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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“Listening to a cultivated person of today who jokes and almost boasts of his scientific ignorance is as sad as listening to a scientist who boasts of not having read any poem.”
Carlo Rovelli (born 1956) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Il Sole 24 Ore cultural supplement, October 17, 2010.
“[I]n general relativistic observations there is no preferred independent time variable. What we measure are a number of variables, all on equal footing, and their relative evolution. ...[I]t can be equally read it as the evolution of the variable T1 as a function of the variable T2, or viceversa. Which of the two is the independent variable here?”
Carlo Rovelli (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we started in January 1977, I didn't realize the Dade County situation would lead to a national organization to help other cities. The response has been staggering. I pray that when you, the reader, read news articles or hear news about my public and private life, you will not let the liberal press slant your view.”
Anita Bryant (1940–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I read somewhere; while God still existed one sustained a dialogue with God, and now that He no longer exists one has to sustain a dialogue with other people, I guess, or, better still, with oneself, that is to say, one talks or mumbles to oneself.”
Imre Kertész (1929–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The First Amendment's language leaves no room for inference that abridgments of speech and press can be made just because they are slight. That Amendment provides, in simple words, that "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." I read "no law . . . abridging" to mean no law abridging.”
Hugo Black (1886–1971) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Concurring opinion, Smith v. California, 361 U.S. 147 (1959).
“We are approaching a darkness in the land. Boys and girls are emerging from every level of school with certificates and degrees, but they can't read, write or calculate. We don't have academic honesty or intellectual rigor. Schools have abandoned integrity and rigor.”
Julius Sumner Miller (1909–1987) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "TV and Classroom Physicist : 'Professor Wonderful,' Julius Sumner Miller, Dies" by Gerald Faris, in The Los Angeles Times (16 April 1987)
“This outcome is supported by the facts we have found – but I also know these findings may not be consistent with some people’s expectations. To all those who have closely followed this case, and who have engaged in the important national dialogue it has inspired, I urge you to read this report in full.”
Eric Holder (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My advice to anyone who loves to read or write is to love words first. Look at fonts and at print carefully. Ignore what they mean and just marvel at what they look like.”
Mark Getty (born 1960) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: City A.M.: "What I'm reading: Quickfire interview with Getty Images co-founder Mark Getty on his favourite books and the advice he'd give to aspiring writers" (25 June 2018)
“I read once that the true mark of a pro — at anything — is that he understands, loves, and is good at even the drudgery of his profession.”
Paul Halmos (1916–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don't just read it; fight it! Ask your own question, look for your own examples, discover your own proofs. Is the hypothesis necessary? Is the converse true? What happens in the classical special case? What about the degenerate cases? Where does the proof use the hypothesis?”
Paul Halmos (1916–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Buddha told his disciples, "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense". I say the same to you—you must assume the responsibility for what you believe.”
Richard Hamming (1915–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you really want to be a rebel get a job, cut your grass, read your bible, and shut up. Because no one is doing that.”
Mark Driscoll (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m an insurmountable mountain along my own path. But sometimes through a word of yours or a word I read, suddenly everything becomes clear.”
Clarice Lispector (1920–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I’m not working, I read a review, and it’s all fine. When I’m working, a review of my work interferes with my intimate life, so I stop writing in order to forget the review. Even the positive ones, since I take care to cultivate humility. So sometimes I even feel attacked by praise.”
Clarice Lispector (1920–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I really like things I don't understand: when I read a thing I don't understand I feel a sweet and abysmal vertigo. (p29)”
Clarice Lispector (1920–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People who take things too literally don't get much of anything from my teaching. By never saying anything I mean, I say a great deal. I never mean anything I say under oath. I never mean exactly what I say. Not even this. You have to read between the words.”
John Sloan (1871–1951) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In John Sloan on Drawing and Painting. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 2000. Originally published in 1939 as The Gist of Art, p. 7.
