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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“I never concealed from myself or my colleagues that I thought Sir Douglas Haig was intellectually and temperamentally unequal to the command of an Army of millions fighting battles on fields which were invisible to any Commander.”
David Lloyd George (1863–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume II, p. 2014
“They are more than men at the outset of their battles; at the end they are less than the women.”
Livy (59 BC–17) said by 17 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The flag of our stately battles, not struggles of wrath and greed: Its stripes were a holy lesson, its spangles a deathless creed; 'Twas red with the blood of freemen, and white with the fear of the foe, And the stars that fight in their courses 'gainst tyrants its symbols know.”
Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910) first seen 1863 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Flag" in The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 40, no. 66 (April 1863) p. 443
“Each [pelican] has already survived many perils in its young life. As a chick, it fought battles with its brothers and sisters and won.”
David Attenborough (born 1926) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The coral's stinging armoury isn't used only for collecting food; they also use it to fight. As has been discovered only comparatively recently, corals, like many animals that live on land, are extremely territorial. But in order to see the battles, you have to speed up time.”
David Attenborough (born 1926) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Through these fields of destruction Baptisms of fire I've witnessed your suffering As the battles raged higher And though they hurt me so bad In the fear and alarm You did not desert me My brothers in arms.”
Mark Knopfler (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Honor Your Gifts (2007) by Dona M. Deane, p. 199.
“There's a place in the world for the angry young man With his working class ties and his radical plans He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl And he's always at home with his back to the wall And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross And likes to be known as the angry young man.”
Billy Joel (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To dwellers in a wood almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature. At the passing of the breeze the fir-trees sob and moan no less distinctly than they rock; the holly whistles as it battles with itself; the ash hisses amid its quiverings; the beech rustles while its flat boughs rise and fall.”
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fighting battles is like courting girls: those who make the most pretensions and are boldest usually win.”
Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) said by 1893 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (1991) by William A. DeGregorio, p. 290
“As more and more good ideas come under the protection of patents, it may become increasingly unlikely that any one program can incorporate the state of the art in user-interface design without sinking into a quagmire of unending royalty payments and legal battles.”
Nathaniel Borenstein (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mankind has conceived history as a series of battles; hitherto it has considered fighting as the main thing in life.”
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) said by 1904 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the lips I breathed upon Asked for such love as equals claim I looked where all the stars were gone Burned in the day's immortal flame. "Come thou like yon great dawn to me From darkness vanquished, battles done: Flame unto flame shall flow and be Within thy heart and mine as one.".”
George William Russell (1867–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is more knowledge and information than ever before: the experts have so multiplied that man has a new sense of importance; man is indeed about to be delivered over to them. Man is about to be an automaton; he is identifiable only in the computer. As a person of worth and creativity, as a being with an infinite potential, he retreats and battles the forces that make him inhuman.”
William O. Douglas (1898–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Opposite my studio a huge factory — its black walls scarred with red stigmas of mysterious battles — was towering with the gloom of a prison. At night fires gave to innumerable windows menacing blazing looks of demons — while at other times vivid blue-green lights rang sharply in harmony with the radiant yellow-green alertness of cats enjewelling the obscurity around.”
Joseph Stella (1877–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ho! then, the splendour And sheen of my ministry, Clothing the earth With a livery of lightnings! Ho! then, the music Of battles in onset And ruining armours, And God's gift returning In fury to God! Glittering and keen As the song of the winter stars, Ho! then, the sound Of my voice, the implacable Angel of Destiny!— I am the Sword.”
William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) first seen 1892 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Song of the Sword, and Other Verses (London: David Nutt, 1892), title poem
“Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another.”
Benedict Arnold (1741–1801) first seen 1801 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Unverified, but reportedly said by Arnold on his deathbed in 1801, requesting to wear the uniform of the Colonial Army from before his defection to the British, as quoted in The Picturesque Hudson (1915) by Clifton John…
“So, there lies the brave de Kalb. The generous stranger, who came from a distant land to fight our battles and to water with his blood the tree of liberty. Would to God he had lived to share its fruits!”
George Washington (1732–1799) said by 1799 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Upon visiting the grave of Johann de Kalb, some years after his death, as quoted in "Baron De Kalb" (1827), by George R. Graham and Edgar Allan Poe, Graham's Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion…
“Ideas are more important than battles.”
