Quotes

Samuel Beckett photo

“Nothing is more real than nothing.”

Malone Dies (1951), p. 16

Bruce Lee photo

“Life is better lived than conceptualized.”

Bruce Lee (1940–1973) Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, philosopher and filmmaker

This writing can be less demanding should I allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I've come to understand that life is best to be lived — not to be conceptualized. If you have to think, you still do not understand.
Source: Striking Thoughts (2000), p. 45

Pythagoras photo

“It is better to suffer, than to do, wrong.”

Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher

The Sayings of the Wise (1555), p. 164

Sophocles photo

“Thoughts are mightier than strength of hand.”

Sophocles (-496–-406 BC) ancient Greek tragedian

Fragment 854.
Phædra

Epifanio de los Santos photo

“There is nothing more regenerating than music.”

Epifanio de los Santos (1871–1928) Filipino politician

Philippine Free Press. Manila. April 28, 1928.
ULOL

Bono photo

“It's much harder to be relevant than it is to be successful”

Bono (1960) Irish rock musician, singer of U2

CNN Larry King Weekend (2002)

Albert Camus photo

“It's better to bet on this life than on the next.”

A Happy Death (1971)

François de La Rochefoucauld photo

“It is easier to be wise for others than for oneself.”

Il est plus aisé d'être sage pour les autres que de l'être pour soi-même.
Maxim 132.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

James Branch Cabell photo

“There is no gift more great than love.”

James Branch Cabell (1879–1958) American author

Morvyth, in Book Two : The Mathematics of Gonfal, Ch. X : Relative to Gonfal's Head
The Silver Stallion (1926)

Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues photo

“Mercy is of greater value than justice.”

Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–1747) French writer, a moralist

La clémence vaut mieux que la justice.
Source: Reflections and Maxims (1746), p. 174.

George Holmes Howison photo

“The infinite of the soul is mightier than the finite in it.”

George Holmes Howison (1834–1916) American philosopher

Source: The Limits of Evolution, and Other Essays, Illustrating the Metaphysical Theory of Personal Ideaalism (1905), The Harmony of Determinism and Freedom, p.373

Mark Twain photo

“Wagner's music is better than it sounds.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

Actually by Bill Nye, possibly confused due to Nye quoting Twain in More Tramps Abroad, 1897. (See also autobiography, vol. 1, p. 288.)
Misattributed

Fernando de Rojas photo

“The use of riches is better than their possession.”

Act II.
La Celestina (1499)

Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon photo

“Equity will go no further than the law.”

Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon (1732–1802) British Baron

Tooke v. Hollingworth (1793), 5 T. R. 225.

Joseph Joubert photo
Robert Graves photo

“To be a poet is a condition rather than a profession.”

Robert Graves (1895–1985) English poet and novelist

Reply to questionnaire, "The Cost of Letters" in Horizon (September 1946).
General sources

Jack White photo

“You can't do better than that.”

Jack White (1975) American musician and record producer

On being hugged by Pope John Paul II during the pontiff's visit to Detroit in 1987
Dolon, John (July 2007), "The White Stripes: New Jack City" http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=2705 Blender Volume unknown: pp. 109
2010

André Maurois photo

“It's better to arouse pity than envy.”

André Maurois (1885–1967) French writer

A Time for Silence

Svetlana Alexievich photo

“Is there anything more frightening than people?”

Source: Voices from Chernobyl (2005), p. 60

Miguel de Cervantes photo

“A good name is better than riches.”

Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright

Source: Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605–1615), Part II (1615), Book III, Ch. 33.