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
War
LoveFriendshipHappinessHopeFearCourageDeathLifeTimeWarPeaceFreedomTruthWisdomKnowledgeScienceArtMusicNatureMoneyWorkPowerGodBeautyLaughterFamilySuccess and failureChangeDreamsBooks and reading
“I have not been without battle. Bitter affliction was frequent Between me and my cousins. Frequent trials fell Between me and my fellow-countrymen. There was frequent contention Between me and the wretched.”
Taliesin (518–599) said by 599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have been a course, I have been an eagle. I have been a coracle in the seas: I have been compliant in the banquet. I have been a drop in a shower; I have been a sword in the grasp of the hand I have been a shield in battle. I have been a string in a harp, Disguised for nine years, in water, in foam. I have been sponge in the fire, I have been wood in the covert”
Taliesin (518–599) said by 599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There was a calling on the Creator, Upon Christ for causes, Until when the Eternal Should deliver those whom he had made. The Lord answered them, Through language and elements: Take the forms of the principal trees, Arranging yourselves in battle array, And restraining the public.”
Taliesin (518–599) said by 599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sure-hoofed is my steed in the day of battle: The high sprigs of alder are on thy hand: Bran by the branch thou bearest Has Amathaon the good prevailed.”
Taliesin (518–599) said by 599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am alone on the earth, face to face with the mud, and I can no longer move. The frightful searching of the shells alights around me. The hoarse hurricane which does not know me is yet trying to find the place where I am! Then the battle goes away, and its departure is heartrending. In spite of all my efforts, the noise of the firing fades and I am alone; the wind blows and I am naked.”
Henri Barbusse (1873–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Suddenly I am pushed by a movement of the horse on which I am lying. I see that he has turned his great head aside; he is mournfully eating grass. I saw this horse but lately in the middle of the regiment — I know him by the white in his mane — rearing and whinnying like the true battle-chargers; and now, broken somewhere, he is silent as the truly unhappy are.”
Henri Barbusse (1873–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I did this [ran for president as a Democrat instead of third party] because I feel that the time for tokenism and symbolic gestures is past. Women need to plunge into the world of politics and battle it out toe to toe on the same ground as male counterparts.”
Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you are to be so emotionally wounded when you are bested in battle, then perhaps you would do well to hone your skills". —Artemis Entreri”
R. A. Salvatore (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[In] Ancient Babylon... they were trying to predict three kinds of things.... where the planets would be, what the weather would be like, and who would win or lose a certain battle; and they had no idea which of these things would be more predictable than the other.”
Stephen Wolfram (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I managed to win Battle Of The Bands with one mandolin player! It was me and eleven goth bands and I won.”
KT Tunstall (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“His [a terrorist's] primary objective is not battle. It is to bring down upon the community in general a reprisal for his wrongs, in the hope that the fury and resentment roused by punishment meted out to the innocent will gradually swell the ranks of those from whom he will draw further recruits.”
Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990) first seen 1957 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bitter Lemons (1957)
“Politics can be a battle of ideas, not insults. It can be about solutions. It can be about making a difference. It can be about always striving to do better. That’s what it can be and what it should be. This is the system our Founders envisioned. It’s messy. It’s complicated. It’s infuriating at times. And it’s a beautiful thing too.”
Paul Ryan (born 1970) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: College Republican National Committee, "Paul Ryan's Unshakeable Optimism in the American Dream" 15 April 2016
“These were the 1940s, and we were told a great deal about the Battle of Britain, the noble French Resistance fighters, the brave, starving Dutch-but I did not learn of the resistance of the Warsaw ghetto until I left home.”
Adrienne Rich (1929–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“East and west and north, wherever the battle grew, As men to a feast we fared, the work of the Will to do.Bent upon vast beginnings, bidding anarchy cease — (Had we hacked it to the Pit, we had left it a place of peace!) —Marching, building, sailing, pillar of cloud or fire, Sons of the Will, we fought the fight of the Will, our sire.”
William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) said by 1903 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life — give me life until the end, That at the very top of being, The battle-spirit shouting in my blood, Out of the reddest hell of the fight I may be snatched and flung Into the everlasting lull, The immortal, incommunicable dream.”
