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. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide

English Italiano Polski עברית Français Português فارسی Español 中文 Русский Deutsch العربية हिन्दी 日本語 Ελληνικά Latina

God

Love Friendship Happiness Hope Fear Courage Death Life Time War Peace Freedom Truth Wisdom Knowledge Science Art Music Nature Money Work Power God Beauty Laughter Family Success and failure Change Dreams Books and reading

“I did pray. I kept on praying. But prayer did nothing to alleviate their suffering. Behind their ears a small incision has been made; the blood drips slowly through this incision and through the nose and mouth. I know it well, because I have experienced that same suffering in my own body. Prayer does nothing to alleviate suffering.”
Shūsaku Endō (1923–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To inculturate means discovering the meeting point of prayer (lex orandi) and of Christian faith (lex credendi) with the prayer and faith of Traditional Religions of Africa and Madagascar.”
Charles-Remy Rakotonirina (1928–2005) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bishop Charles-Remi RAKOTONIRINA (Bishop of Frafangana, Madagascar) (1994) The African Synod
“Superficial prayer is hypocrisy, blasphemy, vain prayer.”
John of Kronstadt (1829–1909) said by 1909 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perhaps the prayer that is offered when the time for praying is over is more terribly pathetic than any other. Yet one might hesitate to say that this prayer was unanswered.”
Barry Pain (1864–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Prayer is not a passive act, prayer is power, it restores, it unites, it heals and it transforms.”
Maipelo Mophuting wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you have no chance to decide your own fate, you put yourself in the hands of someone who, at that moment, you hope exists. And so you give in to the temptation of prayer: not your own prayer, which you may not be capable of, but one of those you were taught as a child and which, perhaps, you still remember by heart.”
Fabrizio De André (1940–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Prayer is not passive or impotent! Prayer helps us find the truth. With the country in disorder we Christians must pray and pray above all that the president will repent.”
Joseph Cheng Tsai-fa (1932–2022) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Catholic archbishop of Tai Pei issues open letter on the necessity of prayer and imitation of Jesus in social and political life and in times of national crisis (10 October 2006) Fides News Agency
“I would say, prayer. I find prayer helps keep me sane in this male-dominated industry. It helps me deal with different personalities and even family members, as everyone is different and thinks differently.”
Tamika Scott (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Well, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All he did not exclude PASTORS and REVEREND FATHERS. They are just men. They are weak. They are tempted by evil and sometimes they fall. Let’s pray for them. They need deliverance too from angelic faces and useless bitches and Delila that have sold their conscience. Me I still have conscience so I will make heaven by Gods grace.”
Cossy Orjiakor (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She told her slaves with tidy hair, "Now listen to me, girls! The gods who live on Mount Olympus must have wished this man to come into contact with my godlike people. Before, he looked so poor and unrefined; now he is like a god that lives in heaven.”
Emily Wilson (classicist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is the manner of gods and prophets to begin: "Thou shalt have none other God or Prophet but me." If I were to start as a God or a prophet I think I should take the line: "Thou shalt not believe in me. Thou shalt not have me for a God. Thou shalt worship any d_____d thing thou likest except me." This should be my first and great commandment, and my second should be like unto it.”
Samuel Butler (novelist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How shall we define a god? Expressed in psychological terms (which are primary-there is no getting behind them) a god is something that gives us the peculiar kind of feeling which Professor Otto has called "numinous". Numinous feelings are the original god-stuff from which the theory-making mind extracts the individualised gods of the pantheon.”
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every single city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.”
Ahaz (763–727 BC) said by 727 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The gods of religions are ridiculous, there is no evidence, let alone convincing, that God exists and, in and of itself, the idea of God doesn’t even make sense. Believing in God is, therefore, a tremendous waste of time (and, if you are a church member, money).”
