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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Life

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“One of the most important things was from a patient who said to me what a pity it was that he had to wait until now, when he was riddled with death, to learn how to live. And I have used that phrase many times: hoping that if you introduce people, in an appropriate way, to their mortality that might change the way they live and allow them to trivialise the trivia in their life.”
Irvin D. Yalom (born 1931) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love while you've got love to give. Live while you've got life to live.”
Piet Hein (1905–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fundamental job of the imagination in ordinary life...is to produce, out of the society we have to live in, a vision of the society we want to live in.”
Northrop Frye (1912–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can live your own life and I'll live mine I will never try to keep you down And even if I only see you some of the time I'm just happy when you come around And even if the sun don't shine I'm warm enough when you're in these arms of mine Just as long as we're together.”
Prince (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Live life with a purpose and live it full out.”
Steve Maraboli (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With the abolition of private property, then, we shall have true, beautiful, healthy Individualism. Nobody will waste his life in accumulating things, and the symbols for things. One will live. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Geniuses are horrid, intolerant, easily offended, sleeplessly self-conscious men, who expect their wives to be angels with no further business in life than to pet and worship their husbands. Even at the best they are not comfortable men to live with; and a perfect husband is one who is perfectly comfortable to live with.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have the greatest affection for them but I know they're not going to make it for 500 years. They aren't. You know it, too. The Mexicans are a different cup of tea. They have a heritage. At the present time they steal, they're dishonest, but they do have some concept of family life. They don't live like a bunch of dogs, which the Negroes do live like.”
Richard Nixon (1913–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[T]he aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.”
Henry Miller (1891–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The frantic desire to live, to live at any cost, is not a result of the life rhythm in us, but of the death rhythm.”
Henry Miller (1891–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They live a life of fear and insecurity And all you do is pay for their prosperity The ministry of fear that won't let you live The ministry of grace that doesn't forgive Do what you will to try and make me conform I'll make you wish that you had never been born”
Ozzy Osbourne (1948–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control, These three alone lead life to sovereign power. Yet not for power (power of herself Would come uncall'd for) but to live by law, Acting the law we live by without fear; And, because right is right, to follow right Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence.”
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) said by 1892 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think I shd. say, 'sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.'”
C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) first seen 1935 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Arthur Greeves (29 December 1935); in They Stand Together (1979), p. 477
“Memory and forgetfulness are as life and death to one another. To live is to remember and to remember is to live. To die is to forget and to forget is to die.”
Samuel Butler (novelist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.”
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I may live for thirty years, or perhaps forty, or maybe just one day: therefore I have resolved to use this day, or whatever I have to say in these thirty years or whatever I have to say this one day I may have to live — I have resolved to use it in such a way that if not one day in my whole past life has been used well, this one by the help of God will be. JP VIII 1 A 533”
Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) said by 1855 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Live the law of love. We encourage obedience to the laws of life when we live the laws of love.”
Stephen Covey (1932–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Live all you can — it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that, what have you had?[…] What one loses one loses; make no mistake about that.[…] The right time is any time that one is still so lucky as to have.[…] Live!”
Henry James (1843–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The truest lengthening of life is to live while we live, wasting no time but using every hour for the highest ends. So be it this day.”
Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) first seen 1888 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Faith's Checkbook (1888), entry for June 22.
“Freedom is the opportunity to live your life as you want to live it.”
Harry Browne (1933–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.”
Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Heed the lesson there, son.” “What lesson?” “Every decision you make can change the world. The best life is the one the gods don’t notice. You want to live free, boy, live quietly.” “I want to be a soldier. A hero.” “You’ll grow out of it.”
Steven Erikson (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They cut me down And I leapt up high; I am the life That'll never, never die; I'll live in you If you'll live in me — I am the Lord Of the Dance, said he.”
Sydney Carter (1915–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My goal is to live the truly religious life and express it in my music. If you live it, when you play there's no problem because the music is just part of the whole thing. To be a musician is really something. It goes very, very deep. My music is the spiritual expression of what I am—my faith, my knowledge, my being.”
John Coltrane (1926–1967) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The New Jazz", (December 12, 1966), p. 108
“I certainly do have this feeling of affection for the absolute sense of intellectual freedom that exists as a live nerve, a live wire, right through the center of American life. … Every time I get totally discouraged with this country, I remind myself, "No, the fact is that finally we can really say what we think, and some extraordinary things have come out of that.”
Norman Mailer (1923–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I live a real life, man. It's complex. Some days are absolute diamonds and some days are dog shit, same as everybody else. Unfortunately, some days that are diamonds I've taken them and turned them into doing shit. But you live and you learn. I'm 42. I'll get wiser.”
Russell Crowe (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”
Barbara Kingsolver (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I must try to live austerely, as Plato did.. .I need to live a more solitary life.. .Valuable ideas beyond number miscarry because I have no continuity in my thoughts.. ..The things which we experience for ourselves when we are on our own are stronger by far, and fresher... [his painting 'The Massacre at Chios' was half done when he wrote this note].”
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) first seen 1813 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: autobiographical note in Delacroix' Journal, March 1824; as quoted in Eugene Delacroix – selected letters 1813 – 1863, ed. and translation Jean Stewart, art Works MFA publications, Museum of Fine Art Boston, 2001, p. 9
“Almost all men, and those that seem to be very miserable, love life, because they cannot bear to lose sight of such a beautiful and lovely world. The ideas, that every moment whilst we live have a beauty that we take not distinct notice of, brings a pleasure that, when we come to the trial, we had rather live in much pain and misery than lose.”