William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) said by 1903 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A thousand creeds and battle-cries, A thousand warring social schemes, A thousand new moralities, And twenty thousand thousand dreams! Each on his own anarchic way, From the old order breaking free, — Our ruined world desires, you say, License, once more, not Liberty.”
Alfred Noyes (1880–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My paternal grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County, Virginia, to Kentucky about 1781 or 1782, where a year or two later he was killed by the Indians, not in battle, but by stealth, when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest. His ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County, Pennsylvania.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With malice toward none, with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A notable quotation is when Qasim asked his Uncle Hussain, if his name would be amongst the names of those who would be blessed with martyrdom in the battle for Islam at Karbala. His Uncle replied asking, "How do you find death Qasim? Qasim replied, Oh my Uncle; I do not fear death. Death for Islam will be sweeter for me than honey.”
Qasim ibn Hasan (667–680) said by 680 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One of the most helpful things I introduced (and of very considerable consequence to Canadians) was my ultimate success in persuading my colleagues (after continuing battle)to reduce the qualifying age for aged pensioners from seventy to sixty-five over a five year period.”
Judy LaMarsh (1924–1980) said by 1980 at the latest 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
“How do you decide a battle is lost? Numbers, strategic advantage, positioning? It's all worth a sparrow's fart. It comes down to men who are willing. The largest army will founder if its men are less willing to die than to win.”
David Gemmell (1948–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A man can be aroused to anger as easily as he is aroused to rut. The two emotions are closely linked. Anger and lust. So the warrior is aroused in battle and fights to dominate.”
David Gemmell (1948–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the train of history makes a sharp turn, said Lenin, the passengers who do not have a good grip on their seats are thrown off. Last week the Communist Limited had just about completed the dizzy turn from the Communazi Pact to the Battle of Britain, and U. S. literary liberals were spattered all over the right of way. ("Revolt of the Intellectuals," January 6, 1941)”
Whittaker Chambers (1901–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The most important thing, my father told me, which I have never forgotten, and which I have often put unto practice was: If you get into a quarrel with anybody, hit him first. "If you hit first, the battle is half-won," my father always said "Don't let him hit first. You hit him first." "What's more," he never forgot to say, too "Usually one blow is all you need." I found this to be true.”
Christopher Vokes (1904–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'Alright Duke,' said Old Sam, 'just for thee I'll oblige, And to show thee I meant no offence', So Sam picked it up, 'Gradely, lad' said the Duke, 'Right-o boys... let battle commence.'”
Stanley Holloway (1890–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(About the death of Giovanni Falcone) It was a tragedy, and the brawls show that the institutions have lost a battle. Falcone was killed for what he did in his life as a magistrate.”
Antonio Di Pietro (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[The] Battle of Britain did not prevent Hitler from dominating the continent for the next four years.”
Peter Hitchens (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh, my God, I can't believe it. Out of all the people in the world, What is the likelihood of jumping Out of my life and into your arms? Maybe, baby, I'm just losing my mind, 'Cause this is trouble, but it feels right. Teetering on the edge of Heaven and Hell Is a battle that I cannot fight.”
Adele (singer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An order was given to set up a pillar of pagan heads on the ... hill between which and our camp the battle had been fought. (...) About 1000 men, women and children were made prisoner ; there as also great slaughter, and a pillar of heads was raised.”
Babur (1483–1531) said by 1531 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The shooting is one long battle against the aggressive obstinacy of the "directress" bitch and her clod of a cameraman - and the two of them stick solidly together in their obduracy.”
Klaus Kinski (1926–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nowadays, secular people often see the Enlightenment as a battle between two mortal enemies; on one side was science, with its principal weapon, reason, and on the other side was religion, with its ancient shield of superstition. Reason defeated superstition, light replaced darkness.”
Jonathan Haidt (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into ideological teams that fight each other as though the fate of the world depended on our side winning each battle. It blinds us to the fact that each team is composed of good people who have something important to say.”
Jonathan Haidt (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The secret of success in battle lies often not so much in the use of one's own strength but in the exploitation of the other side's weaknesses.”
Samuel Youd (1922–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Boulder Rep. Jared Polis is something of a hero to the medical marijuana industry, but recently he took on another fight: the battle against the Stop Online Piracy Act.”
