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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“Fate, and the dooming gods, are deaf to tears.”
John Dryden (1631–1700) said by 1700 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Time has made you dote, and vainly tell Of arms imagined in your lonely cell: Go! be the temple and the gods your care; Permit to men the thought of peace and war.”
John Dryden (1631–1700) said by 1700 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Give me, ye gods, the product of one field, That so I neither may be rich nor poor; And haying just enough, not covet more.”
John Dryden (1631–1700) said by 1700 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A monster, which the Blatant beast men call, A dreadfull feend of gods and men ydrad.”
Edmund Spenser (1552–1599) said by 1599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“American Gods is about 200,000 words long, and I'm sure there are words that are simply in there 'cause I like them. I know I couldn't justify each and every one of them.”
Neil Gaiman (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gods die. And when they truly die they are unmourned and unremembered. Ideas are more difficult to kill than people, but they can be killed, in the end.”
Neil Gaiman (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even the gods cannot change destiny.”
Neil Gaiman (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There was an old abbot in one temple and he said something of which I think often and it was this, that when men destroy their old gods they will find new ones to take their place.”
Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Quotable Woman (1978) by Elaine T Partnow, p. 226. "When men destroy their old gods they will find new ones to take their place" has sometimes been quoted as her original statement, though she states th…
“The ineffable joy of forgiving and being forgiven forms an ecstasy that might well arouse the envy of the gods.”
Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) said by 1915 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gods always behave like the people who make them.”
Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Tell My Horse (1938), Ch. 15, p. 219
“From great wrongdoing there are great punishments from the gods.”
Herodotus (484–425 BC) said by 425 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is the gods' custom to bring low all things of surpassing greatness.”
Herodotus (484–425 BC) said by 425 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is sound planning that invariably earns us the outcome we want; without it, even the gods are unlikely to look with favour on our designs.”
Herodotus (484–425 BC) said by 425 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Though all the crannies of the world we filled with elves and goblins, though we dared to build gods and their houses out of dark and light, and sow the seeds of dragons, 'twas our right (used or misused). The right has not decayed. We make still by the law in which we're made.”
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To many, perhaps to most people outside the small company of the great scholars, past and present, 'Celtic' of any sort is, nonetheless, a magic bag, into which anything may be put, and out of which almost anything may come. … Anything is possible in the fabulous Celtic twilight, which is not so much a twilight of the gods as of the reason.”
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'Power' is an ominous and sinister word in all these tales, except as applied to the gods.”
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 131: To Milton Waldman (c. 1951)
“Sometimes when earth's gods are homesick they visit in the still of the night the peaks where once they dwelt, and weep softly as they try to play in the olden way on remembered slopes.”
H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Above the mists on Hatheg-Kla, earth's gods sometimes dance reminiscently; for they know they are safe, and love to come from unknown Kadath in ships of clouds and play in the olden way, as they did when earth was new and men not given to the climbing of inaccessible places.”
H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Disillusioned words like bullets bark As human gods aim for their mark Make everything from toy guns that spark To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark It's easy to see without looking too far That not much is really sacred”
“Do we, holding that the gods exist, deceive ourselves with insubstantial dreams and lies, while random careless chance and change alone control the world?”
Carl Sagan (1934–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Many religions have attempted to make statues of their gods very large, and the idea, I suppose, is to make us feel small. But if that's their purpose, they can keep their paltry icons. We need only look up if we wish to feel small.”
Carl Sagan (1934–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In many myths, the one possibility the gods are most anxious about is that humans will discover some secret of immortality or even... attempt to stride the high heavens. ...It's a little bit like the rich imposing poverty on the poor and then asking to be loved because of it.”
Carl Sagan (1934–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Who hopeth in Gods helpe, his helpe can not starte: Nothing is impossible to a willyng hart, And will maie wyn my herte, herein to consent, To take all thinges as it cometh, and be content.”
John Heywood (1497–1580) said by 1580 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Out of Gods blessing into the warme Sunne.”
John Heywood (1497–1580) said by 1580 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Geoffrey Chaucer
“He nothing common did or mean Upon that memorable scene, But with his keener eye The axe's edge did try: Nor called the gods with vulgar spite To vindicate his helpless right, But bowed his comely head, Down as upon a bed.”
Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) said by 1678 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So many gods, so many creeds; So many paths that wind and wind, While just the art of being kind Is all the sad world needs.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I feel awe of the gods, I love, I revere, I venerate them, and in short have precisely the same feelings towards them as one would have towards kind masters or teachers or fathers or guardians or any beings of that sort.”