“On the Diffraction of an Object-glass with Circular Aperture" read (Nov. 24, 1834) Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (1835) Vol. 5, p. 283.”
George Biddell Airy (1801–1892) said by 1892 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I was in England as a student, socialism was much talked about among us. We read and discussed Bertrand Russell and attended lectures by Harold J. Laski. I have not retained many socialistic ideas, but I am still an agnostic.”
Khushwant Singh (1915–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I read the life of such a man as Paul, how I blush to think how sickly and dwarfed Christianity is at the present time, and how many hundreds there are who never think of working for the Son of God and honoring Christ.”
Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899) said by 1899 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you are put into a big city jail, you will probably be frightened, lonely, humiliated, and completely drained of any spirit. This is normal. Talk to the fellow prisoners, write, play cards, read, doodle, do anything to keep your mind occupied, but above all do not verbalize your misfortune to your fellow prisoners. Each one of them has had similar situations, and is sick of thinking about it.”
William Powell (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Holger wished he had read the old tales more closely; he had only a dim childhood recollection of them.”
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The only time Republicans will shake fists and point fingers is over a war delayed, one that isn't led by the US, or a war waged without the necessary conviction (read collateral damage).”
Ilana Mercer first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On The War Path With Samantha Power,” Economic Policy Journal, June 7, 2013.
“Contemporary Americans are less likely to read the Declaration of Independence now that it's easily available on the Internet, than when it relied on horseback riders for its distribution.”
Ilana Mercer first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Declaration of Independence No Longer Expresses the American Mind,"American Thinker, July 4, 2017.
“Crocker's Rules didn't give you the right to say anything offensive, but other people could say potentially offensive things to you, and it was your responsibility not to be offended. This was surprisingly hard to explain to people; many people would read the careful explanation and hear, "Crocker's Rules mean you can say offensive things to other people.”
Eliezer Yudkowsky (born 1979) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Radical Honesty" at LessWrong.com (10 September 2007)
“Read Blake or go to hell, that's my message to the modern world.”
Northrop Frye (1912–1991) first seen 1932 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Helen Kemp, 1935, The Correspondence of Northrop Frye and Helen Kemp, 1932-1939, (1996), p. 1:426
“In literature you don't just read one poem or novel after another, but enter into a complete world of which every work of literature forms part. This affects the writer as much as it does the reader.”
Northrop Frye (1912–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We relate the poems and plays and novels we read and see, not to the men who wrote them, nor even directly to ourselves; we relate them to each other. Literature is a world that we try to build up and enter at the same time.”
Northrop Frye (1912–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The first thing that confronts us in studying verbal structures is that they are arranged sequentially, and have to be read or listened to in time.”
Northrop Frye (1912–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Mao quote is one I picked up from the late Republican strategist Lee Atwater from something I read in the late 1980s, so I hope I don't get my progressive friends mad at me. The use of the phrase 'favorite political philosophers' was intended as irony, but clearly the effort fell flat -- at least with a certain Fox commentator whose sense of irony may be missing.”
Anita Dunn (born 1958) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: CNN interview, October 16, 2009.
“Sometimes providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read backwards.”
John Flavel (1627–1691) said by 1691 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The world is full of intelligent, well-meaning people who, for one reason or another, did not attend university but are nonetheless well-read and educated. Out there on the prairie lost opportunities of youth were the rule rather than the exception, and I slowly became disabused of the myth of the Bright Young Thing and have not believed in it since.”
Robert B. Laughlin (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I want to defend society and its inhabitants from all ideologies, science included. All ideologies must be seen in perspective. One must not take them too seriously. One must read them like fairy-tales which have lots of interesting things to say but which also contain wicked lies, or like ethical prescriptions which may be useful rules of thumb but which are deadly when followed to the letter.”
Paul Karl Feyerabend (1924–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And those three sisters, three little sisters, They stayed home and read their magazines, And you can tell it to the army, tell it to the navy, And tell it to the marines.”