Charles Sumner (1811–1874) said by 1874 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who have never fought suppose that the deserter who flies the field is consumed by shame. He is not, or he would not desert; with only trifling exceptions, battles are fought by cowards afraid to run.”
Gene Wolfe (1931–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The banking sector, now full of idiots, people are promoted not because of ability, but ethnicity or gender ... The white male – you lot – are going to feel the world's against you. Andrew Tate tapped into that. You're going to feel the world's against you, you're going to feel resentful and angry ... These are massive cultural battles.”
Nigel Farage (born 1964) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From a podcast interview on Strike It Big (February 2024), as cited by Rowena Mason and Ben Quinn in "Farage said Andrew Tate was 'important voice' for men in podcast interview", The Guardian (20 June 2024)
“One of the facts of history is that battles do not stay won. Those that matter have to be waged again and again.”
Stanley Knowles (1908–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I took part in all battles. If sometimes I was not there, the operation was likewise carried out under my orders.”
Omar Mukhtar (1858–1931) said by 1931 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Battles ended with sunset or dusk; so heroes, on special occasions when they needed more time, were vouchsafed victory by the stoppage of the sun in Greek as well as Hebrew saga.”
Cyrus H. Gordon (1908–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’ve been fighting battles all my life, and I have not lost one yet.”
Aliko Dangote (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All we know is that, sometimes, in our battles with the Russians, we had to remove the mounds of enemy corpses from before our trenches, in order to get a clear field of fire against fresh assaulting waves.”
Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934) said by 1934 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Great War: A Combat History of the First World War (2013) by Peter Hart, p. 242
“The Houses of Friedman and Samuelson disagreed on both methodology and policy. Nevertheless, the intellectual battles never encroached upon their personal respect for and friendship to each other.”
Michael Szenberg (born 1934) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A visible darkness grows up mountain paths; I lodge by the river gate high in a study, Frail cloud on a cliff edge passing the night. The lonely moon topples amid the waves; Steady, one after another, a line of cranes in flight. Howling over the kill, wild dogs and wolves. No sleep for me. I worry over battles— I have no strength to right the universe.”
Du Fu (712–770) said by 770 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In this study Witzel talks of a peaceful immigration but also uses the terms "battles" and "campaigns" (324), "initial conquest" (326) and "frequent warfare" (339) thus indicating that beneath the lipservice to "migration" (which became fashionable) lurks the notion of invasion.”
Nicholas Kazanas (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ah, by what Fates Hath he been toss'd? what Battles he relates! Were I not fix'd, did not my changeless Vow All thoughts of second Marriage dis-allow, Since my first Love by Death deceiv'd me... I had perhaps with this one Crime comply'd.”
John Ogilby (1600–1676) said by 1676 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country in his heart, and not with his lips only, follow me.”
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From G. M. Trevelyan, Garibaldi's Defense of the Roman Republic [1907-1911]
“The purity of our principles, the idealism of our struggle, these are factors of strengthening and drawing power that have given to us courage for all our battles, and have given to our doctrines an irresistible attraction for all who feel themselves oppressed and have a sense of honor.”
Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sher Shah, an Afghan chief, defeated him in two bloody battles, and restored for a time the Afghan power in India. Sher Shah, though capable of slaughter in the best Islamic style, rebuilt Delhi in fine architectural taste, and established governmental reforms that prepared for the enlightened rule of Akbar.”
Sher Shah Suri (1472–1545) said by 1545 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Will Durant and , , Book I, Our Oriental Heritage (1935) VII. AKBAR THE GREAT
“Instead of fighting ideological battles, [[Keir Starmer|[Keir] Starmer]] wanted the party to talk about ordinary people's problems—advice that Democrats in the United States, and centrists around the world, could also stand to hear.”
Anne Applebaum (born 1964) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: How Labour Defeated Populism", The Atlantic (5 July 2024)
“If you have not got enough grain, I myself shall have grain brought in to you. My lord has become distressed about the battles in Elam. But the Elamites' grain rations have quickly been exhausted, so do not slacken your forces! Do not fall head first into their slavery, nor follow at their heels!”
Ishbi-Erra (2101–1985 BC) said by 1985 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We got the way we are, Jeanie, because life on Earth is one long fight for limited resources. Our bloody-mindedness all started out as food battles, three billion years ago.”
