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
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatinaNederlands
God
LoveFriendshipHappinessHopeFearCourageDeathLifeTimeWarPeaceFreedomTruthWisdomKnowledgeScienceArtMusicNatureMoneyWorkPowerGodBeautyLaughterFamilySuccess and failureChangeDreamsBooks and reading
“Be humble. It becomes a creature, a depending and borrowed being, that lives not of itself, but breathes in another's air with another's breath, and is accountable for every moment of time and can call nothing its own, but is absolutely a tenant at will of the great Lord of heaven and earth.”
William Penn (1644–1718) said by 1718 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The way you can go isn't the real way. The name you can say isn't the real name. Heaven and earth begin in the unnamed: name's the mother of the ten thousand things. So the unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name, whose identity is mystery. Mystery of all mysteries! The door to the hidden.”
Laozi (580–501 BC) said by 501 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: interpreted by Ursula K. LeGuin (1998)
“There is a thing inherent and natural, Which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.”
Laozi (580–501 BC) said by 501 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao (1904)
“John's eyes turned to me. I saw no resignation in them, no hope of heaven, no dawning peace. How I would love to tell you that I did. How I would love to tell myself that. What I saw was fear, misery, incompletion, and incomprehension. They were the eyes of a trapped and terrified animal.”
Stephen King (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was not delight, not wonder that arose among us, it was the peace of heaven. A thousand times have I said it to her and to myself: the most beautiful is also the most sacred. And such was everything in her. Like her singing, even so was her life.”
Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843) said by 1843 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I settled at Cold Mountain long ago Already it seems like ages Wandering free I roam the woods and streams Lingering to watch things be themselves Men don't come this far into the mountains Where white clouds gather and billow Dry grass makes a comfortable mattress The blue sky is a fine quilt Happy to pillow my head on the rock I leave heaven and earth to endless change”
“Since I retired to Cold Mountain I've lived by eating mountain fruits What is there to worry about? Life passes according to karma The months pass like a flowing stream Days and nights like sparks from flint Heaven and earth endlessly change While I sit happily among these cliffs”
“What makes earth feel like Hell is our expectation that it should feel like Heaven.”
Chuck Palahniuk (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What's my philosophy? In a word, integral. And what on earth—or in heaven—do I mean by "integral"? The dictionary meaning is fairly simple: "comprehensive, balanced, inclusive, essential for completeness." Short definition, tall order.”
Ken Wilber (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The perfect joys of heaven do not satisfy the cravings of nature.”
William Hazlitt (1778–1830) first seen 1813 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the Literary Character" (28 October 1813)
“The happiest heart that ever beat Was in some quiet breast That found the common daylight sweet, And left to Heaven the rest.”
John Vance Cheney (1848–1922) said by 1922 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Who loves his country never forfeits heaven.”
Alfred Austin (1835–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poet and Saint! to thee alone are given The two most sacred names of Earth and Heaven.”
Abraham Cowley (1618–1667) said by 1667 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Fake Indictments against me didn’t come down from heaven, they came from the most corrupt President in the history of the United States, Crooked Joe Biden, in order to Rig & Steal another Election.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I want to try and get to Heaven”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From a campaign fundraising email asking supporters to contribute $15 during a 24-hour fundraising blitz Donald Trump Asks For $15 Donations to 'Get to Heaven' Newsweek (September 3, 2025)
“Sometimes I have visions of myself driving through hell, selling sulphur and brimstone, or through heaven peddling refreshments to the roaming souls. If me and the children I've got left could find a place where there's no shooting, I wouldn't mind a few years of peace and quiet.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Worship with fulness of heart the weak memory of heaven! It cannot trace Either your name or your face Nobody knows you're still living.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Great hymn of thanksgiving" [Grosser Dankchoral] (1920) from The Devotions (1922-1927); trans. Karl Neumann in Poems, 1913-1956, p. 74
“Here today we huddle tight As the darkest heathens might The snow falls chilly on our skin The snow is forcing its way in. Hush, snow, come in with us to dwell: We were thrown out by Heaven as well.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Christmas legend" [Weinachtslegende] (1923), Berliner Börsen-Courier (25 December 1924); trans. in Poems, 1913-1956, p. 99
“Pennies don't fall from heaven, they have to be earned here on earth.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at Lord Mayor's Banquet (12 November 1979)
“If heaven is the reason and dieing is the door, than why aren't we all leaving what's the drama for?”
Ralston Bowles (born 1952) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From the song "Draper" on the album Carwreck Conversations (2004)
“Let us disperse from our aloofness and serve the weak who made us strong, and cleanse the country in which we live. Let us teach this miserable nation to smile and rejoice with heaven's bounty and glory of life and freedom.”
Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) first seen 1908 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Khalil in Spirits Rebellious (1908) "Khalil The Heretic" Part 3
“If I ever become a Saint — I surely be one of "darkness". I will continually be absent from Heaven — to light the light of those in darkness on earth.”
Mother Teresa (1910–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (2007) by Brian Kolodiejchuk <!-- *If I ever become a saint, I will surely be one of 'darkness'. I will be absent from heaven for those in darkness on earth.
“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”
Joseph Smith Jr. (1805–1844) first seen 1838 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 121 (8 May 1838)
“You will meet and become acquainted with your eternal Mother, the wife of your Father in Heaven… How could a Father claim His title unless there were also a Mother to share that parenthood?”
