
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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“Regarding her retirement: "My main focus is to enjoy my life. I'm living in the most beautiful area by the sea.”
Kiri Te Kanawa (born 1944) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As stated in Stuff's "Returning to my Roots: Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's Te Reo Māori Journey," Te Ao - Māori News, 2022. Stuff. Published 18 January 2022.
“As a party we are going to work on bettering our bilateral relations with South Africa and advocate fiercely to get back our conquered land and get a strip to the sea.”
Mathibeli Mokhothu (born 1977) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Times are changing, and our defense institutions must be able to keep pace. The threats we face today are no longer confined to land and sea, but now include cyber intrusions, disinformation operations, and other ‘gray zone’ tactics that test our cohesion and national resolve.”
Loren Legarda (born 1960) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: https://mb.com.ph/2026/02/25/legarda-pushes-for-urgent-reforms-in-dnd-afp
“The harassment experienced by Filipino fisher folks in the West Philippine Sea and the shadowing of Philippine vessels signifies the fact that national security concerns have entered everyday conversations among ordinary Filipinos.”
Loren Legarda (born 1960) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: https://mb.com.ph/2026/02/25/legarda-pushes-for-urgent-reforms-in-dnd-afp
“I don't know where I am. At times I plunge to the bottom of the sea, at times, rise up like the Sun.At times, the universe is pregnant by me, at times I give birth to it.”
Shahram Shiva wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The First Part, which concerns the Structure of the Sea Bed, clearly shows what I imagined it to be, that is, layers upon layers corresponding to those I have already found in the mountains of the continent; and such a correspondence helps me greatly to advance my system with more foundation regarding the demonstration of the organic structure of the terrestrial globe.”
Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1658–1730) said by 1730 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How can I not hesitate before accepting? Are we sufficiently aware, against the background of the darkest chapter in German history, of how guilty we are for rescuing no more than a tiny droplet out of the endless sea of despair of that period? Righteous can therefore have no other meaning than the attempt, the obligation, to do what is right and to live humanly even during times of inhumanity.”
Eva Hermann (1900–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Could the similarity between the Indian and the “Aristotelian” syllogism be due to transmission? Certainly, there were regular contacts between India and Greece from before the time of Aristotle, as recounted by Herodotus or as evidenced by Alexander’s attempt to find the sea route to India after his army mutinied at the frontiers of India.”
C. K. Raju (born 1954) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Non-Western Logic , 2016
“For the Greeks, “'epísteme”' is the ornament on the bow of a ship. It is the symbol of the bow imposing itself on the threatening fluidity of the sea. The “'epistéme”' is the “'epístema”' of the bow of domination. It imposes itself on the swirling and unpredictable fluidity of becoming. (chap. XIII, p. 121)”
Emanuele Severino (1929–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(About Mary, mother of Jesus) The heavenly drop generated by her – an immense sea – revealed her greatness.”
Germanus I of Costantinople (634–732) said by 732 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Unite in one body those interested in navigation, and to advance the art, science and practice of navigation and to promote knowledge in navigation and its associated sciences, including positioning, timing, tracking and conduct of a journey, whether on, in, over or under land, sea, air or space.”
Washington Yotto Ochieng (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Beside the grey sea-shingle, here at the cross-roads' meeting, I, Hermes, stand and wait, where the windswept orchard grows. I give, to wanderers weary, rest from the road and greeting: Cool and unpolluted from my spring the water flows.”
F. L. Lucas (1894–1967) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Greek Garland (1939) p. 53
“It is easy for the fool, especially the learned and scientific fool, to prove that there is no God, but, like the murmuring sea, which heeds not the scream of wandering birds, the soul of humanity murmurs for God, and confutes the erudite folly of the fool by disregarding it.”
John Service (Scottish divine) first seen 1877 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Salvation Here and Hereafter: Sermons and Essays (London: Macmillan and Co, 1877) X. "Christianity and Ritual", p. 217. Quoted in James Orr, The Christian View of God and the World, 7th ed. (Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 19…
“Trieste is a beautiful, wonderful city; all seaside cities are beautiful, but Trieste is particularly so because it is right on the sea.”
Ornella Vanoni (1934–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(About Mikīs Theodōrakīs) He was the greatest composer of Mediterranean music of the twentieth century: by Mediterranean, I mean the entire tradition of the countries bordering that sea, including our own. His notes were and are the essence of that spirit, of that soul.”