Charles Sheffield (1935–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Look back over the history of the ages, and whence has come the inspiration of those who have lifted themselves from the level of the brute to the dignity of manhood? Has it not come from the oppressor’s chains? Tyranny’s mission is to teach. It has Proclaimed in clarion tones, which have echoed and re-echoed through all the battles, “Man must be free.”
Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954) first seen 1884 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Commencement address (June 25, 1884)
“…I have a flat spot right in the front of my head from trying to break down walls my entire career, forcing diversity of thought and opinion into newsrooms and onto the air. Whatever else you do with your lives, I hope you remember to fight those battles, too.”
Gwen Ifill (1955–2016) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On persevering despite the obstacles in “Journalist Gwen Ifill: In Her Own Words” in NPR (2016 Nov 14)
“Joan the Woman was the most interesting undertaking from the point of view of the artists and the director in the history of the pictures, I believe. It is entirely different from the spectacle features, as it is essentially drama, with the story always first and most important and the spectacular features secondary, although many critics have more than praised the battles and scenes of pageantry.”
Cecil B. DeMille (1881–1959) first seen 1917 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Cecil De Mille Gives Views on Pictures and Art" (1917)
“Well, so be it. Today we only have time for the truth. Battles are won by facts and physics, not self-congratulatory ideology.”
Charles E. Gannon (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In front of them Washington, pensive like Archimedes, with the tip of the sacred sword, soaked in the blood of battles, inscribes the United States on the map of the Nations; and Franklin, the modern Teramenes, snatching a ray from the sun, with lucid stars, engraves in infinity the eternal legend of Liberty.”
Luís Gama (1830–1882) first seen 1882 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: À Forca o Cristo da Multidão, 1882. Source: Luiz Gama desenha o perfil de Tiradentes.
“Thus, it will be necessary to try and defeat the enemy in field battles. And, excuse me, with whom, and with what?! If so far not even the partial mobilisation has been carried out?! No one is giving clear answers to these questions. Simply because there aren't any.”
Igor Girkin (born 1970) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'It's meaningless to hope for victory': Top Russian ex-spy turned influencer warns Putin's offensive in Eastern Ukraine is going 'very bad', troops will suffer 'huge losses' while their leadership leaves 'much to be des…
“In 1941 he (Roger Tory Peterson) seems to predict battles to come when he wrote: “Spraying kills the insects, but the effects are temporary. In short, we must choose between the two: to have some insects and some birds, or to spray and have no insects and no birds.”
Elizabeth J. Rosenthal wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We should not act like politicians. In fact, politicians appear to fight in public yet work together in the background and fool the people into fighting. As musicians, if we are to fight, let us battles on stage through music.”
Magdeline Lesolebe (born 1984) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Charma Gal falls in love with Zim by The Herald, July 18, 2014 Retrieved on 26 June 2023
“As musicians, if we are to fight, let us have battles on stage through our music.”
Magdeline Lesolebe (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“like Chicanas today, the women found, then, that while few battles were won in civil rights on behalf of their communities, fulfillment and the gains of the women's movement were never their gains. The suffragist movement had been manipulated since the 1870s to benefit those that eventually benefitted from it and noone else.”
Martha P. Cotera (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Make no mistake: Satan’s specialty is psychological warfare. If he can turn us on God (“It’s not fair!”), or turn us on others (“It’s their fault!”), or turn us on ourselves (“I’m so stupid!”), we won’t turn on him. If we keep fighting within ourselves and losing our own inner battles, we’ll never have the strength to stand up and fight our true enemy.”
Beth Moore (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lol!! There is no silver bullet. Give it your best shot. Stay if it makes happy, and walk if it does not. Most importantly though, give careful consideration to the effects and consequences of your actions, especially on your children, and choose your battles.”
Regina Askia-Williams (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those were the days of the battles for the right to organize, and the conditions of workers were abominable.”
Justine W. Polier (1903–1987) said by 1987 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Be ready at all times. Think small but look at the bigger picture. Understand whom you are. Dress the path and turn up for respect so you can be taken seriously. Act the path. Be the Boss. Do the job. Choose your battles and be kind to your staff and colleagues. Hold on to your Faith and your God, keep your family front at peace and be ready when the opportunity knocks.”
Eugenia Abu (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source