone with conscious meaning wear The Indian's moccasin!”
Elaine Goodale Eastman (1863–1953) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Moccasin Flower, reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 519.
“Real genuine joy is borne of sadness and sorrow.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Joy emerges from my little, timid life/ of everydayness and temerity.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is a deeper joy in emptying ourselves.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The paradox of life is: Joy prepares one for more sadness and the other way around also.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The secret of joy is: To know the world and its evil powers ... and still preserve the hope.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is a deeper joy in emptying ourselves/ A deeper fulfilment in commitment/ A nobler life in letting ourselves go/ a truer self in not clinging on to my self!”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thus genuine joy is contagious/ Reaching out, especially, to the underprivileged/ And in this sense, enables a circle of compassion/ Involving the larger community of life itself.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pandikattu, K. (2017). JOY: Share It! . Jnanam, Pune.”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I saw the plane, I was absolutely astonished! Two emotions crashed over me: surging joy and crazy fear.”
Abby Sunderland (born 1993) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What we find in our heroes and martyrs is a living witness to the fact that the true life of faith can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if one takes it on bravely and gallantly, as something of a grand adventure in which we set out into an unknown country to face many a danger, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle.”
Alan Hirsch (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You may think life is sweet now, but when death is a heartbeat away then life becomes unbearably desirable. And when you survive, everything you do will be enhanced and filled with greater joy: the sunlight, the breeze, a good wine, a woman's lips, a child's laughter.”
David Gemmell (1948–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm thrilled that people can get something out of my music. I have to attribute that to integrity and honesty. I've found that people aren't really as different as they sometimes seem. We all have joy and tragedy in our lives. So it only follows that if I write something from my heart and stay true to myself, others will easily identify.”
Happy Rhodes (born 1965) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Happy Rhodes Interview" in Homeground #48 (Summer 1993)
“Even the leaves laugh 'cause they have what I have Reach from the best tree So he can see me And with your face With your face comes laughter And with your touch And with your touch comes joy.”
Happy Rhodes (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why, then, if expensive things cannot bring us remarkable joy, are we so powerfully drawn to them?”
Alain de Botton (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We kneel, how weak; we rise, how full of power! Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, Or others — that we are not always strong, That we are ever overborne with care, That we should ever weak or heartless be, Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer, And joy and strength and courage are with Thee?”
Richard Chenevix Trench (1807–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 467.
“The most important language of personal joy is the often complex linguistics of silence”
Michael Elmore-Meegan (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Stirner … holds to a joy-principle rather than to a pleasure-principle.”
John Carroll (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Under the dominion of the priests our earth became the ascetic planet; a squalid den careering through space, peopled by discontented and arrogant creatures, who were disgusted with life, abhorred their globe as a vale of tears, and who in their envy and hatred of beauty and joy did themselves as much harm as possible.”
Georg Brandes (1842–1927) said by 1927 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life is a series of small sorrows that ultimately lead to great joy. Learn to wait for it.”
Siddharth Katragadda (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Festivals that common men celebrate, are hunger and thirst to them, intoxicated in Allah's love they fast Eid and joy they never celebrate”
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1690–1751) said by 1751 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am a teacher at heart, and there are moments in the classroom when I can hardly hold the joy.”
Parker Palmer (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“153. When you give yourself to prayer, rise above every other joy — then you will find true prayer.”
Evagrius Ponticus (345–399) said by 399 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life – the break of dawn, the sound of a stream.Twilight.Dusk. Silent or loud, eloquent scream of joy or despair or just an ecstatic dream…”
Manav Gupta (born 1967) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Referenced from TEDx Talk (19 October, 2012)
“In Francis’s view there was ultimate gold in this commitment to impractical knowledge, to theories that had no responsibilities other than to be true. On good days the new ideas inched human intellect toward the grand understandings that were science’s pride and joy.”
James K. Morrow (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way; Oh! what joy it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh.”
James Pierpont (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This book is about the melancholic direction, which I call the "bittersweet": a tendency to states of longing, poignancy, and sorrow; an acute awareness of passing time; and a curiously piercing joy at the beauty of the world.”