Iva Zanicchi (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Genoa is also the friends who live far away and watch you grow up and grow old, for example the pescuèi who, just like in Il pescatore, have faces furrowed with wrinkles that look like smiles, and whatever you confide in them, they already know from the sea.”
Fabrizio De André (1940–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sea is a memory. It is mesmerising. Its beauty is intolerable. What it buries is vaster than what it reveals.”
Gina Apostol (born 1963) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Insurrecto (2018)
“Be that as it may, be that as it may not be! Jesus was a Union electrician by the sea of Galilee. He lit up the first moving picture just to brighten up the show. Will you be there in the last video?”
Chip Taylor (1940–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When Darius invaded, the Scythians kept retreating farther and farther into the sea of grass: They had no cities or fields and thus had nothing to lose by retreating. Darius eventually realized that his expedition had been fruitless and turned back before his army ran out of supplies.”
Henry Harpending (1944–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Again upon the sea.This time for Persia, bearing our wounded and the ashes of the dead; those of the natives are reposing beneath the Great Temple.The skull of the last Mehrikan I shall present to the museum at Teheran.”
John Ames Mitchell (1845–1918) first seen 1889 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Last American (New York: Frederick. A. Stokes & Brother, 1889), p. 78
“In the year 1690, the same in which Ichabod Paddock was sent for from Cape Cod, ... some persons were on a high hill, afterwards called Folly House Hill, observing the whales spouting and sporting with each other, when one observed "there," pointing to the sea, "is a green pasture where our children's grand-children will go for bread.”
Obed Macy (1762–1844) first seen 1835 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The History of Nantucket (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, and Co., 1835), p. 33. Appended, along with many other cetaceous quotations, to Moby-Dick (1851), "Extracts (Supplied by a Sub-Sub-Librarian)
“I’m looking forward to playing for the Philippine team in the SEA Games. It’s an honor being asked to play here. I don’t want to make any commitments, but I’m ready to help the team achieve a respectable finish.”
Miko Alley wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What is Africa to me: Copper sun or scarlet sea, Jungle star or jungle track, Strong bronzed men, or regal black Women from whose loins I sprang When the birds of Eden sang? One three centuries removed From the scenes his fathers loved, Spicy grove, cinnamon tree, What is Africa to me?”
Countee Cullen (1903–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Introduction" Here is my heritage: This solitary sea — On one side it was love And on the other forgetfulness.”
Cecília Meireles (1901–1964) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: translated from the original Portuguese into English by John Nist in Modern Brazilian Poetry: An Anthology (1962)
“Sun-god, of course you must continue to shine on the immortals, and on mortal men who live on the grain-giving ploughland. As for these men, I shall at once hurl a shining thunderbolt at their swift ship, and smash it in pieces out on the wine-dark sea.”
Anthony Verity (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The deepest cast was made in 517 fathoms; it gave a very handsome , a , an n, and some s. The difference of the deep-sea faunæ of the opposite coast of Cuba and Florida is very marked, although the distance is so small; of all the s, for instance, described by me from the coast of Cuba, only two or three, and those in fragments, were found off the Florida reef.”
Louis François de Pourtalès (1823–1880) said by 1880 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In serving one's neighbour, the soul is immersed, as if immersed in the love of God: in the sea, one is afraid. (p. 99)”
Igino Giordani (1894–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not only in the novels of Giulio Verne that one descends into the depths of the sea or ascends close to the stars; even in the reality of everyday life, astonishing wonders are fulfilled every day. (p. 29)”
Francesco Olgiati (1886–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It happened live. People were looking at me as if I were dying. I was shrinking. These deadly arrows. Beads were there; cowries were there, sea stones—fetish objects inside my body.”
Chiwetalu Agu (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The crimson Moon, uprising from the Sea, With large delight, foretells the harvest near.”
Edward Hovell-Thurlow, 2nd Baron Thurlow (1781–1829) said by 1829 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Between us islanders and the rest of the world there is always an element of ungovernability, which consists in the irreducibility of the sea. No one on an island is ever really master of their time. But, on the scale, the positive aspects prevail. Negativity is disposed of. Capri distracts.”
Peppino di Capri (1939–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And every toemark on the footpath, every fingerprint on every bark, the ropy climbers flung, breathlessly, from tree to tree, the haunting sound, and silence, of this sweet and sour forest, dig deep channels to the sea of memory.”
Niyi Osundare (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So let us roll over our back / And again roll to the beat / Of drumming all over the land / And under its ample soothing hand / Joined to that of the sea / We will settle to sleep of the innocent and free.”
