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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Happiness

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“Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. (p17)”
Rebecca Solnit (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a fine act of insurrection. ("False Hope and Easy Despair" in 2016 edition)”
Rebecca Solnit (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The hope of the social reformer is to open wide the gates of opportunity, so that every creature, from the least to the greatest, may make his life a moral adventure and a joy, and exhaust his possibilities in the thing he can best do.”
George D. Herron (1862–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Having faith in the future starts with building confidence in one's self, being honest with one's self, and having the courage to live one's life, not perfectly, but authentically. Each one of us matters. Our choices matter. Our thoughts, words and deeds matter. Live each day with joy, and embrace the opportunities that will enable you and your community to grow and blossom.”
Elizabeth Kucinich (born 1977) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Stand up, Embrace your power, Be your greatest you", in ElizabethKucinich.com (2016).
“I've had a lot of ups and downs, and listen, to still be putting yourself out there on stage at my age, you come against a lot of stuff. But if you love what you do, no one should let the opinions of others take away their joy or take away their dreams. And that's really all it comes down to. Loving yourself, believing in yourself, putting one foot in front of the other and doing it.”
Erika Jayne (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Tessa’s hilarious… I think it’s one of the things that gets overlooked because she’s always so pulled together, but she has the best sense of humor. It’s been the joy of my life to have as many laughs as we’ve had along the way.”
Tessa Virtue (born 1989) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Scott Moir, quoted in "Scott & Tessa Say Their Relationship Is “So Much Better” than People Imagine" (26 February 2018)
Also quoted by: Scott Moir
“Play with joy, with a smile. If you aren't enjoying it—stop. Never practice—that's just the brain. Always play, even if the audience is afar. That's the heart as well. Don't judge your playing—for then it is not play, but hard work. Just aim to refine your intention.”
John Diamond (doctor) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“King whom one cannot reach in the distant sky! Suen whom one cannot reach in the distant sky! King who loves justice, who hates evil! Suen who loves justice, who hates evil! Justice brings joy justly to your heart.”
Lugalbanda wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Grandma asked me to confirm if I had landed in Canada and not any other country. I just pointed my camera towards the different direction where grandma could see some Sardar roaming here and there. ‘Aa ta Kanedda hi lagda hai.’ (it is Canada, indeed) grandma said in joy. We all laughed like anything.”
Gaurav Sharma (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“May the people marvel admiringly, and may Utu witness it in joy.”
Enmerkar (3101–3001 BC) said by 3001 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“True religion, sprung from God above, Is, like her fountain, full of charity, Embracing all things with a tender love, Full of good will and meek expectancy, Full of true justice and sure verity, In heart and voice; free, large, even infinite, Not wedged in straight peculiarity, But grasping all in her vast active spright: Bright lamp of God! that men would joy in thy pure light!”
Henry More (1614–1687) first seen 1662 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Immortality of the Soul (1662), Book 2, Canto 3
“I am busy working on a large painting with sheep; the last days I am working with real pleasure, the weather is.. ..not too hot and with nice skies. It's great here!!!! I shout with joy the whole day and more and more I desire to stay here until the end. (translation from original Dutch, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018)”
Anton Mauve (1838–1888) first seen 1885 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a letter of Mauve, from Laren 1885, to his student , as quoted by Arina Hugenholtz in In Memoriam Anton Mauve; as cited in Van IJs naar Sneeuw - De ontwikkeling van het wintergezicht in de 19de eeuw, Arsine Nazarian,…
“There are a million tiny privileges that people take for granted that cannot: access to , to physical activity, to taking joy in our own bodies, are among them. Finding a physical activity that I loved came at the cost of putting up with countless small acts of hostility, and finally, I had had enough.”
Kai Cheng Thom (born 1991) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We must start from the joy of life, from respect, from humanity, because the most important thing in life is having respect for other people. Especially for those who might think very differently from you.”
Brunello Cucinelli (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As with the other difficult moments in my life, those experiences reinforced the fact that I climb for myself and no one else. Sometimes the distinctions get blurred, and it's easy to get sucked into other people's realities. In the end, climbing is what I love, my own expression of joy. Everything else is just noise.”
