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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“Irregularity and want of method are only supportable in men of great learning or genius, who are often too full to be exact, and therefore choose to throw down their pearls in heaps before the reader, rather than be at the pains of stringing them.”
Joseph Addison (1672–1719) first seen 1712 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 476 (5 September 1712)
“Whence thy learning? Hath thy toil O'er books consumed the midnight oil?”
John Gay (1685–1732) said by 1732 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A progeny of learning.”
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) said by 1816 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Find time still to be learning somewhat good, and give up being desultory.”
Marcus Aurelius (121–180) said by 180 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
“Whatever America has to show in heroic living to-day, I doubt if she can show any thing finer than the quality of the resolve, the steadfast effort hundreds of black and coloured men are making to-day to live blamelessly, honourably, and patiently, getting for themselves what scraps of refinement, learning, and beauty they may, keeping their hold on a civilization they are grudged and denied.”
H. G. Wells (1866–1946) first seen 1906 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Future in America (1906)
“As long as learning is connected with earning, as long as certain jobs can only be reached through exams, so long must we take the examination system seriously. If another ladder to employment was contrived, much so-called education would disappear, and no one be a penny the stupider.”
E. M. Forster (1879–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But I have seen my obstacles: trivialities, learning and poetry. This last needs explaining: the old artist's readiness to dissolve characters into a haze. Characters cannot come alive and fight and guide the world unless the novelist wants them to remain characters.”
E. M. Forster (1879–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let not one bring Learning, another Diligence, another Religion, but every one bring all.”
John Donne (1572–1631) said by 1631 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I feel I'm happily inspired now on Classical soil: The Past and Present speak louder, more charmingly. Here, as advised, I leaf through the works of the Ancients With busy hands, and, each day, with fresh delight. But at night Love keeps me busy another way: I become half a scholar but twice as contented. And am I not learning, studying the shape Of her lovely breasts: her hips guiding my hand?”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To his sight The husk of natural objects opens quite To the core; and every secret essence there Reveals the elements of good and fair; Making him see, where Learning hath no light.”
John Keats (1795–1821) first seen 1821 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Poet", London Magazine (October 1821)
“Only one thing matters: learning to be the loser.”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Men of polite learning and a liberal education.”
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) said by 1714 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Mathew Henry
“The great secretary of Nature and all learning, Sir Francis Bacon.”
Izaak Walton (1593–1683) first seen 1670 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Life of Herbert (1670)
“Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.”
Samuel Butler (novelist) first seen 1895 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the Somerville Club, February 27, 1895
“If a man has not studied painting, or at any rate black and white drawing, his eyes are wild; learning to draw tames them. The first step towards taming the eyes is to teach them not to see too much.”
Samuel Butler (novelist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I cannot choose but marvel at the way In which our lives pass on, from day to day Learning strange lessons in the human heart, And yet like shadows letting them depart.”
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) said by 1838 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of such deep learning little had he neede, Ne yet of Latine, ne of Greeke, that breede Doubts mongst Divines, and difference of texts, From whence arise diversitie of sects, And hatefull heresies.”
Edmund Spenser (1552–1599) said by 1599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was six men of Hindustan To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant (Though all of them were blind) That each by observation Might satisfy the mind.”
John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887) said by 1887 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The love of money and the love of learning rarely meet.”
George Herbert (1593–1633) said by 1633 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Learning hath gained most by those books by which the printers have lost.”
Thomas Fuller (1608–1661) said by 1661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Learning how to be strong, to feel her own emotions and not another’s, had been hard; but once you learned the trick of it, you did not forget.”
Neil Gaiman (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One important idea is that science is a means whereby learning is achieved, not by mere theoretical speculation on the one hand, nor by the undirected accumulation of practical facts on the other, but rather by a motivated iteration between theory and practice.”
George E. P. Box (1919–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When there isn't enough food, the body has to make a decision on how to invest the limited foodstuff available to it. Survival comes first, growth comes second. And in this kind of nutritional triage, the body seems obliged to rank learning, last. It sort of it's better to be stupid and alive, than smart and dead.”
Carl Sagan (1934–1996) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Carl Sagan on Literacy & Nutrition - Cornell University - 1994
“Poor rhetoric, once "learning" itself, now becomes reduced to the teaching of mannerisms and forms, Aristotelian forms, for writing, as if these mattered.”
Robert M. Pirsig (1928–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A lot of learning can be a little thing.”
Spike Milligan (1918–2002) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: England Home and Beauty for Sale, Small Dreams of a Scorpion: Poems (1972)
“The people will live on. The learning and blundering people will live on. They will be tricked and sold and again sold. And go back to the nourishing earth for rootholds.”
Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The People, Yes" (1936)
“Learning a language represents training in the delusions of that language.”
