Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“And the body of a dead youth Lies stretched upon the ground Upon the filthy pavements No reason can be found Black day in July”
Gordon Lightfoot (1938–2023) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Black Day In July, Track 3, (mono 45 edit), UNITED ARTISTS 50281, March 1968
“The power to change your life lies in the simplest of steps.”
Steve Maraboli (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“America is ripe for lies and lethargy. The pure mountain air is going and gone. It is a huge burden and a sadness for us all.”
Ralph Steadman (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thus we have the spectacle, still to be seen today, of the western rancher who accepts federal aid for his cattle operations and federal aid for his grazing requirements, but bitterly opposes all social programs that do not concern him, and the philosophy that lies behind them.”
Charles A. Reich (1928–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Certain it is that a conviction, akin to religious feeling, of the rationality or intelligibility of the world lies behind all scientific work of a higher order. ... This firm belief, a belief bound up with deep feeling, in a superior mind that reveals itself in the world of experience, represents my conception of God.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) first seen 1934 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'Essays in Science (1934) p. 11. Reprinted in Ideas and Opinions On Scientific Truth (1954) p. 261, Crown Publishers, Inc. New York, New York, USA, 1954, .
“I received your letter of June 10th. I have never talked to a Jesuit priest in my life and I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) first seen 1945 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Guy H. Raner Jr. (2 July 1945), responding to a rumor that a Jesuit priest had caused Einstein to convert to Christianity, quoted in an article by Michael R. Gilmore in Skeptic magazine, Vol. 5, No. 2 (1997)
“The greatness of our God lies in the fact that He is both toughminded and tenderhearted.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists, who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood. The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific, and religious freedom have always been nonconformists. In any cause that concerns the progress of mankind, put your faith in the nonconformist!”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In spite of Death, the mark and seal of the parental control, Man is yet free, during his brief years, to examine, to criticise, to know, and in imagination to create. To him alone, in the world with which he is acquainted, this freedom belongs; and in this lies his superiority to the resistless forces that control his outward life.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The essence of the Liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held, but in how they are held: instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively, and with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The only thing that will redeem mankind is co-operation, and the first step towards co-operation lies in the hearts of individuals.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I must confess that I am deeply troubled. I fear that human beings are intent upon acting out a vast deathwish and that it lies with us now to make every effort to promote resistance to the insanity and brutality of policies which encompass the extermination of hundreds of millions of human beings.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Rudolf Carnap, June 21, 1962
“The honest ratepayer and his healthy family have no doubt often mocked at the dome-like forehead of the philosopher, and laughed over the strange perspective of the landscape that lies beneath him. If they really knew who he was, they would tremble. For Chuang Tsǔ spent his life in preaching the great creed of Inaction, and in pointing out the uselessness of all things.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) first seen 1890 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Review of Herbert Giles translation of the works of Zhuangzi (Chuang Tsu) in The Speaker (8 February 1890)
“Art is Individualism, and Individualism is a disturbing and disintegrating force. Therein lies its immense value. For what it seeks to disturb is monotony of type, slavery of custom, tyranny of habit, and the reduction of man to the level of a machine.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Intolerance is natural and logical, for in every dissenting opinion lies an assumption of superior wisdom.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Infancy, n. The period of our lives when, according to Wordsworth, 'Heaven lies about us.' The world begins lying about us pretty soon afterward.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Many a one commits a reprehensible action, who is at bottom an honourable man, because man seldom acts upon natural impulse, but from some secret passion of the moment which lies hidden and concealed within the narrowest folds of his heart.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A book in which there were no lies would be a curiosity.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Forget that foreign word "ideals." We have that good old native word: "lies.”
Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) said by 1906 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own.”
Henry Ford (1863–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“: What will History say? : History, sir, will tell lies, as usual.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The whole strength of England lies in the fact that the enormous majority of the English people are snobs.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Optimistic lies have such immense therapeutic value that a doctor who cannot tell them convincingly has mistaken his profession.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is my perspective and has always been my perspective on life: I have a very grim, pessimistic view of it. I always have, since I was a little boy. It hasn't gotten worse with age or anything. I do feel that it's a grim, painful, nightmarish, meaningless experience, and that the only way that you can be happy is if you tell yourself some lies and deceive yourself.”
Woody Allen (born 1935) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Press conference for You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger at the Cannes Film Festival (2011).
“Homer has taught all other poets the art of telling lies skillfully.”
Aristotle (384–322 BC) said by 322 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The administration of government lies in getting proper men. Such men are to be got by means of the ruler's own character. That character is to be cultivated by his treading in the ways of duty. And the treading those ways of duty is to be cultivated by the cherishing of benevolence.”
Confucius (551–479 BC) said by 479 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Neither a wise man or a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) first seen 1952 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Time magazine (6 October 1952)
“An unpopular opinion concerning politics or religion lies concealed in the breast of every man; in many cases not only one sample, but several. The more intelligent the man, the larger the freightage of this kind of opinions he carries, and keeps to himself.”