Joseph Smith Jr. (1805–1844) first seen 1844 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Joseph Smith, n. d. (before his death on June 27, 1844), according to a reminiscence by Zina Diantha Huntington Young reported in Susa Young Gates, History of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association of the Chur…
“There exists a species of transcendental ventriloquism by means of which men can be made to believe that something said on earth comes from Heaven.”
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–1799) said by 1799 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of all the inventions of man I doubt whether any was more easily accomplished than that of a Heaven.”
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–1799) said by 1799 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To see the heaven in your eyes is not so far, 'Cause I'm not afraid to try and go it, To know the love and beauty never known before, I'll leave it up to you to show it.”
Stevie Wonder (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You took me riding in your rocket and gave me a star, But at a half a mile from heaven You dropped me back down to this cold, cold world.”
Stevie Wonder (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Heaven began to run at the edges.”
Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hitler Painted Roses" (1977)
“And whether there is a heaven or hell here, or hereafter, every good man has enough to do to make this world a little better than it is. Millions of lives are wasted in the vain effort to find the origin of things, and the destiny of man. This world has been neglected. We have been taught that life should be merely a preparation for death.”
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) said by 1899 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The doctrine of eternal pain is my trouble with this Christian religion. I reject it on account of its infinite heartlessness. I cannot tell them too often, that during our last war Christians, who knew that if they were shot they would go right to heaven, went and hired wicked men to take their places, perfectly willing that these men should go to hell provided they could stay at home.”
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) said by 1899 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Theologians, pretenders, soothsayers, parsons, priests, popes, bishops, have taken advantage of that. They have stood by graves and promised heaven. They have stood by graves and prophesied a future filled with pain. They have erected their toll-gates on the highway of life and have collected money from fear.”
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) said by 1899 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Imagination, like the atmosphere of spring, woos every seed of earth to seek the blue of heaven, and whispers of bud and flower and fruit. Imagination gathers from every field of thought and pours the wealth of many lives into the lap of one.”
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) said by 1899 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To compel man to desert the standard of Reason, the church does not entirely rely on the threat of eternal pain to be endured in another world, but holds out the reward of everlasting joy. To those who believe, it promises the endless ecstasies of heaven. If it cannot frighten, it will bribe”
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) said by 1899 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All that is under heaven, says the sage, runs one law and one fortune.”
Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) said by 1592 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 12 (tr. Cotton, rev. W. Carew Hazlitt, 1877)
“Heaven knows what seeming nonsense may not to-morrow be demonstrated truth.”
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For the kingdom of heaven is with us today.”
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I would rather go to Heaven doubting all the way than be lost through self-confidence.”
Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) said by 1892 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Danger of Carnal Security" (November 8, 1896), Sermon 2490
“'Tis immortality to die aspiring, As if a man were taken quick to heaven.”
George Chapman (1559–1634) said by 1634 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Remember thine own verse: "Should heaven turn hell, For deeds well done, I would do ever well.”
George Chapman (1559–1634) said by 1634 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And left so free mine ears, That I might hear the music of the spheres, And all the angels singing out of heaven.”
George Chapman (1559–1634) said by 1634 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As when about the silver moon, when air is free from wind, And stars shine clear; to whose sweet beams, high prospects, and the brows Of all steep hills and pinnacles, thrust up themselves for shows; And even the lowly valleys joy, to glitter in their sight, When the unmeasured firmament bursts to disclose her light, And all the signs in heaven are seen that glad the shepherd's heart.”
George Chapman (1559–1634) said by 1634 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Within a thicket I reposed; when round I ruffled up fall’n leaves in heaps, and found, Let fall from heaven, a sleep interminate.”
George Chapman (1559–1634) said by 1634 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But oars alone can ne'er prevail To reach the distant coast; The breath of Heaven must swell the sail, Or all the toil is lost.”
William Cowper (1731–1800) first seen 1779 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Human Frailty", l. 21 (1779)
“Ruffians, pitiless as proud, Heaven awards the vengeance due; Empire is on us bestowed, Shame and ruin wait for you.”
William Cowper (1731–1800) first seen 1782 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Boadicea", st. 11 (1782)
“Sweet stream that winds through yonder glade, Apt emblem of a virtuous maid Silent and chaste she steals along, Far from the world's gay busy throng: With gentle yet prevailing force, Intent upon her destined course; Graceful and useful all she does, Blessing and blest where'er she goes; Pure-bosom'd as that watery glass, And Heaven reflected in her face.”
William Cowper (1731–1800) first seen 1782 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To a Young Lady" (1782)
“Give us back our suffering, we cry to Heaven in our hearts — suffering rather than indifferentism; for out of nothing comes nothing. But out of suffering may come the cure. Better have pain than paralysis! A hundred struggle and drown in the breakers. One discovers the new world. But rather, ten times rather, die in the surf, heralding the way to that new world, than stand idly on the shore!”
Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Marriages are arranged in heaven but the bills must be paid here on earth.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven.” “Really?” “That’s straight out of the Bible; you can look it up.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The shouts of human-kind on the battlefield, or in the tumult of assemblies are protests to heaven against inconsistent legislators who have thought it possible to experiment with chimerical constitutions without suffering the consequences”
Simón Bolívar (1783–1830) said by 1830 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Jacques Bainville, Dictators (1937), p. 140