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“One can’t read a great deal of theology without appreciating the mental dexterity of its practitioners when faced with hard problems. And as a scientist, I regret how much more we’d understand about nature had that dexterity been applied to science instead, or to any field involved in studying what’s real.”
Jerry Coyne (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Big Four: Out-read 'em. Out-study 'em. Out-present 'em. Out-listen 'em.”
Tom Peters (born 1942) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: November 4, 2010.
“Speech is an acoustic reality, writing a visual one. Performance of the former has been perfected through a million years of natural selection in the evolutionary process. The latter is a trick which we began to learn only yesterday (in terms of evolutionary time). To "hear" language (and to "say" it) is programmed in our genes; to "see" it (and "read" it) is not.”
Eric A. Havelock (1903–1988) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chinese Characters and the Greek Alphabet" in Sino-Platonic Papers, 5 (December 1987)
“All that is thought should not be said, all that is said should not be written, all that is written should not be published, and all that is published should not be read.”
Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (1787–1859) first seen 1650 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Triumph of Survival : The Story of the Jews in the Modern Era 1650-1995 (1993) by Berel Wein, p. 96
“For one who has read the works of Marx it is frightening to look back at the grim determination with which so many nations steadfastly hewed to the very course which he insisted would lead to their undoing.”
Robert Heilbroner (1919–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm not logical. I'm infected with the romantic fever. It began in my teens when I read Baudelaire in secret, in a country boarding school in England from which I slipped away by climbing over the wall. I was fifteen, the same age as Juliet--a Juliet for whom Romeo had no attraction.”
Renée Vivien (1877–1909) said by 1909 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I verily believe that the kingdom of God advances more on spoken words than it does on essays written and read; on words, that is, in which the present feeling and thought of the teaching mind break into natural and forceful expression.”
Richard Salter Storrs (1821–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I made a hurtful and thoughtless comment on Sunday when I said that "I wanted my life back." When I read that recently, I was appalled. I apologize, especially to the families of the 11 men who lost their lives in this tragic accident.”
Tony Hayward (born 1957) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: BP CEO Tony Hayward Issues an Apology for Remarks" on BP America Facebook page, as quoted in Gus Lubin, "BP CEO Tony Hayward Apologizes For His Idiotic Statement: 'I'd Like My Life Back'", Business Insider, 2 June 2010
“No man ever said at the end of his days, "I have read my Bible too much, I have thought of God too much, I have prayed too much, I have been too careful about my soul.”
J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Remember, there are only a few model preachers. We have read of only one perfect Model, and He was crucified many centuries ago.”
Charles Henry Fowler (1837–1908) said by 1908 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I try to read all of my fan mail. A lot of them send me candy, which I'm not allowed to eat 'cause my mom says it might be poisonous.”
Justin Bieber (born 1994) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with TIME, as quoted by SugarScape, May 2010
“While some mothers sing lullabies to their children, my mother read me poetry. And to this day, I associate my strongest and most insistent feelings with words lyrically organized on a page.”
Masiela Lusha (born 1985) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've been keeping a diary since I was about 11. If you don't keep a diary everything washes away. And you can live everything three times: you live it when you live it, you live it when you write it down, and you live it a third time when you re-read it. Though I have to say rereading my diary for publication was a depressing experience. You shouldn't look back.”
Gyles Brandreth (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I had been at primary school, I was very good at writing essays. It was a big thing. My essays were so good they would get pinned up on the wall and read out to the rest of the class”
Diane Abbott (born 1953) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diane Abbott: My struggles and triumphs" BBC News (2 December 2016).
“I have read your religious works and I have found nothing inappropriate.”
Du Wenxiu (1823–1872) said by 1872 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Personally, I don’t believe in anything more supernatural than what you read about in the Bible, and I only believe that one day out of seven.”
Robert Charles Wilson (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Companies like Nike already use Graffiti as a standard variety in their marketing campaigns and the first people who read Naomi Klein's 'No Logo' were marketing gurus who wanted to know what they shouldn't do.”
Johannes Grenzfurthner (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.”
Suzanne Collins (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hendrix has read the interviews where Collins has flatly denied knowing about Battle Royale before she wrote The Hunger Games. But Hendrix says the plots are eerily similar: school kids chosen by lottery, given a variety of weapons and survival packs and taken to a remote, restricted area to take part in a televised death match.”
Suzanne Collins (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I read The Hunger Games and didn't feel an urge to go on. It's not unlike [my novel] The Running Man, which is about a game where people are actually killed and people are watching: a satire on reality TV.”
Suzanne Collins (born 1962) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Stephen King, "Stephen King Blasts 'Twilight,' 'Hunger Games,' 'Fifty Shades' in New Interview" by Sophie Schillaci, Hollywood Reporter, 9/24/2013
“Words, especially those of a constitution, are not to be read with such stultifying narrowness.”
