Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States
Quotes about people page 15
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
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.<br>Ref: en.wikiquote.org - Abraham Lincoln / Disputed <br class="br">1850s
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray and Selected Stories
“To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.”
Aristotle (-384–-321 BC) Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy
“The number one reason most people don't get what they want is that they don't know what they want.”
T. Harv Eker (1954) American writer
Source: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth
Malcolm X (1925–1965) American human rights activist
Source: Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements
Ian Stewart (1945) British mathematician and science fiction author
Source: Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
Gena Showalter (1975) American writer
Source: Alice in Zombieland
“That's what happens when people reach old age; nobody remembers they've been bastards too.”
Carlos Ruiz Zafón book The Prisoner of Heaven
Source: The Prisoner of Heaven
Lilith Saintcrow (1976) American writer
Source: Betrayals
“Paul and I know each other on a lot of different levels that very few people know about.”
John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author
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 care too much. I think it's called love.”
A.A. Milne book Winnie-the-Pooh
Source: Winnie-the-Pooh
“Some people are easier to love when you don't have to be around them.”
Irvine Welsh (1958) Scottish novelist
“People know what they want because they know what other people want.”
Theodor W. Adorno (1903–1969) German sociologist, philosopher and musicologist known for his critical theory of society
Coretta Scott King (1927–2006) American author, activist, and civil rights leader. Wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chicago Defender (1 April 1998)
“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited.”
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
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.
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution
.
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.
“People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.”
Edmund Burke book Reflections on the Revolution in France
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.”
Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest
Source: The Importance of Being Earnest
“I was wise enough never to grow up, while fooling people into believing I had.”
Margaret Mead (1901–1978) American anthropologist
“Saying goodbye to the people you love isn't easy”
Jodi Picoult (1966) Author
Source: Between the Lines
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”
Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist
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)
Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) English crime writer, playwright, essayist and Christian writer
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.”
Paul Bowles (1910–1999) American composer, writer, translator
Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983) Dutch resistance hero and writer
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.”
Huey P. Newton (1942–1989) Co-founder of the Black Panther Party
Source: To Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
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.”
Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist
“Ordinary people merely think how they shall 'spend' their time; a man of talent tries to 'use' it.”
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
“I regard the afterlife to be a fairy story for people that are afraid of the dark”
Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author
“How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in it!”
William Shakespeare The Tempest
Variant: O, brave new world
that has such people in't!
Source: The Tempest
Nicholas Sparks book The Lucky One
Elizabeth Green, Chapter 15, Beth, p. 274
Variant: Sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doin them with the right people.(Elizabeth Green)
Source: 2000s, The Lucky One (2008)
“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
Ray Bradbury book Ray Bradbury
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<br>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.<br>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) <br class="br">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.”
Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American author and journalist
Banksy pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, and painter
“Technology and comfort - having those, people speak of culture, but do not have it.”
Thomas Mann book Doctor Faustus
Source: Doctor Faustus
“Really high-minded people are indifferent to happiness, especially other people's.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist
Source: The Impact of Science on Society
“Punctuality is for people with nothing better to do”
Jim Butcher book Small Favor
Source: Small Favor
“Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
“One's past is what one is. It is the only way by which people should be judged.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
Chris Hedges (1956) American journalist
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.”
Paulo Coelho book The Winner Stands Alone
Source: The Winner Stands Alone
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”
C.G. Jung (1875–1961) Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology
Variant: Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.
