Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“The few Roman Catholics who serve in the [[w:Ulster Defence Regiment|[Ulster Defence] regiment]] today are very brave men indeed. They do so at the risk of their lives in a way that their colleagues do not. I am proud to have some of those men in my constituency and to know them personally.”
Enoch Powell (1912–1998) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (29 April 1980)
“The spears of the bright sun, all brave with its conquest, Did hover unearthly, in banners of fire. I knelt in the garden, awash with the dawning, And a voice came so brightly, I covered my eyes.”
“It is a wonderful but daunting task that has fallen on me to say few words by way of opening this Forum, the greatest concourse of women (joined by a few brave men!) that has ever gathered on our planet. I want to try and voice some of the common hopes which firmly unite us in all our splendid diversity.”
Aung San Suu Kyi (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In a nation of sheep, one brave man forms a majority.”
Edward Abbey (1927–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is the soldier brave enough to tell The glory-dazzled world that "war is hell": Lover of peace, he looks beyond the strife, And rides through hell to save his country's life.”
Henry van Dyke (1852–1933) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Statue of Sherman by St. Gaudens (1904).
“Honour the brave who sleep Where the lost “Titanic” lies, The men who knew what a man must do When he looks Death in the eyes.“Women and children first,”— Ah, strong and tender cry! The sons whom women had borne and nursed, Remembered,—and dared to die.The boats crept off in the dark: The great ship groaned: and then,— O stars of the night, who saw that sight, Bear witness, These were men!”
Henry van Dyke (1852–1933) first seen 1912 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Heroes of the "Titantic" (November 9, 1912).
“Oh, come as comes the morn. Serene and strong and full of faith, America, arise, With steady hope and mighty help to join thy brave Allies. O dearest country of my heart, home of the high desire, Make clean thy soul for sacrifice on Freedom’s altar-fire: For thou must suffer, thou must fight, until the warlords cease, And all the peoples lift their heads in liberty and peace.”
Henry van Dyke (1852–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the goodman mends his armor, And trims his helmet's plume; When the goodwife's shuttle merrily Goes flashing through the loom; With weeping and with laughter Still is the story told, How well Horatius kept the bridge In the brave days of old.”
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I knew that until I was ready to tell the truth as I saw it, I was no better than a politician- but I didn't know whether I would ever be brave enough to break ranks and speak my mind.”
Clarence Thomas (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It may often be noticed, the less virtuous people are, the more they shrink away from the slightest whiff of the odour of un-sanctity. The good are ever the most charitable, the pure are the most brave.”
Dinah Craik (1826–1887) said by 1887 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The result showed that fortune helps the brave.”
Livy (59 BC–17) said by 17 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My poems please the brave: My poems, short and sincere, Have the force of steel Which forges swords.”
José Martí (1853–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wouldst have the princely spirit bowed? Whisper only, speak not loud, Mark and leave him in the crowd.Thou need'st not spies nor jailers have; The free will serve thee like the slave, Coward shrinking from the brave.”
Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) said by 1850 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you're going to do something stupid—and we all do—it might as well be a brave and foolish thing.”
Samuel R. Delany (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is brave to be involved To be not fearful to be unresolved.”
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: do not be afraid of no" from Annie Allen (1949)
“Someday I will understand Auschwitz. This was a brave statement but innocently absurd. No one will ever understand Auschwitz.”
William Styron (1925–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I extend my congratulations to the brave men of the 86th flotilla of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy on their grand and successful naval mission.”
Ali Khamenei (1939–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is a very old argument. The greatest happiness of the greatest number. If you think about it, you'll find it always works out that a few suffer for the good of the rest." "In stories," Gair agreed hopelessly. "brave men die defending the rest. But this isn't like that!" "Call it the modern version," Mr Claybury suggested kindly.”
Diana Wynne Jones (1934–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gird up your loins for the task that now lies ahead. I had asked you for men, money and materials. I have got them in generous measure. Now I demand more of you. Men, money and materials cannot by themselves bring victory or freedom. We must have the motive-power that will inspire us to brave deeds and heroic exploits.”
Subhas Chandra Bose (1897–1945) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Burma (July 1944) as quoted in The Great Speeches of Modern India (2011) by Rudrangshu Mukherjee
“I have never been involved in the campaign of any major political candidate, preferring to work entirely outside of the party structure. Occasionally I have slipped a check and a note of encouragement to some brave congressperson who has defied everybody and risked his or her return to office because of principles.”
“Standing at the edge of our city, a man could feel that we had made this place of streets and dwellings in the stillness of the desert, and that we had done a brave thing... Or a man could feel that we had made this city in the desert and that it was a fake thing and that our lives were empty lives, and that we were the contemporaries of the jack rabbits.”
William Saroyan (1908–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Saroyan's Literary Quarantine" by Peter H. King, in The Los Angeles Times (26 March 1997).
“Cowards are nice, they're interesting, they're gentle, they wouldn't think of shooting down people in a parade from a tower. They want to live, so they can see their kids. They're very brave.”
William Saroyan (1908–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Mucius] might have accomplished something more successful in that camp, but never anything more brave.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He imposes orders as he thinks of them, As the fox and snake do. It is a brave affair.”
Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Your Yes to God demands your No to all injustice, to all evil, to all lies, to all oppression and violation of the weak and the poor, to all godlessness and mocking of the holy. Your Yes to God demands a brave No to everything that will ever hinder you from serving God alone, whether it be your profession, your property, your house, your honor before the world. Faith means decision.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Gift of Faith" (9 April 1938), in The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2012), p. 203
“It was as if he were watching a tall stranger with a wand pointing to the embarrassed phantom that was himself, and ruthlessly exposing its frailties! And yet that pitiless showman was himself too — himself as he wanted to be, cheerful, brave, resourceful, indomitable.”
John Buchan (1875–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Because Mankind is glad and brave and young, Full of gay flames that white and scarlet glow, All joys and passions that Mankind may know By you were nobly felt and nobly sung. Because Mankind's heart every day is wrung By Fate's wild hands that twist and tear it so, Therefore you echoed Man's undying woe, A harp Aeolian on Life's branches hung.”
Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Altogether, a more miserable trio than we were that evening it would have been difficult to discover; and our only comfort lay in the reflection that we were exceedingly fortunate to be there to feel miserable, instead of being stretched dead upon the plain, as so many thousands of brave men were that night, who had risen well and strong in the morning.”
H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“. . . all men are cowards . . . in one matter or another, though in the rest they may be brave enough.”
H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Veronika brought her interior monologue to a close and made a promise to herself: she would not leave Villete alive. It was best to put an end to everything now, while she was still brave and healthy enough to die.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The writers of Sanford and Son were so brave in bringing their program to television. I mean, working with all those black people!”
Sarah Silverman (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is a strong castle, and strongly guarded; but there is no impossibility to brave men.”
Walter Scott (1771–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are all born brave, trusting, and greedy, and most of us manage to remain greedy.”
Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even cowards can endure hardship; only the brave can endure suspense.”
Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you are brave too often, people will come to expect it of you.”
Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thanks to our brave allies: you gallant Russian bear, you British everywhere.”
Bob Hope (1903–2003) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Obituary, The Economist, August 2, 2003
“The feats of our brave troops are wonderful, God gave them success. — May He continue to help them to peace with honour, & the victory over Juda & Antichrist in British garb.”
Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941) first seen 1262 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Margarethe Landgraffin von Hessen (20 April 1941), quoted in John C. G. Röhl, Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile 1900-1941 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), p. 1262
“It is the power of tradition which on the field of battle as well as in peace makes men's heart beat higher for king and country, and inspires them to brave deeds.”
Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The brave man is not only he who overcomes the enemy, but he who is stronger than pleasures. Some men are masters of cities, but are enslaved to women.”
Democritus (461–361 BC) said by 361 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Freeman (1948), p. 163
“If there be one thing upon this earth that mankind love and admire better than another, it is a brave man — it is a man who dares to look the devil in the face and tell him he is a devil.”
James A. Garfield (1831–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. Captain, that is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.”
Stonewall Jackson (1824–1863) first seen 1861 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speaking to Captain John D. Imboden (24 July 1861), as quoted in Stonewall Jackson As Military Commander (2000) by John Selby, p. 25; sometimes quoted as "My religious beliefs teach me...
“Freedom is not an abstraction, nor is a little of it enough. A little more of it is not enough either. Having less, being less, impoverished in freedom and rights, women then inevitably have less self-respect: less self-respect than men have and less self-respect than any human being needs to live a brave and honest life. Intercourse as domination battens of that awful absence of self respect.”
Andrea Dworkin (1946–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Betraying her class and origin with the heartbreaking openness Joelle's always viewed as either terribly stupid or terribly brave”
David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A brave world, sir, full of religion, knavery, and change: we shall shortly see better days.”
Aphra Behn (1640–1689) first seen 1682 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Roundheads (1682).
“Only the brave know how to forgive...A coward never forgave; it is not in his nature.”
Laurence Sterne (1713–1768) first seen 1760 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sermons, Vol. I, No. 12 (1760).
“Be brave. Be open-minded. Be kind. Be forgiving. Be generous. Be optimistic. Be grateful for the many unexpected lessons you will learn. Find the joy inside the hardship. It’s there. I assure you. And, too, be open to inspiration from unlikely sources.”
Dana Reeve (1961–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My Sin City heroes are knights in dirty, blood-caked armor. They bring justice to a world that gives them no medals, no praise, no reward. That world, that city, often kills them for their brave service.”
Frank Miller (born 1957) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Frank Miller: I Stole From The Best!" COMICDOM interview (22 January 2006), edited by Dimitris Sakaridis
“The combat deepens. On, ye brave, Who rush to glory or the grave! Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave, And charge with all thy chivalry!”
Thomas Campbell (poet) first seen 1802 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hohenlinden, st. 7 (1802)
Also quoted by: Thomas Campbell
“Oh for a tongue to curse the slave Whose treason, like a deadly blight, Comes o'er the councils of the brave, And blasts them in their hour of might!”
Thomas Moore (1779–1852) said by 1852 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Shall I ask the brave soldier who fights by my side In the cause of mankind, if our creeds agree?”
Thomas Moore (1779–1852) said by 1852 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source