Jared Polis (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Christ … made the blood of the specialists and leading spirits, the representatives of the people boil with his battle-cry: "I", "I", "I"! and provoked the enraged counterblast: We, We, We!”
Constantin Brunner (1862–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Internet is no longer a free realm, but neither has it fulfilled the Orwellian prophecy. It is a contested terrain, where the new, fundamental battle for freedom in the Information Age is being fought.”
Manuel Castells (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the Rothchilds got the word about the battle of Waterloo - in the movie it was by carrier pigeon - they didn't rush down and buy British consols, the government bonds. They rushed in and sold, and then, in the panic, they bought.”
George Goodman (1930–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The first baseball game ever televised was a battle for fourth place in the Ivy League between Columbia and Princeton on May 17, 1939.”
Andrew Zimbalist (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We must not lose this battle.”
Sting (musician) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Said about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, quoted in "Sting warns during Warsaw concert of threats to democracy", ABC News, 31 July 2022
“We have come through a strange cycle in programming, starting with the creation of programming itself as a human activity. Executives with the tiniest smattering of knowledge assume that anyone can write a program, and only now are programmers beginning to win their battle for recognition as true professionals.”
Gerald Weinberg (1933–2018) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cited in: Michael Jay Quinn (2006) Ethics for the information age. p. 415
“If the story of my early years with Russ sound like they were years of battle, then the sound is correct.”
C. West Churchman (1913–2004) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: C. West Churchman (1990, p. 130) cited in: Magnus Ramage, Karen Shipp (2009) Systems Thinkers. p. 140
“We consider the issue of Palestine our cause and the first Arab cause, and Palestine is more valuable to us than oil. Oil can be used as a weapon in battle if necessary. The Palestinian people must return to their homeland, even if it costs us all our lives.”
Faisal of Saudi Arabia (1906–1975) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Part of a declaration by King Faisal about his country's willingness to use oil as a weapon against Israel, broadcasted on Saudi Arabia's national radio on 28 March 1965.
“The only reason from beginning to end is that our foreign office is anti-German and that the Admiralty was anxious to seize any opportunity for using the Navy in battle practice... Never did we arm our people and ask them to give us their lives for less good cause than this.”
Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) first seen 1914 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Leicester Pioneer (7 August 1914), quoted in The Times (9 April 1918), p. 8 and The Times (18 January 1924), p. 14
“I can assure you that, whatever your political colour may be, in the Old Country political parties, even in the heat of battle, never obscure national or Imperial interests.”
Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) first seen 1928 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to a state banquet in Ottawa (9 September 1928), quoted in The Times (11 September 1928), p. 13
“When … some intimation of the eternal significance of my time moves through the heart of my self, it must still battle a positivistic turn of mind and mean-spirited secularism that denies the existence of the holy.”
Sam Keen (1931–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I took with me in my hand on the departing plane a bag of sand, a bag of earth from the soil of a free South Vietnam. My western hero had always been General Douglas MacArthur who made the famous promise "I shall return", after he lost a battle in the Philippines.”
Nguyen Khanh (1927–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Stay away from the church. In the battle over science vs. religion, science offers credible evidence for all the serious claims it makes. The church says, “Oh, it’s right here in this book, see? The one written by people who thought the sun was magic?” I for one would like to see some proof that there is a God. And if you say, “a baby’s smile,” I’m going to kick you right in the stomach.”
Seth MacFarlane (born 1973) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The 'Family' guy commences to Harvard, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2006.
“Missing the Battle of Midway has been the greatest disappointment of my career, but I am going back to the Pacific where I intend personally to have a crack at those yellow bellied sons of bitches and their carriers.”
William Halsey Jr. (1882–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the Naval Academy, as quoted in James C. Bradford, Quarterdeck and Bridge: Two Centuries of American Naval Leaders (1997), p. 350.
“A single, isolated battle that ranks in magnificence and courage with Guam, Tarawa, Omaha Beach. A story that should be told to the blowing of bugles and the beating of drums for the men whose bravery made the capture of this crossing over the Waal possible.”
Bill Downs (1914–1978) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Describing the Allied assault on the Nijmegen bridge during Operation Market Garden in 1944