“To do nothing is the way to be nothing.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) American novelist and short story writer (1804 – 1879)
“To do nothing is the way to be nothing.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) American novelist and short story writer (1804 – 1879)
“You smiled and talked to me of nothing and I felt that for this I had been waiting long.”
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali polymath
John Muir (1838–1914) Scottish-born American naturalist and author
July 1890, page 320
John of the Mountains, 1938
Source: John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir
Glenn Gould (1932–1982) Canadian pianist
Gramophone
Context: I think that if I were required to spend the rest of my life on a desert island, and to listen to or play the music of any one composer during all that time, that composer would almost certainly be Bach. I really can't think of any other music which is so all-encompassing, which moves me so deeply and so consistently, and which, to use a rather imprecise word, is valuable beyond all of its skill and brilliance for something more meaningful than that -- its humanity.
Ziaur Rahman (1936–1981) President of Bangladesh
Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on March 27, 1971 at 7:45 PM.
Context: This is Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendro. I, Major Ziaur Rahman, on behalf of Bangobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hereby declare that the independent People's Republic of Bangladesh has been established. I have taken command as the temporary Head of the Republic. I call upon all Bengalis to rise against the attack by the West Pakistani Army. We shall fight to the last to free our Motherland. By the grace of Allah, victory is ours. Joy Bangla.
Chester Bennington (1976–2017) American singer-songwriter
Also attributed to Johnny Depp.
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
Source: VII, 8 (Penguin Classics edition of Meditations, translated by Maxwell Staniforth)
Nate Diaz (1985) American mixed martial artist
As quoted in "Nate Diaz discusses win over Conor McGregor" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg6NkqFPOyY (5 March 2016), UFC on FOX, FOX
Sri Anandamoyi Ma (1896–1982) Hindu saint
Gopinath Kaviraj, Sri Sri Ma Anandamayi: Upadesa O Prasnottara, p. 1
By followers
“We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.”
Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist and entertainer
"The World Tomorrow" After the Manner of Great Journalists
The Illiterate Digest (1924)
“You're right. I am crazy. But you know what else? I don't care.”
Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor
“To have just finished repaying all one's debts. Ah, is this not happiness?”
Jin Shengtan (1610–1661) Chinese writer
"Thirty-three Happy Moments"
Benjamín Netanyahu (1949) Israeli prime minister
2010s, 2015, Address to the United States Congress (March 2015)
Context: I wish I could promise you, Elie, that the lessons of history have been learned. I can only urge the leaders of the world not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Not to sacrifice the future for the present; not to ignore aggression in the hopes of gaining an illusory peace. But I can guarantee you this, the days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over! We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves. This is why; this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel. know that you stand with Israel. You stand with Israel, because you know that the story of Israel is not only the story of the Jewish people but of the human spirit that refuses again and again to succumb to history's horrors. Facing me right up there in the gallery, overlooking all of us in this august chamber is the image of Moses. Moses led our people from slavery to the gates of the Promised Land. And before the people of Israel entered the land of Israel, Moses gave us a message that has steeled our resolve for thousands of years.
“Power without a nation's confidence is nothing.”
Catherine the Great (1729–1796) Empress of Russia
As quoted in And I Quote : The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker (1992) by Ashton Applewhite, Tripp Evans, and Andrew Frothingham, p. 278
Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) free African American scientist, surveyor, almanac author and farmer
This appeared in Banneker's Almanac in 1794, and is commonly attributed to him, but originates earlier in "Reflections on different Subjects of Morality, by Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland, Duke of Lorrain and Bar" in The Universal Magazine (1765), p. 119
Misattributed
James Watt (1736–1819) British engineer
Attributed to James Watt in: Joel Mokyr, The lever of riches: Technological creativity and economic progress. Oxford University Press, 1992. p, 245
“The Nazis made me afraid to be a Jew, and the Israelis make me ashamed to be a Jew.”
Israel Shahak (1933–2001) Israeli academic
