Quotes about passion

„Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.“

—  Martha Graham American dancer and choreographer 1894 - 1991

„I would rather die of passion than of boredom.“

—  Emile Zola, book Au Bonheur des Dames

Source: The Ladies' Paradise

„Nothing great in the world was accomplished without passion.“

—  Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, book Lectures on the Philosophy of History

Often abbreviated to: Nothing great in the World has been accomplished without passion.
Variant translation: We may affirm absolutely that nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm.
Lectures on the Philosophy of History (1832), Volume 1
Variant: We may affirm absolutely that nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.
Context: We assert then that nothing has been accomplished without interest on the part of the actors; and — if interest be called passion, inasmuch as the whole individuality, to the neglect of all other actual or possible interests and claims, is devoted to an object with every fibre of volition, concentrating all its desires and powers upon it — we may affirm absolutely that nothing great in the World has been accomplished without passion.

„Passion is always a mystery and unaccountable, and unfortunately there is no doubt that life does not spare its purest children and often it is just the most deserving people who cannot help loving those that destroy them.“

—  Hermann Hesse, book Gertrud

Source: Gertrude (1910), p. 217

„What you call passion is not spiritual force, but friction between the soul and the outside world.“

—  Hermann Hesse, book The Glass Bead Game

The Glass Bead Game (1943)
Context: To be capable of everything and do justice to everything, one certainly does not need less spiritual force and èlan and warmth, but more. What you call passion is not spiritual force, but friction between the soul and the outside world. Where passion dominates, that does not signify the presence of greater desire and ambition, but rather the misdirection of these qualities toward an isolated and false goal, with a consequent tension and sultriness in the atmosphere. Those who direct the maximum force of their desires toward the center, toward true being, toward perfection, seem quieter than the passionate souls because the flame of their fervor cannot always be seen.

„Of all the creatures that were made he [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood he is the only one — the solitary one — that possesses malice. That is the basest of all instincts, passions, vices — the most hateful…He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain…Also — in all the list he is the only creature that has a nasty mind.“

—  Mark Twain American author and humorist 1835 - 1910

Vol. II, p. 7

„It is easier to hide behind philosophical arguments, heavily footnoted for effect, than it is to admit our hurts, our confusions, our loves, and our passions in the marketplace of life's heartfelt transactions.“

—  Ravi Zacharias Indian philosopher 1946

1990s
Source: [Can Man Live Without God, 1994, 9780849939433, 6]

„Your true passion should feel like breathing; it’s that natural.“

—  Oprah Winfrey American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist 1954

„Why have women passion, intellect, moral activity — these three — and a place in society where no one of the three can be exercised?“

—  Florence Nightingale English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing 1820 - 1910

Cassandra (1860)
Context: Why have women passion, intellect, moral activity — these three — and a place in society where no one of the three can be exercised? Men say that God punishes for complaining. No, but men are angry with misery. They are irritated with women for not being happy. They take it as a personal offence. To God alone may women complain without insulting Him!

„Do grant, O my Lord Jesus, that when my lips approach Thine to kiss Thee, I may taste the gall that was given Thee. And when my shoulders lean against Thine, make me feel Thy scourgings. And when my flesh is united with Thine in the Holy Eucharist, make me feel Thy Passion. And when my head comes near to Thine, make me feel Thy thorns. And when my heart is close to Thine, make me feel Thine embrace.“

—  Gemma Galgani ITALIANA 1878 - 1903

Quoted in The Life of St. Gemma Galgani by her spiritual director Ven. Germanus, trans. A. M. O'Sullivan, 1999, p. 258.

„We grow older more quickly by not chasing our passionate desires; passion helps one to feel alive.“

—  RJ Intindola (Gandolfo)

2019

„I have never met a man like my father. He is so mad, terrible and vehement at the same time. Because of him, I never knew anything other than passion. When I began to meet other people I saw that it wasn’t normal.“

—  Nastassja Kinski German actress 1961

Georgina Howell, The Demanding Nastassia Kinski http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19860102&id=MQROAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MJwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6682,494045, New Straits Times, January 2, 1986

„My lover's gone off to some foreign country, sopping wet at our doorway
I watch the clouds rupture.
Mira says, nothing can harm him.
This passion has yet to be slaked.“

—  Meera Bai Hindu mystic poet

Mīrābāī, in For love of the Dark One: songs of Mirabai http://books.google.co.in/books?id=oLFjAAAAMAAJ, p. 55

„Never depend upon institutions or government to solve any problem. All social movements are founded by, guided by, motivated and seen through by the passion of individuals.“

—  Margaret Mead American anthropologist 1901 - 1978

Attributed in Talent Development for English Language Learners: Identifying and Developing Potential (2013) by Michael S. Matthews, Ph.D. SBN-13:9781618211057
2000s
Variant: Never ever depend on governments or institutions to solve any major problems. All social change comes from the passion of individuals.

„We must get beyond passions, like a great work of art. In such miraculous harmony. We should learn to love each other so much to live outside of time… detached.“

—  Federico Fellini Italian filmmaker 1920 - 1993

Source: La Dolce Vita: Federico Fellini's Masterpiece

„I figured out that my passion is not really for music. My passion is actually for people. So the exploration into different musics of different times has to do with trying to figure out who these people are, what this music represents and what context do we want to give it and what does it mean to us right now.“

—  Yo-Yo Ma American cellist 1955

National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday Jan. 14, 2007, NPR, 2009-02-03 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6835078,

„Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.“

—  Harriet Tubman African-American abolitionist and humanitarian 1820 - 1913

„The Church right now has more fashion than passion, is more pathetic than prophetic, is more superficial than supernatural.“

—  Leonard Ravenhill British writer 1907 - 1994

Source: Revival God's Way

„There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life.“

—  Federico Fellini Italian filmmaker 1920 - 1993

Fellini on Fellini (1976) edited by Anna Keel and Christian Strich; translated by Isabel Quigly.
Variant: There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life.