Julian (emperor) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oration to the Cynic Heracleios (tr. W. C. Wright, ii, 1913)
“Nature loves to hide her secrets, and she does not suffer the hidden truth about the essential nature of the gods to be flung in naked words to the ears of the profane...”
Julian (emperor) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oration to the Cynic Heracleios (tr. W. C. Wright, ii, 1913)
“Know all ye mortals who have entered this contest, that according to our laws and decrees the victor is allowed to exult but the vanquished must not complain. Depart then wherever you please, and in future live every one of you under the guidance of the gods. Let every man choose his own guardian and guide.”
Julian (emperor) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whom the gods notice they destroy. Be small...and you will escape the jealousy of the great.”
Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In any case, rather like priests who have forgotten the meaning of the prayers they chant, we shall go on for quite a long time talking of books and writing books, pretending all the while not to notice that the church is empty and the parishioners have gone elsewhere to attend other gods, perhaps in silence or with new words.”
Gore Vidal (1925–2012) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: French Letters: Theories of the New Novel" (1967)
“(...) we today (in so far as we are unbelievers, or, if believers, in so far as our inherited beliefs fail to represent the real problems of contemporary life) must face alone, or, at best, with only tentative, impromptu, an not often very effective guidance. This is our problem as modern 'enlightened' individuals, for whom all gods and devils have been rationalized out of existence.”
Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) said by 1987 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chapter 2, page 87 (New World Library, 2008)
“Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.”
Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) said by 1987 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Cinema returns us to anima, religion of matter, which gives each thing its special divinity and sees gods in all things and beings. Cinema, heir of alchemy, last of an erotic science.”
Jim Morrison (1943–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let's reinvent the gods, all the myths of the ages Celebrate symbols from deep elder forests”
Jim Morrison (1943–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mankind is like dogs, not gods — as long as you don't get mad they'll bite you — but stay mad and you'll never be bitten. Dogs don't respect humility and sorrow.”
Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are many kinds of gods. Therefore there are many kinds of men.”
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All gods are home-made, and it is we who pull their strings, and so, give them the power to pull ours”
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You couldn't get hold of the things you'd done and turn them right again. Such a power might be given to the gods, but it was not given to women and men, and that was probably a good thing. Had it been otherwise, people would probably die of old age still trying to rewrite their teens.”
Stephen King (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist. It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.”
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no part of me that is not of the gods!”
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Destiny is an absolutely definite and inexorable ruler. Physical ability and moral determination count for nothing. It is impossible to perform the simplest act when the gods say "No." I have no idea how they bring pressure to bear on such occasions; I only know that it is irresistible. One may be wholeheartedly eager to do something which is as easy as falling off a log; and yet it is impossible.”
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh dear Pan and all the other gods of this place, grant that I may be beautiful inside. Let all my external possessions be in friendly harmony with what is within. May I consider the wise man rich. As for gold, let me have as much as a moderate man could bear and carry with him.”
Socrates (470–399 BC) said by 399 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Has a philosopher like you failed to discover that our country is more to be valued and higher and holier far than mother or father or any ancestor, and more to be regarded in the eyes of the gods and of men of understanding?”
Socrates (470–399 BC) said by 399 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who want fewest things are nearest to the Gods.”
Socrates (470–399 BC) said by 399 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“# War is the father and king of all: some he has made gods, and some men; some slaves and some free.”
Heraclitus (535–471 BC) said by 471 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“# War is the father and king of all, and has produced some as gods and some as men, and has made some slaves and some free. (G. T. W. Patrick, 1889)”
Heraclitus (535–471 BC) said by 471 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And one would worship a woman whom all perfections dower, But the other smiles at transparent wiles; and he quotes from Schopenhauer. Thus two by two we wrangle and blunder about the earth, And that body we share we may not spare; but the Gods have need of mirth.”
James Branch Cabell (1879–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You, whom I made for man's worship when earth was younger and fairer, hearken, and learn why I breathe new life into husks from my scrap-heaps! Gods of old days, discrowned, disjected, and treated as rubbish, hark to the latest way of the folk whose fathers you succored! They have discarded you utterly.”
James Branch Cabell (1879–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“These facts make the creator of music a being like the gods, and make music itself the supreme mystery of human knowledge.”
Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009) first seen 1964 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mythologiques I: Le cru et le cuit (1964)