John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo (1935–2020) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Night Rain" (1962), a poem capturing domestic vulnerability and natural rhythms within the Niger Delta, text via Efiko Magazine Literary Analysis.
“We have crossed the Red Sea”
Kobena Eyi Acquah (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A bucketful of water may support ten thousand copepods; but a water snake may require a marsh to himself, as a whale needs league upon league of sea, or a bear the half of a mountainside. It is a question if there be any biologic advantage in mastering your environment when you need such a quantity of it to support you.”
Donald C. Peattie (1898–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wo be to those filthye spottes which...count it pleasure to liue deliciously for a season, whiche as ragyng waues of the sea foome oute theyr filthynes and shame.”
Henry Hart (fl. 1549) first seen 1549 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Consultorie for all Christians: Most Godly and Ernestly Warnyng al People, to Beware least They Beare the Name of Christians in Vayne (Worcester: Iohn Oswen, 1549), n.p.
“I am the father whose feet you danced on, I am a million broken stars at your fingertips, I am the night sky's discarded brother, I am a blanket made of rain. I am the conscience searching for your footsteps; I am the Harmattan wind whispering secrets that will fall into the foamy hem of the sea and wash up on the beaches of other countries as rough pebbles and hollow seashells. I am beating.”
Irenosen Okojie (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perhaps those historians who say that the vikings sailed simply because the herring on which they fed had moved to other places are as near as anyone else in solving the problem. But what we do know without any doubt is that they did sail and, in sailing, created a great sea tradition which we British have inherited from them; for the blood of Aun and Harald and Thorkell runs in our veins too.”
Henry Treece (1911–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I contemplate the Trinity within my soul, like an immense sea of fire and light, into which, because of its too much intensity, I can neither penetrate nor look.”
Teresa of the Andes (1900–1920) said by 1920 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For every one million barrels of oil produced in the UK, £100m is added to the UK economy, according to experts at Wood Mackenzie. We have billions of barrels of oil and gas left under the North Sea, and we should be using it. It is our patriotic duty to do so.”
Richard Tice (born 1964) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: North Sea oil and gas drilling is our patriotic duty", The Telegraph (09 April 2026)
“Now all the others who were saved from utter ruin were at home, safe both from war and sea. Him only, longing for his home and wife, a potent nymph, Kalypso, a heavenly goddess, held in her hollow grotto, desiring him to be her husband.”
George Herbert Palmer (1842–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea was not a mere codification conference. So-called customary international law emanating from the European maritime experience could not juridically form the basis…”
Paul Engo (1931–2010) said by 2010 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Your King may be powerful—a brother I'll be— But vassal to none on the land or the sea!”
Edna Dean Proctor (1829–1923) said by 1923 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ah! what a day when all the way To Marmora's sunny sea— From Finland's snows to fields of rose— Shall Holy Russia be!”
Edna Dean Proctor (1829–1923) said by 1923 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The more people you can get interested in art, the better. An art critic recently wrote in one of the newspapers that we should remember that the [2010] World Cup would be over in a month. There must be other reasons why people might want to walk around a stadium or along the [Sea Point] promenade. It's an investment in art and landscaping which bring people to a city.”
Strijdom van der Merwe (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“. . . the Sea is wide enough for us all, we need not quarrel for Elbow-room: Its Stores are infinite, and will ever reward the Labourer.”
Captain Charles Johnson wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Making things that move I wonder whether I grope for the sensation of sleep in a train carrying me towards the sea. Repetition echoes the rhythm of telegraph poles as they slip past the window. Wood, gleaming, recalls the varnished Mahogany and green leather of our little compartment. Sailing awakens thoughts of leaving home "and the cabin of the boat is again the compartment of the train”
Roland Brener (1942–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have traveled the world, but nothing compares to Durban, where I am currently staying. I have been here for 25 years and it's unbelievable. Perfect weather and the sea is right in front of you”
Gavin Lane (born 1966) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The reason some players were scared of me is because.., October 2024, KICKOFF by Sipho Mlotha
“A ship in port is safe; but that is not what ships are built for. Sail out to sea and do new things.”
Grace Hopper (misattributed) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: This saying appears to be due to John Augustus Shedd; it was quoted in "Grace Hopper : The Youthful Teacher of Us All" by Henry S. Tropp in Abacus Vol. 2, Issue 1 (Fall 1984) ISSN 0724-6722 . She did repeat this saying …
“If you wish to build a ship, do not divide the men into teams and send them to the forest to cut wood. Instead, teach them to long for the vast and endless sea.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (disputed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source