Paulo Bittencourt (1892–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And God is above all gods. But at the same time I would like to say that we mustn’t leave them without testifying and witnessing to them so that they may know that the God we serve loves them. That is most important, so that they may not think that they are celebrities in the house of God. That is important”
Benjamin Dube (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When had a slave religion proved anything but an aid to the conqueror? Slaves needed a wailing wall; they went into their temples, prayed to their gods to deliver them from oppression, and came out to work in the fields and factories, relaxed and made harmless by the emotional catharsis of prayer.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do you fear the gods will destroy you?” That disturbing smile again. “That is not a fear. That is a prayer.” “Or…do you fear their punishment? That they would plunge your soul into some eternal torment?” Wencel leaned forward, up on his toes. “That,” he breathed in Ingrey’s ear, “would be redundant.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Tiamak closed his eyes to make a short prayer of thanks, hoping that the gods, like children, could be confirmed in good behavior by praise.”
Tad Williams (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’ve been saying a special prayer to Eunmar; did you know I believe in the old gods? If you try hard enough, I’ve found, you can believe anything.”
L. Sprague de Camp (1907–2000) said by 2000 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Passion! Passion! We live by this and nothing else. Passion is the power of prayer. The power of will. The power of meditation. The power of the way of the gods. Passion, in other words, is the power of spiritual concentration. And spiritual concentration is the one and only gateway to the realm of mystery and wonder.”
Hiratsuka Raichō (1886–1971) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In The Beginning Woman Was The Sun (『元始、女性は太陽であった』, Genshi, josei wa taiyō de atta), first published 1971-1973; translated by Teruko Craig in
“Horn could hear the click of the dice that made up the multiverse. Beneath the struggles of gods and men and monsters, behind the powers of magic and prayer and bared blade, chance governed all.”
Jay Lake (1964–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The black-winged Erinnys Will never enter those homes where the hands are lifted up in prayer, And the gods have accepted their offerings.”
Georgiana Chatterton (1806–1876) said by 1876 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But in some canine Paradise Your wraith, I know, rebukes the moon,And quarters every plain and hill, Seeking its master... As for me This prayer at least the gods fulfill; That when I pass the flood and seeOld Charon by the Stygian coast Take toll of all the shades who land, Your little, faithful barking ghost May leap to lick my phantom hand.”
St. John Lucas (1879–1934) said by 1934 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wilt thou debase the heart which God refined? No; let thy heaven-taught soul to heaven aspire, To fancy, freedom, harmony, resigned; Ambition's groveling crew forever left behind.”
James Beattie (1735–1803) said by 1803 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Though sands be black and bitter black the sea, Light lie before me and behind me night, And God within far Heaven refuse to light The consolation of the dawn for me,— Between the shadowy bournes of Heaven and Hell, It is enough love leaves my soul to dwell With Memory.”
Madison Cawein (1865–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can't see heaven but I credit hell — I live in New York so I know it well. When they shut out heaven with the Fuller Dome God gave it up and He went home.”
John Brunner (1934–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Heaven is where God dwells. It is a specific place; …a place of unparalleled tranquility and beauty. It includes the new heaven and new earth.”
Paul Enns (born 1937) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool. It seems as if heaven had sent its insane angels into our world as to an asylum. And here they will break out into their native music, and utter at intervals the words they have heard in heaven; then the mad fit returns, and they mope and wallow like dogs!”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Have you been wondering just where we are? After all, theologians have debated for centuries over the exact location of Heaven. Some have said that Heaven can be found beyond the stars. Some say it exists in the heart of Man, and others claim that it does not exist at all, that God is dead, or at least unemployed.”
Larry Niven (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For socialism is not merely the labour question, it is before all things the atheistic question, the question of the form taken by atheism to-day, the question of the tower of Babel built without God, not to mount to heaven from earth but to set up heaven on earth.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever'body wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head.”
John Steinbeck (1902–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Heroic numberer of languages, A conspicuous sea-shoal of goodly increase. A number that God will watch with extreme love. In heaven, in earth, at the end, In straits, in expanse, in form, In body, in soul, in habit, Prudence far from the presence of kings. I adore thee, Ruler of the land of peace. Let my soul be in a condition of life; For ever in court; A servant of heaven, he will not refuse me.”
Taliesin (518–599) said by 599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The praising thy mercy. There hath not been here; O supreme Ruler; There hath not been; there will not be, One so good as the Lord. There hath not been born in the day of the people Any one equal to God. And no one will acknowledge Any one equal to him. Above heaven, below heaven, There is no Ruler but he. Above sea, below sea, He created us.”