Steph Davis (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have succeeded in structuring my intimate life according to my own standards and I make no secret of my love experiences anymore than does a man. Above all, however, I never let my feelings, the joy or pain of love take the first place in my life inasmuch as creativity, activity, struggle always occupied the foreground.”
Alexandra Kollontai (1872–1952) said by 1952 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When all are baptized I order all the temples of their false gods to be destroyed and all the idols to be broken in pieces. I can give you no idea of the joy I feel in seeing this done, witnessing the destruction of the idols by the very people who but lately adored them.”
Francis Xavier (1506–1552) said by 1552 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh man it's kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men. Are white people genetically predisposed to burn faster in the sun, thus logically being only fit to live underground like groveling goblins?”
Sarah Jeong (born 1988) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: July and December 2014, according to 2 August 2018 article by BBC
“How mute we were in 1989 during what should have been at the least the celebration of the fall of the world's most powerful hammer and sickle, symbol of the ultimate human slaughter. If it had been the Third Reich Swastika that had fallen after two generations of Cold War, the joy and catharsis would have lit our cities.”
Alan Charles Kors (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My surprise and thanks are great.. ..and what a package. What attracts me most of all, yes, really gives me great joy [is] that little book ['Wild birds at home', by photographer Charles Kirk, London. 1906] with birds, really something to look forward to. There are pictures in [of birds] which arouse more wonderful thoughts than all real art. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
Jan Mankes (1889–1920) first seen 1906 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (original Dutch: citaat van Jan Mankes, in het Nederlands:) Mijn verrassing en dank zijn groot.. .En wat een zending. Wat me wel haast 't meest van alles trekt, ja me echt doet genieten [is] dat kleine boekje ['Wild bir…
“You know the tender side of my work. That side was always dominating me. I feel the joy of that tenderness most strongly when I think of a finch-nest with cobweb and lichen on a May-morning. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
Jan Mankes (1889–1920) first seen 1919 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote, in a writing to his wife , Nov. 1919, in Jan Mankes - kunstbeschouwingen van Albert Plasschaert & Just Havelaar; publisher J.A.A.M. van Es, Wassenaar, 1927; as cited by Susan van den Berg, in 'Tableau Fine Arts M…
“There is much to weep about. But it is a sin to permit our tears to drown out our song of gratitude and joy in the gift of creation.”
Richard John Neuhaus (1936–2009) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Wild Moralists in the Animal Kingdom", in First Things (April 2003).
“An ancient legend recounts: From a far-off world came a Messenger to bestow upon men Equality, Brotherhood, and Joy. Long since had men forgotten their songs. They remained in a stupor of hate.”
Helena Roerich (1879–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Then the Messenger gathered the little children and took them into the forest, saying, “These are your flowers, your streams, your trees. No one has followed us. I shall rest—and be you filled with joy.” Thereupon timidly they ventured into the forest.”
Helena Roerich (1879–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The law of fearlessness, the law of the renunciation of property, the law of the evaluation of labor, the law of the dignity of human personality, beyond castes and outer distinctions, the law of true knowledge, the law of love based upon self-knowledge, make of the covenants of the Teachers a continuous rainbow of the joy of humanity.”
Helena Roerich (1879–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will someday touch millions of people's hearts.”
Rachel Scott (1981–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Rachel's Challenge: A Columbine Legacy (2006), by Jeff Keuss and ‎Lia Sloth, p. 40
“Faith brings peace. Faith brings joy.”
Rachel Scott (1981–1999) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Desperate Measures" (25 April 1998), as quoted in Rachel's Tears: 10th Anniversary Edition: The Spiritual Journey of Columbine (2008), by Beth Nimmo, Darrell Scott, and Steve Rabey, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, p. 127
“Some of us dare to believe that He is about to show His face to the whole world, and that again it is to be an occurrence to usher in joy, hope and peace. Even away back in the New Testament we have assurances to this effect...”
Howard Ray Carey wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This emphasis on sharing, justice, brotherhood, and love is like a powerful refrain, running through His appeal to us, and pointing up another facet of our unique opportunity, another facet of the diamond of our joy, as we begin now to share, and to make known His requirements of sharing, justice, brotherhood and love.”