Mark Twain (1835–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our protection against all kinds of fanatics and extremists, none of whom can be trusted with unlimited power over others, lies not in their forbearance but in the limitations of our Constitution.”
Robert H. Jackson (1892–1954) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: American Communications Association v. Douds, 339 U.S. 382, 439 (1950)
“Grandeur of character lies wholly in force of soul, that is, in the force of thought, moral principle, and love, and this may be found in the humblest condition of life.”
William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) said by 1842 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our nation stands at a fork in the political road. In one direction lies a land of slander and scare; the land of sly innuendo, the poison pen, the anonymous phone call and hustling, pushing, shoving; the land of smash and grab and anything to win. This is Nixonland. But I say to you that it is not America.”
Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Los Angeles California (27 October 1956), as quoted in The New America (1971), edited by Seymour E. Harris, John B. Martin, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., p. 249
“Real fulfillment, for the man who allows absolutely free rein to his desires, and who much dominate everything, lies in hatred.”
Albert Camus (1913–1960) said by 1960 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Palace of Justice in Brussels lies like a cyclops above the city, building a court of justice above a city, that is really something special.”
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War is not a courtesy but the most horrible thing in life; and we ought to understand that, and not play at war. We ought to accept this terrible necessity sternly and seriously. It all lies in that: get rid of falsehood and let war be war and not a game. As it is now, war is the favourite pastime of the idle and frivolous.”
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People understand the meaning of eating lies in the nourishment of the body only when they cease to consider that the object of that activity is pleasure. ...People understand the meaning of art only when they cease to consider that the aim of that activity is beauty, i.e., pleasure.”
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I renounce war for its consequences, for the lies it lives on and propagates, for the undying hatred it arouses, for the dictatorships it puts in place of democracy, for the starvation that stalks after it. I renounce war, and never again, directly or indirectly, will I sanction or support another.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) first seen 1933 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Armistice sermon The Unknown Soldier (preached Sunday 12 November 1933, immediately following Armistice Day), published in The Secret of Victorious Living (1934); also in I Renounce War : The Story of the Peace Pledge U…
“A good sermon is an engineering operation by which a chasm is bridged so that the spiritual goods on one side — the "unsearchable riches of Christ" — are actually transported into personal lives upon the other. Here lies the difference between a sermon and a lecture.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A singular disadvantage of the sea lies in the fact that after successfully surmounting one wave you discover that there is another behind it just as important and just as nervously anxious to do something effective in the way of swamping boats.”
Stephen Crane (1871–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Man has gone out to explore other worlds and other civilizations without having explored his own labyrinth of dark passages and secret chambers, and without finding out what lies behind doorways that he himself has sealed.”
Stanisław Lem (1921–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To one ineradicable prejudice I freely confess, and that is a prejudice against poverty. I never have anything to do, if it is possible, with anyone who is in financial difficulties…Such persons do not excite my compassion; they excite my aversion…The blame, so far as my experience runs, always lies within.”
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I know not whether more is to be dreaded from streets filled with soldiers accustomed to plunder, or from garrets filled with scribblers accustomed to lies.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1758 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 30 (11 November 1758)
“A convincing demonstration of correctness being impossible as long as the mechanism is regarded as a black box, our only hope lies in not regarding the mechanism as a black box.”
Edsger W. Dijkstra (1930–2002) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Dijkstra (1970) "Notes On Structured Programming" (EWD249), Section 3 ("On The Reliability of Mechanisms"), p. 5.
“The centre of gravity of any parallelogram lies on the straight line joining the middle points of opposite sides.”
Archimedes (287–212 BC) said by 212 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In any triangle the centre of gravity lies on the straight line joining any angle to the middle point of the opposite side.”
Archimedes (287–212 BC) said by 212 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Combinations in industry are the result of an imperative economic law which cannot be repealed by political legislation. The effort at prohibiting all combination has substantially failed. The way out lies, not in attempting to prevent such combinations, but in completely controlling them in the interest of the public welfare.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Body of B. Franklin Printer; Like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and Amended By the Author.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) first seen 1728 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Epitaph for himself, written in 1728, at age 22. "Transcript of Benjamin Franklin, Epitaph – Benjamin Franklin: In His Own Words", Library of Congress: Exhibitions (August 16, 2010)
“Here Skugg lies snug As a bug in a rug.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) first seen 1772 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Miss Georgiana Shipley (September, 1772); reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
“Academic training in beauty is a sham. We have been deceived... The beauties of the Parthenon, Venuses, Nymphs, Narcissuses are so many lies. Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon.”
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Herschel Browning Chip (1968, p. 271), quoted in Chipp (1978, 266); As cited in: Constance Milbrath (1998), Patterns of Artistic Development in Children, p. 257.
“You mustn't alway believe what I say", he once told me. "Questions tempt you to tell lies, particularly when there is no answer.”
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From Picasso, His Life and Work, Sir Roland Penrose, (1981), p. 413