Susan Cain (born 1968) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bittersweet Introduction at p. xxii (April 5, 2022)
“The very highest states—of awe and joy, wonder and love, meaning and creativity—emerge from this bittersweet nature of reality. We experience them not because life is perfect—but because it's not.”
Susan Cain (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Living in a bittersweet state, with an intense awareness of life's fragility and the pain of separation, is an underappreciated strength and an unexpected path to wisdom, joy, and especially communion.”
Susan Cain (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pure nonsense is a joy forever, as Keats didn't quite say. I love to see a writer flying high, just for the hell of it.”
William Zinsser (1922–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Suppose Sisyphus to have been acquitted his need of forever toiling up his hill in Hell, would he have made the last journey in joy? Or would mere fatigue have extinguished all other emotion, as a torch extinguished in a sconce?”
Avram Davidson (1923–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I bet there's a tear in your eye wherever you're watching this. There's nothing wrong with tears; tears are often shed in joy.”
Jimmy Magee (1935–2017) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As Katie Taylor triumphed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. irishtimes.com
“While the [Dept. of Defense] position is that orientation is a private matter, participating with family in traditional ceremonies such as the promotion is both common and expected of a leader. Looking at the photos of Tracey's joy as she pins the star on my shoulder is a memory that will imprint my heart forever. Her support keeps me Army Strong.”
Tammy Smith (born 1963) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted on Yahoo News, "Meet Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith, the first openly gay U.S. general", August 13, 2012.
“The tragedy of tragedies is that man continues to live in poverty when he might have riches, in weakness when he might have strength, in sorrow when he might have joy, in despair when he might have hope.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There can be no doubt that Jesus was a remarkably cheerful person and that his joy, like his faith and hope, was infectious. This was in fact the most characteristic and most noticeable difference between Jesus and John. As we shall see later, Jesus feasted while John fasted (Luke 7:31-34).”
Albert Nolan (1934–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He has not lived in vain who learns to be unruffled by loss, by gain, by, joy, by pain.”
Angelus Silesius (1624–1677) said by 1677 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the question of the distribution of wealth were solved for all society and all lived in average comfort and without urgent anxiety, the question would still be how many would be at peace with their own souls and have that enduring joy and contentment which alone can make the outward things fair and sweet and rise victorious over change.”
Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Distant lands should draw you, people you don't know To read every book, know other's lives, you should be burning You shouldn't exchange for anything the pleasure of a glass of water No matter how much the joy, your life should be filled with yearning”
Ataol Behramoğlu (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Quotations: I love them because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognizedly wiser than oneself.”
Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Marlene Dietrich's ABC (1962)
“We had so little to eat, we were freezing all the time, but the sheer joy of being able to act fed our souls.”
Hana Maria Pravda (1916–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in "Holocaust diarist is played by actress granddaughter", Dalya info Evening Standard, Dri 11 Jan 2013 p. 29
“I was looking for joy Yes, yes, yes, yes When I was little bitty boy If I would have known what makes a world go 'round I would have known what goes up must come down If you love me like I love you Mademoiselle, je vous aime, voulez-vous?”
Chuck Berry (1926–2017) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Big Boys" (2017)
“You had better go where Fate leads— Drift on the Stream of Infinite Flux, Without joy, without fear: When you must go—then go.”
Tao Yuanming (365–427) said by 427 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone. Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, they should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but “by attraction”.”
Pope Francis (1936–2025) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 5, sec. 14; quoting Benedict XVI, Homily at Mass for the Opening of the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops (13 May 2007), Aparecida, Brazil: AAS 99 (2007), 437
“Dear Brothers and Sisters, In a few moments I will have the joy of opening the Holy Door of Mercy. We carry out this act, so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light of the word of God which we have just heard. That word highlights the primacy of grace.”
Pope Francis (1936–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wherever there are people, the Church is called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel. … May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan.”
Pope Francis (1936–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every step, every effort, every test, every fall and every recovery has a sense within God’s design for salvation, as He wants life – not death – and joy – not pain – for His people … This doesn’t mean that he did everything and we don’t have to do anything.”
Pope Francis (1936–2025) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ash Wednesday General Audience (1 March 2017), as quoted in "Pope Francis: ‘we do not go to heaven in a carriage’" at Vatican Radio (1 March 2017)