Birthday quotes
A collection of quotes on the topic of anniversary, birthday, birthday, life.
Best birthday quotes
“You will always love, and you will always be loved.”
Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray
“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.”
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist
“Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.”
Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist
“Happiness is the readiness to be happy.”
James Richardson (1950) American poet
Aphorism #33
Interglacial (2004)
“Don't count the days, make the days count.”
Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) African American boxer, philanthropist and activist
“With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.”
William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice
Source: The Merchant of Venice
“Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.”
Robert Browning (1812–1889) English poet and playwright of the Victorian Era
“It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.”
Haile Selassie (1892–1975) Emperor of Ethiopia
Statement after his speech before the League of Nations (30 June 1936), as quoted in " "The Lion is Freed" in TIME magazine (8 September 1975) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917777,00.html?iid=chix-sphere
Birthday quotes
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter
“There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.”
William Barclay (1907–1978) Church of Scotland minister and academic
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
This quote is often misattributed to Lincoln. The earliest instance that Quote Investigator could locate was "in an advertisement in 1947 for a book about aging by Edward J. Stieglitz, M.D". The advertisement for “The Second Forty Years” which ran in the Chicago Tribune newspaper read like this: The important thing to you is not how many years in your life, but how much life in your years! (Compare 1947 March 16, Chicago Tribune, “How Long Do You Plan to Live?”, [Advertisement for the book "The Second Forty Years" by Edward J. Stieglitz, M.D.], p. C7, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest)). Source of misattribution: It’s Not the Years in Your Life That Count. It’s the Life in Your Years - Abraham Lincoln? Adlai Stevenson? Edward J. Stieglitz? Anonymous? by Quote Investigator on July 14, 2012 http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/07/14/life-years-count/ <br class="br">To my way of thinking it is not the years in your life but the life in your years that count in the long run. <br class="br">Adlai Stevenson II, Address at Princeton University, "The Educated Citizen" (22 March 1954) http://infoshare1.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/mudd/online_ex/stevenson/adlai1954.html. This has also been paraphrased "What matters most is not the years in your life, but the life in your years" and misattributed to Abraham Lincoln and Mae West. <br class="br">Adlai Stevenson II, "If I Were Twenty-One" in Coronet (December 1955). <br class="br">Misattributed <br class="br">Variant: It is not the years in your life but the life in your years that counts.
“You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.”
Ogden Nash (1902–1971) American poet
“The way I see it, you should live everyday like its your birthday”
Paris Hilton (1981) American socialite
“All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece but not too much.”
George Harrison book I, Me, Mine
Source: I, Me, Mine
“TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE”
Abbie Hoffman (1936–1989) American political and social activist
Source: Revolution for the Hell of It (1968), p. 184.
“As long as there's life, there's hope.”
Tamora Pierce (1954) American writer of fantasy novels for children
Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician
Jean Paul Sartre (1905–1980) French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and …
“I was brought up to respect my elders, so now I don't have to respect anybody.”
George Burns (1896–1996) American comedian, actor, and writer
“Cherish all your happy moments: they make a fine cushion for old age.”
Christopher Morley (1890–1957) American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet
“A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.”
Robert Frost (1874–1963) American poet
Variant: A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.
“You see persons and things not as they are but as you are.”
Anthony de Mello (1931–1987) Indian writer
Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest
Lady Bracknell, Act III
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
“True friends are like diamonds – bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.”
Nicole Richie (1981) American television personality, musician, actress, and author
“The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything.”
Oscar Wilde book Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young
Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young (1894)
“Very early, I knew that the only object in life was to grow.”
Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) American feminist, poet, author, and activist
Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli (1852), Vol. I, p. 132.
“And I rose
In rainy autumn
And walked abroad in a shower of all my days…”
Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) Welsh poet and writer
Source: Collected Poems
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist
“I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines.”
Oliver Goldsmith book The Vicar of Wakefield
She Stoops to Conquer (1771), Act I
Source: The Vicar of Wakefield
“You are stronger than you seem,
Braver than you believe,
and smarter than you think you are.”
A.A. Milne book Winnie-the-Pooh
Variant: You are braver than you believe,
Stronger than you seem,
And smarter than you think(:
Source: Winnie-the-Pooh
“That's not my love; that's just your life.”
Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet
Ibid.
The Book of Disquiet
Original: Isso não é o meu amor; é apenas a sua vida.
“Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.”
Arthur Wing Pinero (1855–1934) British writer
“It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen.”
Brigitte Bardot (1934) French model, actor, singer and animal rights activist
“I am not, I will not be.
I have not, I will not have.”
Nagarjuna (150–250) Indian philosopher
That frightens all the childish
And extinguishes fear in the wise.
§ 26
Major attributed works, Ratnāvalī (Precious Garland)
“God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”
Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher
“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
Paul McCartney (1942) English singer-songwriter and composer
"The End"; The last full song track of Abbey Road (1969) the last Beatles album to be recorded before the band broke up. (Let It Be was the last album released, but had been recorded earlier.)
Lyrics, The Beatles
Source: The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics
“You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.”
Bob Hope (1903–2003) American comedian, actor, singer and dancer
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (1968) Canadian writer
Source: At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much
Denis Waitley (1933) American writer
Variant: The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence
“There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.”
George Santayana (1863–1952) 20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with Pragmatism
"War Shrines"
Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies (1922)
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”
Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist
“Birthdays could be such a bummer when you were older than the country you lived in.”
Lynsay Sands Canadian writer
Source: A Quick Bite
“The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.”
Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
“Happy birthday. And next time? Eat the stupid cupcake.”