Frank Herbert (1920–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Enlightened business is learning that competition ought not to cause bad social consequences which inevitably react upon the profits of business itself. All but the hopelessly reactionary will agree that to conserve our primary resources of man power, government must have some control over maximum hours, minimum wages, the evil of child labor and the exploitation of unorganized labor.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I intend no Monopoly, but a Community in Learning; I study not for my own sake only, but for theirs that study not for themselves.”
Thomas Browne (1605–1682) said by 1682 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This hath ever been a comfort to me, that I chose Jesus to my Heaven, by His grace, in all this time of Passion and sorrow; and that hath been a learning to me that I should evermore do so: choose only Jesus to my Heaven in weal and woe.”
Julian of Norwich (1342–1500) said by 1500 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Age of Reptiles ended because it had gone on long enough and it was all a mistake in the first place. A better day was dawning at the close of the Mesozoic Era. There were some little warm-blooded animals around which had been stealing and eating the eggs of the Dinosaurs, and they were gradually learning to steal other things, too. Civilization was just around the corner.”
Will Cuppy (1884–1949) said by 1949 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I experienced what was going on first hand, I just got sucked into the whole thing. Thank God I did. I met some amazing people and, hopefully, I’ve changed the lives of a lot of children. Just as important, I think it’s been an incredible growing and learning experience for me." (About her work in Malawi).”
Madonna (entertainer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The God idea is growing more impersonal and nebulous in proportion as the human mind is learning to understand natural phenomena and in the degree that science progressively correlates human and social events.”
Emma Goldman (1869–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is true that parents today are learning to enhance the physical qualities of their children. But their minds and characters they cannot mould. The antiquated system of education and our perverse social influences unfortunately do that. In view of the numerous misfit and marred children these institutions have created, I am quite content not to have contributed any of my own.”
Emma Goldman (1869–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Learning acquired in youth arrests the evil of old age; and if you understand that old age has wisdom for its food, you will so conduct yourself in youth that your old age will not lack for nourishment.”
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) said by 1519 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lovely weather so far; I don't know how long it will last, but I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship.”
Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) said by 1888 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Because learning does not consist only of knowing what we must or we can do, but also of knowing what we could do and perhaps should not do.”
Umberto Eco (1932–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Home is where your ass is and if you want to move you move your ass the first step is learning to change homes with someone else and have someone else's ass.”
William S. Burroughs (1914–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mael, a scion of a royal family of Cambria, was sent in his ninth year to the Abbey of Yvern so that he might there study both sacred and profane learning. At the age of fourteen he renounced his patrimony and took a vow to serve the Lord. His time was divided, according to the rule, between the singing of hymns, the study of grammar, and the meditation of eternal truths.”
Anatole France (1844–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What it talks about is stuff that I've gone through, like, in the past year, which is, you know, a lot, and some of it's good, and some of it's bad, and a lot of it's, like, a big learning experience. And I got to write a lot about that with people that I've worked with before, so I felt completely comfortable.”
Hilary Duff (born 1987) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hilary Duff Says New Album Is More Personal". Yahoo! Music. September 27 2004. Retrieved October 25 2006.
“Disneyland is often called a magic kingdom because it combines fantasy and history, adventure and learning, together with every variety of recreation and fun designed to appeal to everyone.”
Walt Disney (1901–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.”
Colin Powell (1937–2021) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell (2003) by Oren Harari, p. 164.
“The world is always full of brilliant youth which fades into grey and embittered middle age: the first flowering takes everything. The great men are those who have developed slowly, or who have been able to survive the glamour of their early florescence and to go on learning from life.”
Willa Cather (1873–1947) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Joseph and His Brothers"; first published in The Saturday Review of Literature (6 June 1936)
“Learning is its own exceeding great reward; and at the period of which we speak, it bore other fruits, not unworthy of it.”
William Hazlitt (1778–1830) first seen 1825 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Old English Writers and Speakers" (1825)
“I have two ways of learning from history: from the past, by reading the elders; and from the future, thanks to my Monte Carlo toy.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I'd started in business thinking I knew everything, I'd have been sunk before I started... Never think of learning as being a burden or studying as being boring. It may require some discipline, but it can be an adventure. It can also prepare you for a new beginning.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education In Business and Life (2009), pp. 16–17
“Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World’s Great Universities or Colleges. Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status will threaten all nonprofits", The Fire (April 18, 2025)
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trump lashes out at France and UK, says nations should ‘just take’ Strait of Hormuz to replenish lost oil" New York Post (March 31, 2026)
“Control exists only when there is action of will, positively or negatively. Will is resistance. When the mind is learning, there is no resistance.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 3rd Public Talk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (24 May 1971)
“Learning implies a mind that doesn't know.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 2nd Public Talk, Saanen, Switzerland (20 July 1971)