Harlan F. Stone (1872–1946) first seen 1941 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: United States v. Classic, 313 U.S. 299, 316 (1941).
“If you could read my mind, love, What a tale my thoughts could tell. Just like an old time movie, 'Bout a ghost from a wishing well. In a castle dark or a fortress strong, With chains upon my feet.”
Gordon Lightfoot (1938–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Keynes, like Freud and Marx, deserves to be read in the original, not through the glosses of his lesser disciples.”
Robert Kuttner (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“After the first shock you think, "Well, that's over," but what do you do then? The news that kills is the news that makes everything else impossible; you can't sleep or go out or read or watch TV because you can no longer enjoy anything; I had never before realized what a substratum of pure pleasure there is in just going to sleep, for instance. Just eating. All spoiled now. (p63)”
Joanna Russ (1937–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I often read something and I say, “That's a goddamn lie. I'm going to tell the truth.”
Joanna Russ (1937–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ursula Le Guin has been a hero of mine for 20 years. She's done so much, and she will continue to do good even though she's gone. I honestly don't know what I would have become if it weren't for Ursula Le Guin. The first time I read "A Wizard of Earthsea" I realized how balance could be even more epic than war. Suddenly, Fantasy wasn't just wish fulfillment and grandeur, it was real and complex.”
Hank Green (born 1980) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: on Twitter (2018)
“I thought what would I give, if it could be true If I could ever feel again the way I felt when I read you”
Hank Green (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It seems no matter what I read I think "this is not harry potter.”
Hank Green (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He wondered if she had actually read his mind or simply knew him well enough to guess his thoughts.”
Tim Powers (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Doesn’t she read chicken entrails?” “Oh! No, astrology.” “Same sort of thing.”
Tim Powers (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mr. Khan, I’ve read our Constitution and firmly recognize the preeminent responsibility of our federal government is to “provide for the common defense.” I also comprehend the relationship between the three branches of government…you know separation of powers, checks and balances, coequal branches of government.”
Allen West (politician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perhaps you should have asked President Barack Obama if he had read the Constitution — undoubtedly you would agree we have witnessed a few unconstitutional actions from him. And while you were at it, Mr. Khan, perhaps you could have asked Hillary Clinton about handling classified information — since I’m quite sure your son, Captain Khan, had at a minimum a secret clearance.”
Allen West (politician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Look, in my personal issues I'm very private. I would like to make clear that all the matters of my family, friends, my love life, is something that is for me, and I also prefer people to invent. It amuses me a lot when I read all the things they invent.”
Luis Miguel (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As reported in Einstein — A Life (1996) by Denis Brian, when asked about a clipping from a magazine article reporting his comments on Christianity as taken down by Viereck, Einstein carefully read the clipping and repli…
“It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to an atheist (24 March 1954), p. 43
“I have read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. I've come to the conclusion that you are an eight ulcer man on a four ulcer job ... Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes and perhaps a supporter below.”
Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to critic Paul Hume, as quoted in Time magazine (18 December 1950)
“Oh! journalism is unreadable, and literature is not read.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Disobedience, in the eyes of any one who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mr. Gladstone read Homer for fun, which I thought served him right.”
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I read the future aright Hitler's government will confront Europe with a series of outrageous events and ever-growing military might. It is events which will show our dangers, though for some the lesson will come too late.”
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Lord Londonderry (6 May 1936), quoted in Martin Gilbert, Prophet of Truth: Winston S. Churchill, 1922–1939 (1976), p. 733
“This Treasury paper, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read.”
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As cited in Churchill by Himself (2008), ed. Langworth, PublicAffairs, p. 50, ISBN 1586486389
“My way hither was the way of destiny; for I am he of whose genius you are the symbol: part brute, part woman, and part God — nothing of man in me at all. Have I read your riddle, Sphinx?”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The first prison I ever saw had inscribed on it ; but as the inscription was on the outside, the prisoners could not read it.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Preface to English Prisons Under Local Government by Sydney and Beatrice Webb (1922)
“Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.”
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) said by 1626 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Alonso of Aragon was wont to say in commendation of age, that age appears to be best in four things — old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.”
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) said by 1626 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.”
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Classics which at home are drowsily read have a strange charm in a country inn, or in the transom of a merchant brig.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'Tis very certain that each man carries in his eye the exact indication of his rank in the immense scale of men, and we are always learning to read it. A complete man should need no auxiliaries to his personal presence.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You must read Plato. But you must hold him at arm's length and say, 'Plato, you have delighted and edified mankind for two thousand years. What have you to say to me?'”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Said to a young Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., as reported by Felix Frankfurter in Harlan Buddington Phillips, Felix Frankfurter Reminisces (1960), p. 59