Quotes about people
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Lincoln never said these words, but wrote and said some that are very similar to the above quote. As Lincoln's popularity within the Republican Party grew, he was invited to address members of his party throughout the nation. In September 1859 Lincoln gave several speeches to Ohio Republicans. The notes Lincoln used for his 1859 engagements state: "We must not disturb slavery in the states where it exists, because the Constitution, and the peace of the country both forbid us — We must not withhold an efficient fugitive slave law, because the constitution demands it — But we must, by a national policy, prevent the spread of slavery into new territories, or free states, because the constitution does not forbid us, and the general welfare does demand such prevention — We must prevent the revival of the African slave trade, because the constitution does not forbid us, and the general welfare does require the prevention — We must prevent these things being done, by either congresses or courts — The people — the people — are the rightful masters of both Congresses, and courts — not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it —" Source: Abraham Lincoln [September 16-17, 1859<nowiki> http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mal:@field(DOCID+@lit(d0189300))#I379</nowiki>] (Notes for Speech in Kansas and Ohio) http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mal&fileName=mal1/018/0189300/malpage.db&recNum=1 in "Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833-1916." Transcribed and Annotated by the Lincoln Studies Center, Knox College. Galesburg, Illinois. Lincoln transformed his prior quoted notes in the following words: "I say that we must not interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists, because the Constitution forbids it, and the general welfare does not require us to do so. We must not withhold an efficient Fugitive Slave law, because the Constitution requires us, as I understand it, not to withhold such a law. But we must prevent the outspreading of the institution, because neither the Constitution nor general welfare requires us to extend it. We must prevent the revival of the African slave trade, and the enacting by Congress of a Territorial slave code. We must prevent each of these things being done by either Congresses or courts. The people of these United States are the rightful masters of both Congresses and courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." Source: Speech at Cincinnati, Ohio, September 17, 1859 http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/2/5/3253/3253-h/files/2657/2657-h/2657-h.htm#2H_4_0043; in "The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Five, Constitutional Edition", edited by Arthur Brooks Lapsley and released as " The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Five, by Abraham Lincoln http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/2/5/3253/3253-h/files/2657/2657-h/2657-h.htm" (2009) by Project Gutenberg.
Ref: en.wikiquote.org - Abraham Lincoln / Disputed
1850s

Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray and Selected Stories

“To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.”

“The number one reason most people don't get what they want is that they don't know what they want.”
Source: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

Source: Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements

Source: Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
Source: Alice in Zombieland

“That's what happens when people reach old age; nobody remembers they've been bastards too.”
Source: The Prisoner of Heaven

“Paul and I know each other on a lot of different levels that very few people know about.”

Variant: If you stopped tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive.
Source: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
“Some people are easier to love when you don't have to be around them.”

“People know what they want because they know what other people want.”

Chicago Defender (1 April 1998)

“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited.”
1980s, Second term of office (1985–1989), Farewell Address (1989)
Context: I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.

.
1900s
Context: Everyone is free to write and say whatever he likes, without any restrictions. But every voluntary association (including the party) is also free to expel members who use the name of the party to advocate anti-party views. Freedom of speech and the press must be complete. But then freedom of association must be complete too. I am bound to accord you, in the name of free speech, the full right to shout, lie and write to your heart’s content. But you are bound to grant me, in the name of freedom of association, the right to enter into, or withdraw from, association with people advocating this or that view. The party is a voluntary association, which would inevitably break up, first ideologically and then physically, if it did not cleanse itself of people advocating anti-party views.
“A little love and attention can go a long way… too bad more people don't realize that.”
Source: Hangman's Curse

“People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.”
Volume iii, p. 274
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)

“I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.”
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest

“I was wise enough never to grow up, while fooling people into believing I had.”

“Saying goodbye to the people you love isn't easy”
Source: Between the Lines

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”
Source: As quoted in "My Philosophy of Industry" an interview of Ford by Fay Leone Faurote, The Forum, Vol. 79, No. 4 (April 1928), p. 481;
also in "Thinking Is Hardest Work, Therefore Few Engage in It", San Francisco Chronicle (13 April 1928), p. 25;
both articles are cited as the primary sources of other variants which later arose, in https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/04/05/so-few "Thinking Is the Hardest Work There Is, which Is the Probable Reason Why So Few Engage In It" in Quote Investigator (5 April 2016)

Source: Are Women Human? Astute and Witty Essays on the Role of Women in Society
“The sky hides the night behind it and shelters the people beneath from the horror that lies above.”

Source: The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom

“Laws should be made to serve the people. People should not be made to serve the laws.”
Source: To Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton

Address Delivered in Candidacy for the State Legislature (9 March 1832)
1830s
Context: Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in. That every man may receive at least a moderate education, and thereby be enabled to read the histories of his own and other countries, by which he may duly appreciate the value of our free institutions, appears to be an object of vital importance, even on this account alone, to say nothing of the advantages and satisfaction to be derived from all being able to read the Scriptures, and other works both of a religious and moral nature, for themselves.

“Some people get an education without going to college. The rest get it after they get out.”

“Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their time; a man of talent tries to 'use' it.”

“I regard the afterlife to be a fairy story for people that are afraid of the dark”

“How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in it!”
Variant: O, brave new world
that has such people in't!
Source: The Tempest

“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
As quoted in "Bradbury Still Believes in Heat of ‘Fahrenheit 451’" http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930312&slug=1689996, interview by Misha Berson, in ', credited to "Ray Bradbury, quoted by Misha Berson in Seattle Times", in "Quotable Quotes", The Reader's Digest, Vol. 144, No. 861, January 1994, p. 25 http://books.google.com/books?output=html&id=ZqqUAAAAIAAJ&q=%22people+to+stop+reading%22#search_anchor), or an indirect reference to the re-quoting in Reader's Digest (such as: The Times Book of Quotations (Philip Howard, ed.), 2000, Times Books and HarperCollins, p. 93
Variant: We're not teaching kids to read and write and think. … There's no reason to burn books if you don't read them.
As quoted in "At 80, Ray Bradbury Still Fighting the Future He Foresaw" http://www.raybradbury.com/articles_peoria.html, interview by Roger Moore, in The Peoria Journal Star (August 2000)
Context: The problem in our country isn't with books being banned, but with people no longer reading. Look at the magazines, the newspapers around us – it's all junk, all trash, tidbits of news. The average TV ad has 120 images a minute. Everything just falls off your mind. … You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”

“Technology and comfort - having those, people speak of culture, but do not have it.”
Source: Doctor Faustus

“Really high-minded people are indifferent to happiness, especially other people's.”
Source: The Impact of Science on Society

“Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others.”

“One's past is what one is. It is the only way by which people should be judged.”

Source: Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle

“Life sometimes separates people so that they can realize how much they mean to each other.”
Source: The Winner Stands Alone


“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”
Variant: Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.