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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“Beautiful women seldom want to act. They are afraid of emotion and they do not try to extract anything from a character that they are portraying, because in expressing emotion they may encourage crow's feet and laughing wrinkles. They avoid anything that will disturb their placidity of countenance, for placidity of countenance insures a smooth skin.”
Laurette Taylor (1883–1946) first seen 1914 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Quality You Need Most, from Green Book Magazine (April 1914)
“Love is everywhere I'm not allowed. I feel he's been to hell, but he's near to heaven now. I need to see it. I can't not have it, so inscrutable, so beautiful.”
Juliana Hatfield (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me, Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee; Sounds of the rude world heard in the day, Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away.”
Stephen Foster (1826–1864) first seen 1862 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Beautiful Dreamer, Firth, Pond & Co. (1862).
“Life has loveliness to sell, All beautiful and splendid things, Blue waves whitened on a cliff, Soaring fire that sways and sings, And children's faces looking up Holding wonder like a cup.”
Sara Teasdale (1884–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“However much you paid for a beautiful illusion, you got a bargain.”
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He was young and black and beautiful big eyed, perfect skin an' he played my guitar like a lightning storm like twirlin' feathers in the wind he could make it sound like the end of the world a fire, the flick of a knife he could squeeze it slow and masterful like the hand that brought the world to life”
Mike Scott (Scottish musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“General relativity is certainly a very beautiful theory, but how does one judge the elegance of physical theories generally?”
Roger Penrose (born 1931) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Today anyone who paints space must actually go into space to paint [the Russian cosmonaut Gagarin said on 12 April 1961 from his space capsule: 'The earthy is a beautiful blue colour'], but he must there go without any faking, and neither in an aeroplane, a parachute nor a rocket; he must go there by his own means, an autonomous, individual force; in a word, he must be capable of levitating.”
Yves Klein (1928–1962) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In 1961; p. 67
“(Sylvia) In the beginning Eve was alone in Eden. (Eve) Everything is so beautiful and amicable. (Serpent) I bet deep down, you wish you had an irritating companion.”
Nicole Hollander (1939–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O almighty Lord! I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor I have any desire to enjoy beautiful women; neither do I want any number of followers of Mine. What I want only is that I may have Your causeless devotional service in my life – birth after birth.”
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) said by 1534 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So beautiful and fortunate You're the one who hates to love But he's the one who loves to hate.”
Elvis Costello (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Alas, the blue arc of heaven / Is covered with gloomy clouds, / And the bright radiance of the sun / Is completely hidden See the terrifying force of the tempest / Bows the oaks so that is groans, / And the rose on the beautiful pasture / has ben bent down by the rain.”
Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) first seen 1807 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: some poetry lines of Friedrich, c. 1807-09; as cited by C. D. Eberlein in C. D. Friedrich Bekenntnisse, p 57; as quoted and translated by Linda Siegel in Caspar David Friedrich and the Age of German Romanticism, Boston …
“To many it is incomprehensible that art has to emerge from a person's inner being, 'that it has to do with one's morality, one's religion..'. But so it does. You should trade only in what you recognize to be true and beautiful, noble and good in your soul.”
Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) said by 1840 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from: Caspar David Friedrich, Wieland Schmied; Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York, 1995, p. 45
“Beautiful, ugly, impressive, disgusting, meaningless, grim, contradictory etc.. .It makes no difference, as long as it is life, vigorously pouring forth.”
Asger Jorn (1914–1973) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from: Ansigt til Ansigt [Face to Face], A-5, 1 (1944), p. 14
“People Are Much More Beautiful Than They Think: Long Live Their True Face.”
Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am one of the last of a small tribe of troubadours, who still believe that life is a beautiful and exciting journey with a purpose and grace which are well worth singing about.”
Yip Harburg (1896–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", by Scott Jacobs, in The Week Behind (23 September 2009)
“Music is for me like a beautiful mosaic which God has put together. He takes all the pieces in his hand, throws them into the world, and we have to recreate the picture from the pieces.”
Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) first seen 1905 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted by Jalmari Finne, June 28, 1905.