Vic Mizzy (1916–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’ll drive. You navigate.” He grinned. “I judge people by how well they read maps.”
Jane Yolen (1939–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can write about prayer, you can read about prayer...but sooner or later you have to fall to your knees and just plain pray. Then, and only then, will you begin to operate in the vein of God's miracle-working ways.”
Bill Hybels (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All teems with symbol; the wise man is the man who in any one thing can read another.”
Plotinus (205–270) said by 270 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won't have as much censorship because we won't have as much fear.”
Judy Blume (born 1938) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Good Advice (1993) by William Safire, p. 125
“I love philosophy. It's fascinating to try to discover how perception, or experience, or memory works. I've always been a diehard relativist at heart, and I find it very interesting to read other people's philosophical ideas and how they see the world through their particular lens.”
Andrew Sega (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I read the Upanishads, I found a profundity of world view that made my Christianity seem like third grade.”
Huston Smith (1919–2016) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted and attributed in Londhe, S. (2008). A tribute to Hinduism: Thoughts and wisdom spanning continents and time about India and her culture p 55
“As a card-carrying nosey-parker and professional obsessive, I read up on the subject and learned that Baudelaire was a real pernickety dresser and a bit of a dude; this was my kind of guy. I too would be an Urban Poet.”
John Cooper Clarke (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I read something, some quote from the worst manager in the history of the Premier League – Frank de Boer. What he was saying was not good for Marcus Rashford to have a coach like me, because the most important thing for me is to win. If he was coached by Frank he would lose because he lost every game. I try to give the best to the kid.”
José Mourinho (born 1963) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Source: The Guardian, 12 March 2018
“Think about it- the King James Bible took religion out of the hands of the high priests and put it in to the hands of the people. An entire generation became literate just to be able to read the King James version of the Bible.”
Andy Kessler (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not true that Kafka wanted Brod to burn his manuscripts after his death. Rather it is the case that Kafka was on fire to be published...rushed to the postbox day after day...ate with editors...intrigued for favorable notices...read the Writer’s Digest...consorted with critics...autographed napkins...made himself available to librarians...spoke on the radio...”
Donald Barthelme (1931–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: praragraph deleted from “Kierkegaard Unfair to Schlegel”, in Tracy Daugherty’s Hiding Man: A Biography of Donald Barthelme (2009), p. 335.
“Even read in such broken bits Origen is real food and drink. You can feel it being absorbed, right away, into your very blood. How terse, how compact he is! All this modern stuff is barley-water in comparison.”
Ida Friederike Görres (1901–1971) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Broken Lights p. 87 Diaries 1951-1952.
“I really don't go in for talking about current events on the blog. The main reason for this is the fact that I am profoundly out of touch with the outside world. I don't have cable and I don't watch the news. On the rare occasion I miss the news and feel the need to absorb some fearmongering bullshit, I just drop a tab of acid and read a Lovecraft story. There's less pretense that way.”
Patrick Rothfuss (born 1973) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his Interesting times….(3 February 2010)
“That would be a good public service announcement for Nickelodeon: "Hi, this is Bob Saget. Don't f*ck that sh*t. Stay in school. And read!”
Bob Saget (1956–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I re-read my past work I can see a development to such an effect, indeed, that some of them no longer seem to be any part of me.”
Elizabeth Jennings (1926–2001) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Preface to Collected Poetry, Carconet Press, Manchester 1986
“We read with our ears”
Michael Schmidt (poet) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The reader does not need a technical vocabulary to read poetry, only a voice in the head or out loud which can deliver the sounds.”
Michael Schmidt (poet) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The poetry I love is written with someone’s voice and I believe its proper culmination is to be read with someone’s voice. And the human voice in that sense is not electronically reproduced or amplified.”
Robert Pinsky (born 1940) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sleigh, Tom. "Robert Pinsky", ‘’BOMB Magazine’’ Summer, 1998. .