Jonathan Edwards (theologian) first seen 1725 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Beauty of the World" (c.1725), from the notebook The Images of Divine Things, The Shadows of Divine Things, The Language and Lessons of Nature (published 1948).
“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.”
Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926–2022) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Peace Is Every Step : The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life (1992) Bantam reissue
“I think that there is in any of us numerous other people that we never live out, and our opposites are as fascinating as what we are. In fiction you get to live out all those little pieces of you, that never really come into your life at all.”
Marge Piercy (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For all the chatter that Britain has moved beyond class, recent studies have found that it determines the life chances of British people more today than at any point since the Second World War... A child born into a rich family in Britain will almost certainly live and die rich, while a child born into a poor family will almost certainly live and die poor.”
Johann Hari (born 1979) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Class still rules in Britain - as the Lib Dems should remember when choosing their leader", The Independent (30 January 2006)
“Your dæmon can only live its full life in the world it was born in. Elsewhere it will eventually sicken and die. We can travel, if there are openings into other worlds, but we can only live in our own. Lord Asriel’s great enterprise will fail in the end for the same reason: we have to build the Republic of Heaven where we are, because for us there is no elsewhere.”
Philip Pullman (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The grass grows over the graves, time overgrows the pain. The wind blew away the traces of those who had departed; time blows away the bloody pain and the memory of those who did not live to see their dear ones again—and will not live, for brief is human life, and not for long is any of us granted to tread the grass.”
Mikhail Sholokhov (1905–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All the people that were rooting for me to fail… at the end of the day, tomorrow they have to wake up and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. … They got the same personal problems they had today. And I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things I want to do.”
LeBron James (born 1984) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: James addressing fans after losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.
“Odds that you will die at some point in your life: 1 in 1. Thus, you might say the greatest, most significant, and universal risk factor in death is being born. This implies that it really isn't very helpful to approach the subject of risk by focusing on how we might die; rather, it's far wise to consider how we should live and what risk we will live with.”
Ben Carson (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are building a conception of development that is different from that of the capitalist system, where we seek not to live better, to have competition, to have more every day, but to live well, to satisfy basic needs, where harmony with nature is sought, where we seek the indescribable life of cultures.”
Rafael Correa (born 1963) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ecuador: Correa quiere construir nuevo modelo de desarrollo (10 October 2007)
“Thinking back, he recalled events he wished he could change, tears he wished had never been shed, time that could have been better spent, and frustrations he should have shrugged off. Life, it seemed, was full of regret, and he yearned to turn back the clock so he could live parts of his live over again. One thing was certain: He should have been a better husband.”
Nicholas Sparks (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am upset I am very much disappointed when I see within myself a wrong image of myself.... A man can live without fingers, but he cannot live without self-respect....That is why I took up leprosy work. Not to help anyone but to overcome that fear in my life. That it worked out good for others is a byproduct. But the fact is I did it to overcome fear.”
Baba Amte (1914–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Eventually you cannot stop the sun from rising, the water from flowing, the moon from spreading its light and you cannot compromise the seven notes with anything else. Live your life, live the music.”
Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Charity is an attempt wherein I try to expand and bring into the ambit of my life, all others around me and grow to consider the other man's needs and requirements as important as my own personal needs. To live seeking an identity thus, with at least those who are immediately around me, is to live away from the suffocating selfishness and the throttling grip of my body-consciousness.”
Chinmayananda Saraswati (1916–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
Amit Ray (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Is it not the larger and the longer hope and interest of America to live as a great partner in... a society of nations, rather than to live a life of isolated prosperity... ?”
J. A. Hobson (1858–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Parents, teachers, government - they all teach you how to live the dreary , deadening life of a slave, but nobody teaches you how to live normally.”
Ryu Murakami (1952–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do what seems best—I live, I let live; so far I’ve done well. I don’t see why I should act like a predator, simply because I’m in a predatory society. I’m a human being, I’m myself—if I make my life something vicious, who’ll give me another if, too late, I regret what I’ve done?”
Algis Budrys (1931–2008) first seen 1958 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Eye and the Lightning, in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 1958, p. 18
“I could not take back the happy smiles of my sons by bringing them back to North Korea. I could not force my sons to pretend to be loyal to Kim Jong Un and the North Korean system and to shout "Long live the supreme leader Kim Jong Un!", "Long live the socialist paradise of the DPRK!" – like I did all my life.”
Thae Yong-ho (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Having faith in the future starts with building confidence in one's self, being honest with one's self, and having the courage to live one's life, not perfectly, but authentically. Each one of us matters. Our choices matter. Our thoughts, words and deeds matter. Live each day with joy, and embrace the opportunities that will enable you and your community to grow and blossom.”
Elizabeth Kucinich (born 1977) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Stand up, Embrace your power, Be your greatest you", in ElizabethKucinich.com (2016).
“My aim? Simply to inspire people and give them the most complete freedom to live their own life. No glamour, no fame, no institution - nothing. To live simply and die luminously.”
Anirvan (1896–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inner yoga (antaryoga): Anirvan. (1988). New Delhi: Voice of India. From the Introduction by Ram Swarup.