“A great piece of music is beautiful regardless of how it is performed. Any prelude or fugue of Bach can be played at any tempo, with or without rhythmic nuances, and it will still be great music. That's how music should be written, so that no-one, no matter how philistine, can ruin it.”
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Isaac Glikman, August 28, 1955; Josiah Fisk & Jeff Nichols (eds.) Composers on Music (1997) p. 364.
“I made a mask out of my face because I didn't realize I was quite beautiful. God blessed me so. I practically destroyed it. I had to wear heavy black eyelashes like bat wings, and dark lines under my eyes, and cut all my hair off, my long dark hair. Cut it off and strip it silver and blonde. All those little maneuvers I did out of things that were happening in my life that upset me.”
Edie Sedgwick (1943–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It’s the beautiful thing about being a fiction writer; you can write the world you want to see.”
Nalo Hopkinson (born 1960) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: in The Queer Caribbean Speaks edited by Kofi Omoniyi Sylvanus Campbell (2014)
“Even as late as the summer of 2006, as home prices began to fall, it took a certain kind of person to see the ugly facts and react to them-to discern, in the profile of the beautiful young lady, the face of an old witch.”
Michael Lewis (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd; She is a woman, therefore to be won.”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) said by 1616 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I shall never forget the sight of that beautiful boat as she went down, the orchestra playing to the last, the lights burning until they were extinguished by the waves. It sounds so unreal, like a scene on the stage.”
Steve Turner (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hunting, fishing, drawing, and music occupied my every moment; cares I knew not, and cared naught about them. I purchased excellent and beautiful horses, visited all such neighbors as I found congenial spirits, and was as happy as happy could be.”
John James Audubon (1785–1851) said by 1851 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his life at Mill Grove, in Pennsylvania in "Audubon's Story of His Youth" edited by Maria R. Audubon, in Scribner's Magazine Vol. XIII, No. 3, (March 1893), p. 278
“People are always saying, “Can you use your skills to get extraordinarily beautiful women into bed?” Well... yes, yes I can.”
Derren Brown (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life Is Beautiful: Enjoy It/ Life Is Fragile: Foster It/ Life Is Relational: Share It/ Life Is Paradoxical: Encounter It/ Life Is Fascinating: Contemplate It/ Life Is: Be”
Kuruvilla Pandikattu (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fire was everything Joey wanted to be. Exciting. Dangerous. Beautiful. Destructive. And yet he controlled it. Other people were too boring, too afraid to do what he did.”
“My job is to help the world..That is what an artist's job is—to the degree that we can. That is nothing more than holding up a mirror and saying, 'You're beautiful, baby.' Or holding up a mirror and saying, 'Look at the shit that you're doing to yourself. Maybe you should stop.' It is an artist's job to speak truth to power.”
N. K. Jemisin (born 1972) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the artist's role, in "N.K. Jemisin Is Trying to Keep the World From Ending" in Gentlemen's Quarterly (2018 Nov 28)
“It is our Christian task to make ourselves increasingly more free. As one of the beautiful hymns has it: “It is a long road to freedom”. There is a great danger that we will give in to external force or internal compulsion, thus jeopardizing our freedom.”
Kurien Kunnumpuram (1931–2018) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Kunnumpuram, Kurien, 2011 “Theological Exploration,” Jnanadeepa: Pune Journal of Religious Studies 14/2 (July-Dec 2011)
“No need for confusion, my dear Mulgrave [...] Beautiful wine and sour vinegar come from exactly the same source. Curiously if one leaves a bottle of wine open for long enough it will become vinegar. Happily in this house wine never survives long enough to go bad.”
David Gemmell (1948–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are closest to life when we are vying with death ... The blood runs hot, the air smells sweet, the sky becomes an unbearably beautiful blue. Battle is intoxicating. That is why the ghastly vileness of war has always been so popular.”
David Gemmell (1948–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I studied the swell of her enormous breasts and I said: "Baby you're so far ahead it's beautiful”
Vivian Stanshall (1943–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why am I always on a plane or a fast train? Oh what a world my parents gave me Always Travelin' but not in love.Still I think I'm doin' fine Wouldn't it be a lovely headline? Life is Beautiful on a New York Times.”