Howard Ray Carey wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Journey Into Light and Joy, DeVorss & Company (December 1979)”
Howard Ray Carey wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He absolutely loved life and loved people and his family and gave it everything that he could. He was always so focused on doing what he thought was important or the right thing, and there was a joy that came out of that. I wish I could find my own and I seek to do that.”
Beto O'Rourke (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I take flying saucers extremely seriously; but I deplore pedantry and, like the ancient Toltecs, I find the serious things of life a cause for joy and pleasure rather than for pompous gloom.”
George Adamski (1891–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That heart which, through separation, thou madest sad; From every joy that was, which thou madest bare of; From thy disposition I am aware that, suddenly and unexpectedly, The rumour may arise that thou hast broken it.”
Minhaj-i-Siraj (1193–1260) said by 1260 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Doug and I wish Asian Americans and all those celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival a holiday filled with prosperity and joy.”
Kamala Harris (born 1964) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Twitter, (September 18, 2024)
“Detachment gives...joy.”
Swami Samarpanananda wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Labor Front’s leisure arm, ‘Strength through Joy’ (KdF) was heavily influenced by the ideas of the apostate Belgian socialist Hendrik de Man, who sought to fuse Marx and Freud , and the practice of such firms as Siemens in Berlin.”
Michael Burleigh (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let us not believe that it is enough to read without unction, to speculate without devotion, to investigate without wonder, to observe without joy, to act without godly zeal, to know without love, to understand without humility, to strive without divine grace, or to reflect as a mirror without divinely inspired wisdom.”
Bonaventure (1221–1274) said by 1274 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Memories are immortal. They’re deathless and precise. They have the power of giving you joy and perspective in hard times. Or, they can strangle you. Define you in a way that’s based more in other people’s tucked-up perceptions than truth.”
Viola Davis (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m living for my peace and my joy,”
Viola Davis (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am destined to pass through this world, wandering like an invisible meteor. Precisely because I am superior, I will have to empty the entire cup of sorrow and distress with no joy to cheer me. But the harsh intoxication of drinking from the chalice of sorrow is a superb pleasure that only one who tears his soul to shreds by himself, with his own hands, is given to taste.”
Bruno Filippi (1900–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What sweeter than this in the world! Friend met friend and the lover joined his Beloved. That was all sorrow, this is all joy Those were all words, this is all reality.”
Abu Sa'id Abu'l-Khayr (967–1049) said by 1049 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nothing in life produce a more powerful joy than a near miss by the Angel of Death.”
Charles Sheffield (1935–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Remunerated joy, weekends off or annual holidays paid by the boss is like paying to make love. It seems the same but there is something lacking.”
Alfredo M. Bonanno (1937–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Only joy will be uncontrollable. A force unknown to the civilised larvae that populate our era. A force that will multiply the creative impulse of the revolution a thousandfold.”
Alfredo M. Bonanno (1937–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I try not to stand on a soapbox and scream. That's boring. You've got to be funny sometimes. All my humor comes from anger. Satire is terrific therapy. Making people laugh is a joy, but making them think about something serious is the ultimate reward.”
Carl Hiaasen (born 1953) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ready to Give a Hoot", by Margaret Wappler; Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2006
“It was this immense resignation to the shape of his life that opened him every day to the experience of joy. (p140)”
Louise Erdrich (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I keep wanting to repeat over and over and over again, the pain and shock of difference, the joy of commonness, the exhilaration of meeting through incredible odds against it.”
Cherríe Moraga (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are so many different ways lives work out, so many stories, and every one of them is precious: full of joy and heartbreak, and a fair amount of situation comedy. Every life is a movie that starts in color. They just all end in black and white.”
Sean Stewart (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This paper should be filled with statistics, but no statistic can show the joy of a child who runs around the room to tell his friends, "She speaks Spanish. She can help you with your books.”
Pura Belpré (1899–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: My Work in the Children's Room" in The Stories I Read to the Children: The Life and Writing of Pura Belpré by Lisa Sánchez González (2013)
“We pray for joy and love to fill our hearts, our days and our nights”
Ana Castillo (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source