Taliesin (518–599) said by 599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Christian belief in heaven originated after the death of Jesus with the idea that he had been taken up into heaven or exalted to the right hand of God.”
Albert Nolan (1934–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“God wanted to make heaven and the earth is that heaven. Nowhere in the universe there is so much love, life, beauty and peace. Enjoy your stay with the fellow beings.”
Amit Ray (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let us not forget that the sunlight is God's smile of benediction; that the sunshine is Heaven's light and life and glory, the true Shekinah, the real presence with which the temple needs most to be filled; that the cooling breeze is the breath of heaven, a veritable messenger of life, carrying healing on its wings.”
John Harvey Kellogg (1852–1943) said by 1943 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“God’s Kingdom is not elsewhere. It is founded in the hearts of those who practice this teaching and thrives on courage. Others yearn for the way to Heaven, but they do not know which road leads to Heaven or which to hell. They have gone astray because they do not have a true leader to guide them.”
Sayo Kitamura (1900–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Some live, some die. It's the only way to view it. Anything else is just self-torture and arrogance. Because we are not gods, none of us are gods. - Dr Ahmet Talzani”
Scott Anderson (novelist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That is the difference between gods and men. Gods can change themselves; humans can only be changed.”
Cees Nooteboom (1933–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Having studied the words of Carl Jung, I believe the old Gods are a potential colossus within our collective subconscience. The old Gods and the old religion were exclusively ours and thus, relate to our race-soul. Through the myths and legends we find a link to our past and a rudder for our floundering racial vessel.”
David Lane (white nationalist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He used to reason as follows: 'Everything belongs to the gods; the wise are friends of the gods; friends hold all things in common; ergo, everything belongs to the wise.'”
Diogenes of Sinope (400–323 BC) said by 323 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 37, as reported in Diogenes the Cynic: Sayings and Anecdotes as translated by Robin Hard (Oxford: 2012), p. 13
“And yet Dorastus shame not at thy shepherd's weed: the heavenly gods have sometimes earthly thoughts: Neptune became a ram, Jupiter a bull, Apollo a shepherd: they gods, and yet in love; and thou a man appointed to love.”
Robert Greene (dramatist) first seen 1588 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 39 (ed. 1588)
“We are the gods of the atoms that make up ourselves but we are also the atoms of the gods that make up the universe.”
Manly P. Hall (1901–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Think on These Things (1998), compiled by Clarke E. Johnston, p. 22
“Been reading Hardy's Return of the Native. Astonishing how moral standards have shifted over the past hundred years:shifted isn't the word - a landslide...Today the problems of these nineteenth-century novels strike us as exaggerated, as bathos, even comical - much ado about nothing. But for these people it really was a struggle with the gods, very real, menacing, dangerous gods.”
Ida Friederike Görres (1901–1971) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Broken Lights Diaries 1955-57.
“What is inevitable is not death but change. Change is the only abiding reality. The metaverse evolves, fractally and forever. Saints become sinners, sinners become saints. Dust becomes men, men become gods, gods become dust.”
Robert Charles Wilson (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They are in bad faith — they are afraid — and fear, bad faith have an aroma that the gods find delicious. Yes, the gods like that, the pitiful souls.”
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Though thou loved her as thyself, As a self of purer clay, Tho' her parting dims the day, Stealing grace from all alive, Heartily know, When half-gods go, The gods arrive.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That’s pretty minor. What kind of Gods are these?” “Petty, like all Gods. On the other hand, there’s no penalty at all for masturbation.” “I’m changing religions,” Kevin said positively.”
Larry Niven (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All ages before ours believed in gods in some form or other. Only an unparalleled impoverishment in symbolism could enable us to rediscover the gods as psychic factors, which is to say, as archetypes of the unconscious. No doubt this discovery is hardly credible as yet.”
Carl Jung (1875–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I belong to a generation - assuming that this generation includes others besides me - that lost its faith in the gods of the old religions as well as in the gods of modern nonreligions. I reject Jehova as I reject humanity.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source