Popular quotes
page 40

Virginia Woolf photo
Alfred, Lord Tennyson photo
Ronald Reagan photo

“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.”

Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
Ahmed Omaar photo

“Si aad u hesho wax aaney qayrkaa heli doonin mustaqbalka, samee wax ka duwan waxa ay sameeyaan.”

Ahmed Omaar (1987)

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/ahmedomaar7/

Ahmed Omaar photo

“Unless you become a big picture thinker: you will always stay where you are.”

Ahmed Omaar (1987)

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/ahmedomaar7/

Keanu Reeves photo
Kurt Cobain photo

“Rather be dead then cool”

Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist

Variant: I'd rather be dead than be cool.

Corrie ten Boom photo

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983) Dutch resistance hero and writer

Source: Clippings from My Notebook

Robert Baden-Powell photo

“we aim for the practice of Christianity in their everyday life and dealings, and not merely the profession of its theology on Sundays.”

Robert Baden-Powell (1857–1941) lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, founder and Chief Scout of the Scout Movement

Source: Robert Baden-Powell: Scouting for Boys, The Original

Nikola Tesla photo

“Money does not represent such a value as men have placed upon it. All my money has been invested into experiments with which I have made new discoveries enabling mankind to have a little easier life.”

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor

As quoted in "A Visit to Nikola Tesla" by Dragislav L. Petković in Politika (April 1927); also in Tesla, Master of Lightning (1999) by Margaret Cheney, Robert Uth, and Jim Glenn, p. 82

Sun Tzu photo

“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

This is sometimes attributed to Sun Tzu in combination with the above quote, as well as alone, but it too has not been sourced to any published translation of The Art of War, though it is similar in concept to his famous statement in Ch. 3 : "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles..."
Misattributed

Sun Tzu photo

“In peace, prepare for war. In war, prepare for peace.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

Sometimes erroneously prepended to the opening line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State", but appears to be a variation of the Roman motto "Si vis pacem, para bellum". It's not clear who first misattributed this phrase to Sun Tzu. The earliest appearance of the phrase in Google Books is 1920, when it appeared in a pharmaceutical journal, but no attribution was given then.
Misattributed

Elon Musk photo

“If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

Elon Musk (1971) South African-born American entrepreneur

Fast Company, article "Hondas in Space" https://www.fastcompany.com/52065/hondas-space (1 February 2005)

Freddie Mercury photo

“We’re gonna stay together until we die, I’m sure of it.”

Freddie Mercury (1946–1991) British singer, songwriter and record producer

Context: You know something? There's been a lot of rumors lately about a certain band called Queen. The rumors are that... The rumors are that we're gonna split up. What do you think? [audience replies "No!"] [Pointing to his posterior] They're talking from here! [audience replies "Yes"! ] My apologies, but I say what I want. You know what I mean? So forget those rumors. We’re gonna stay together until we die, I’m sure of it. I keep — I must tell you — I keep wanting to leave, but they won’t let me. Also, I suppose we’re not... We're not bad for four aging queens, are we? Really, what do you think?

"Queen: Live at Wembley" (1986), shortly before performing "Who Wants To Live Forever." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GNJ1SQpxFI

Joseph Stalin photo

“When there's a person, there's a problem. When there's no person, there's no problem.”

Joseph Stalin (1879–1953) General secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

It is mistakenly attributed to Stalin: there is no evidence that he ever said or wrote something like that.

This phrase from the novel "Children of the Arbat" (1987) by Анатолий Наумович Рыбаков (1911 — 1998). As Stalin said about the execution of military experts in Tsaritsyn in 1918: "Death solves all problems. No person and no problem. " Later, in his «Роман-воспоминание» (1997), Рыбаков wrote that the phrase Stalin "possibly from someone heard, perhaps, he came up with." This was Stalin's principle. I just, it briefly formulated."

Aristophanés photo

“Youth ages, immaturity is outgrown, ignorance can be educated, drunkenness sobered, but stupid lasts forever.”

Aristophanés (-448–-386 BC) Athenian playwright of Old Comedy

Fictional attribution in the movie The Emperor's Club (2002), given by Kevin Kline (as William Hundert); also attributed to Diogenes, without sources; no published occurrences of this statement prior to the movie have been located in any of the Aristophanes Plays or Fragments.
Misattributed
Source: IMDb, "Memorable quotes for The Emperor's Club" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283530/quotes, Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com
Source: Two pages attributing it to Diogenes: http://www.prohibitionists.org/Background/Party_Platform/quickquotes/QQ-education.htm http://www.ryanbalton.com/funstuff/forb_seniorquotes.htm

Margaret Thatcher photo

“There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers’ money.”

Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British stateswoman and politician

Speech to Conservative Party Conference (14 October 1983) http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105454
Second term as Prime Minister
Context: Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves. If the State wishes to spend more it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. It is no good thinking that someone else will pay – that ‘someone else’ is you. There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers’ money.

Amos Oz photo