Rufus Wainwright (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's a privilege and it's an honour and Olivia and I are certainly looking forward to visiting this beautiful, historic building and being able to stay there during the session when we're here in Ottawa.”
Jack Layton (1950–2011) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jack Layton skittish about moving into Stornoway June 15, 2011
“There was a beautiful row. You’ve really scared people, Hoddan! You deserve well of the republic! Every government and every person needs to be thoroughly terrified occasionally. It limbers up the brain.”
Murray Leinster (1896–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Bourguiba on Ramadan's effect on Tunisia: "Stagnation, weakness and decadence ... beautiful custom ... pretext that paralyzes our activity.”
Habib Bourguiba (1903–2000) said by 2000 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Craufurd Tait Ramage, Beautiful Thoughts from French and Italian Authors (Liverpool: E. Howell, 1866), pp. 456-458”
Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793) said by 1793 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To cut out every negative root would simultaneously mean choking off positive elements that might arise from it further up the stem of the plant. We should not feel embarrassed by our difficulties, only by our failure to grow anything beautiful from them.”
Alain de Botton (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Always when we walked, it was clear to me how much he loved nature, wild flowers, animals in their natural habitat and the simple pleasures of a beautiful sunset. My love for the environment did not develop out of a vacuum.”
Lewis Pugh (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People might gain insight the longer they live, but things never get easy. There will always be challenges and miscommunications and the temptation to eat greasy, bowel clogging fried food, and take others for granted. The secret is to keep moving and try to see people yo love for what they are: flawed, beautiful and as confused as you.”
“It is to be hoped—I mean, I hope—that the poetry I have been writing since 1992 squares up to, takes the measure of, weighs up, the violent evasions and stock affronts of the oligarchy of fraud. I don't, even so, write poems to be polemical; I write to create a being of beautiful energy.”
Geoffrey Hill (1932–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An achieved poem is always beautiful in its own way, though such a way will many times strike people as harsh and repellent.”
Geoffrey Hill (1932–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Tall, slender, with beautiful flaxen hair, grey eyes, full red lips, finely framed features, graceful of carriage and movement, fresh and always young, Ellen Terry was as much an art object as an actress.”
Ellen Terry (1847–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Man is more than an animal only in that he finds expression for the beautiful.”
John Carroll (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nietzsche … criticizes Schopenhauerian aesthetics for not freeing itself from Kant’s moralistic: ‘that is beautiful which gives us pleasure without interest’.”
John Carroll (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I haven't played in Europe since 2016! I couldn't think of a more wonderful way to spend my summer and end this beautiful phase of my life and career with shows closer to home during such an exciting summer.”
Adele (singer) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Adele Says She Doesn't 'Have Any Plans for New Music at All': 'I Want a Big Break' People entertainment (16 July 2024)
“I kind of had a disaster, I was doing a show, and I changed there, and I couldn’t wear underwear — I don’t think I can tell this story on TV … Let’s just say everyone went scrambling for a razor, so I went from being the most beautiful to the most humiliated in one day.”
Gwyneth Paltrow (born 1972) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In an interview in . (April 26, 2013)
“And the fact of the matter is that everyone should play music because it's such a beautiful gift. It's my religion. But maybe not everyone should play it in front of me. It's okay to play music in your rocking chair or whatever.”
Josh Homme (born 1973) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in Jay Babcock, "JOSHUA HOMME: People say [record] labels are evil. No, they’re just lame.", Arthur Magazine (December 4, 2007).
“It's like catching a fish, you know what I mean? It's the fish that's beautiful, not the fisherman. And I think whoever hasn't understood that attitude in Queens is not here any more. And if I ever think the fisherman's better than the fish, I hope someone fuckin' fires me too.”
Josh Homme (born 1973) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Dazed & Confused Magazine | Josh Homme | Sept'10", Dazed & Confused Magazine (September 2010)
“The years went by so fast and, even though I've had children, which makes me feel I've lived a long time, I feel I didn't really grow up. I want to fulfill the desire I have to do things that are beautiful and meaningful.”
Nastassja Kinski (born 1961) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Box Office, April, 1997