Rachel Caine (1962) American writer
Source: Let Them Eat Cake
“May you live all the days of your life.”
Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, and poet
Polite Conversation (1738), Dialogue 2
“We turn not older with years but newer every day.”
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) American poet
Source: http://archive.emilydickinson.org/correspondence/norcross/l379.html Letter
“No wise man ever wished to be younger.”
Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, and poet
Thoughts on Various Subjects from Miscellanies (1711-1726)
“Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American comedian
No known citation to Marx. First appears unattributed in mid-1960s logic/computing texts as an example of the difficulty of machine parsing of ambiguous statements. Google Books http://books.google.co.uk/books?client=firefox-a&lr=&as_brr=0&q=%22fruit-flies%22+%22time+flies%22+banana&btnG=Search+Books&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=1900&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=1970. The Yale Book of Quotations dates the attribution to Marx to a 9 July 1982 net.jokes post on Usenet. <br class="br">Misattributed
“This is the place of places and and it is here.”
Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American art collector and experimental writer of novels, poetry and plays
“There is still no cure for the common birthday.”
John Glenn (1921–2016) American astronaut and politician
“You were born original don't die a copy”
Ben Mikaelsen (1952) writer
“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.”
Lucille Ball (1911–1989) American actress and businesswoman
“The secret is that there is no secret.”
Lionel Shriver book We Need to Talk About Kevin
Source: We Need to Talk About Kevin
“deep down I believe my year was a special year: it produced me.”
Ned Vizzini (1981–2013) American writer
“Happy birthday, Alexander," Magnus murmured.
"Thanks for remembering," Alec whispered back.”
Cassandra Clare (1973) American author
Source: What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything
“Sometimes the greatest things are the most embarrassing.”
Ellen DeGeneres (1958) American stand-up comedian, television host, and actress
Source: Seriously... I'm Kidding
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
Dr. Seuss book Happy Birthday to You!
Variant: There is no one alive who
is Youer than You!
Source: Happy Birthday to You!
“You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream.”
Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) Christian apologist, novelist, and Medievalist
Unknown, but also attributed to Les Brown, a motivational speaker. Commonly attributed to C.S. Lewis, but never with a primary source listed.
Misattributed
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India
Variant on aphorism "Study as if you were to live forever. Live as if you were to die tomorrow" pre-dating Gandhi, variously attributed to Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 636), in FPA Book of Quotations (1952) by Franklin Pierce Adams, to Edmund Rich (1175–1240) in American Journal of Education (1877), or to Alain de Lille in Samuel Smiles's Duty https://books.google.com/books?id=33UzAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA363&dq=live+die+tomorrow+learn+forever&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjd3s_2m57MAhWFMGMKHe-sAl8Q6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=live%20die%20tomorrow%20learn%20forever&f=false (1881). <br class="br">The 1995 book "The good boatman: a portrait of Gandhi," states that Gandhi subscribed "to the view that a man should live thinking he might die tomorrow but learn as if he would live forever." <br class="br">In his 2010 Boyer lecture Glyn Davis (Professor of Political Science and Vice-Chancellor of Melbourne University) attributes the quote to Desiderius Erasmus. "He [Erasmus] reworked Pliny to urge 'live as if you are to die tomorrow, study as if you were to live forever'. Many students obey the first clause - the best heed both." <br class="br">There is a similar quote by Johann Gottfried Herder: "Mensch, genieße dein Leben, als müssest morgen du weggehn; Schone dein Leben, als ob ewig du weiletest hier." ["Man, enjoy your life as if you were to depart tomorrow; spare your life as if you were to linger here forever."] (Zerstreute Blätter, 1785). <br class="br">Disputed
Mary Pickford (1892–1979) Canadian-American actress
"How Mary Pickford Stays Young", Reader's Digest, Vol. 5 (1926); condensed from an interview in Everybody's Magazine (28 May 1926)
“The birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.”
Christina Rossetti (1830–1894) English poet
A Birthday, st. 2.
“There is no knowledge that is not power.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Old Age
1870s, Society and Solitude (1870)
“Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow.”
John Wooden (1910–2010) American basketball coach
They Call Me Coach (1972)
“The friends of my friends are my friends.”
John le Carré book The Mission Song
The Mission Song (2006)
“I have no plans, and no plans to plan.”
Mario Cuomo (1932–2015) American politician, Governor of New York
On his presidential plans New York Times (14 September 1986)
“There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.”
Gautama Buddha (-563–-483 BC) philosopher, reformer and the founder of Buddhism
The source is likely to be either modern Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, or Calvinist clergyman Abraham Johannes Muste. The phrase appears in Thich Nhat Hanh's writings; but it also appears in a volume of US senate hearings from 1948, when Thich Nhat Hanh had not yet been ordained as a monk. Muste is known to have used a variant of the phrase – "'peace' is the way" in 1967, but this was not the first time he had used it, and he had a connection with the 1948 hearing.
Misattributed
“Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same.”
Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) British actress
As quoted in Audrey Hepburn : A Life in Pictures (2007) by Yann-Brice Dherbier and Pierre-Henri Verlhac
“That is what I want to be remembered for.”
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …
Yours, Isaac Asimov (20 September 1973) <!-- page 329 -->
General sources
Context: What I will be remembered for are the Foundation Trilogy and the Three Laws of Robotics. What I want to be remembered for is no one book, or no dozen books. Any single thing I have written can be paralleled or even surpassed by something someone else has done. However, my total corpus for quantity, quality and variety can be duplicated by no one else. That is what I want to be remembered for.
“The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it.”
Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978) Vice-President of the USA under Lyndon B. Johnson