Quotes about back
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“Two thieves also enjoyed the ride with Jesus. Maybe he's coming back to fulfil the promise that he made that day on the cross. Coming for the thief, rather like a thief himself.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“Laughable rumors. I’m not stepping back or stepping down. You could say I’m stepping up.”

Hu Shuli (1953) Chinese journalist

On the rumors of her stepping down as head of Caixin Media in "AP Interview: Chinese editor Hu Shuli steps aside, not down" in Associated Press (30 January 2018) https://apnews.com/article/china-censorship-business-international-news-asia-pacific-d1f0e45181c64cd0b1a978842a81affa

“If you have money, don't lend it at interest. Rather, give [it] to someone from whom you won't get it back."”

Jesus (-7–30 BC) Jewish preacher and religious leader, central figure of Christianity

95
Gnostic Gospels, Gospel of Thomas (c. 2nd century AD manuscript)

Money

“It’s a very American thing to build up and break down and come back. It is in its own weird way the heroes journey.”

Robert Downey Jr. (1965) American actor

Source: "‘Colbert’: Robert Downey Jr. Grateful His “Misbehavior” Years Were Pre-Internet" https://deadline.com/2021/02/robert-downey-jr-stephen-colbert-late-show-avengers-misbehavior-years-were-pre-internet-1234689537/ (8 February 2021)

Way

“He went on to speak of the manner in which slavery was treated by the Constitution. The word 'slave' is no where used; the supply of slaves was to be prohibited after 1808; they stopped the spread of it in the territories; seven of the states abolished it. He argued very conclusively that it was then regarded as an evil which would eventually be got rid of, and that they desired, once rid of it, to have nothing in the constitution to remind them of it. The Republicans go back to first principles and deal with it as a wrong. Mason, of Va., said openly that the framers of our government were anti-slavery. Hammond of S.C., said 'Washington set this evil example'. Bully Brooks said: 'At the time the Constitution was formed, no one supposed slavery would last till now.'”

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States

We stick to the policy of our fathers.
1860s, Speech at Hartford (1860)

Evil, Time

“The multi-dimensional aspects of water are amazing. Water contains within itself the knowing or the memory of anything it comes into contact with. This means it carries the knowing and the memory of a place and the happenings there, going back sometimes thousands of years. It is full of information… Sort of like a mirror that keeps the reflection of anything it has ever encountered.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Source: tealswan.com/quotes

Water, Memory

“Looking back on the long period of post-war peace, reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never again be repeated.”

Naruhito (1960) Emperor of Japan since 2019

Source: "Japan marks 76th anniversary of WWII surrender with emperor expressing "deep remorse" over wartime atrocities" in Xinhua http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2021-08/15/c_1310128713.htm (15 August 2021)

War, Peace, Past, Hope

“Some critics of the pessimist often think they have his back to the wall when they blithely jeer, “If that is how this fellow feels, he should either kill himself or be decried as a hypocrite.””

Thomas Ligotti book The Conspiracy Against the Human Race

Source: The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror (2010)
Context: That the pessimist should kill himself in order to live up to his ideas may be counterattacked as betraying such a crass intellect that it does not deserve a response. Yet it is not much of a chore to produce one. Simply because someone has reached the conclusion that the amount of suffering in this world is enough that anyone would be better off never having been born does not mean that by force of logic or sincerity he must kill himself. It only means he has concluded that the amount of suffering in this world is enough that anyone would be better off never having been born. Others may disagree on this point as it pleases them, but they must accept that if they believe themselves to have a stronger case than the pessimist, then they are mistaken.

Thinking, Feeling

“Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.”

Rudolf Nureyev (1938–1993) Soviet ballet dancer and choreographer

Source: "Rudolf Nureyev’s Technical Influence" https://nureyev.org/rudolf-nureyev-artistic-influence-index/technique/

“The Princes of this house of abandoned their capital. Not like soldiers of Honor who cede to the circumstances and set backs of the war, but like the perjured, who are persued by their own remorse.”

Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French

Andrew Roberts.

Housing, War

“It is always necessary to call men back to history, which is the first master in politics, or more exactly the only master.”

Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821) Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat

"Of Monarchy," p. 120
Against Rousseau (1795)

History, Men

“Loosing your love is okay
loosing your best friend is okay
but loosing yourself for getting them back is not okay.”

Attiah

Love

“If you don't live in the Moment;

You are looking Forward to Uncertainty

or Back to acute Pain, Fear, Regret and Remorse.

It is an Insane World…make it Simple.”

Stephie Pahlavi Zan

Pain, World, Fear

“I have learned that…
you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
No matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
It takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
It's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.
You can do something in an instant that will give you a heartache for life.
No matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.
You should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
There are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.
True friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. The same goes for true love.
Just because someone doesnt love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
No matter how good a friend someone is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
No matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
Just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
We don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
You shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
There are so many ways of falling and staying in love.
No matter how many friends you have, if you are their pillar, you will feel lonely and lost at the times you need them most.
The people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.
Although the word "love" can have many different meanings, it loses value when overly used.
Love is not for me to keep, but to pass on to the next person I see.
There are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it.
Every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch-holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
I still have a lot to learn……”

Stephie Pahlavi Zan

Hurt, Personality, Love, Life

“Our country needs to go forward, not to go back. I promise to build a Somalia that is in harmony with itself and is in harmony with the world.”

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (1955) President of Somalia; PDP Chairman; educator; civic, academic, and political activist

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (2022) cited in " Somalia Elects New President, but Terrorists Hold True Power https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/15/world/africa/somalia-election-president.html" on The New York Times, 15 May 2022.

Country, World

“Mama, your son in the red hat
Had suffered set-backs, had 'shouldn't-have-said-thats'
Had made everyone mad Give 'em enough of they own rope to hang 'em with
The paparazzi never really got what my angle is
They treat my married life like some type of entanglement.”

Kanye West (1977) American rapper, singer and songwriter

Life of the Party
Lyrics, Donda (2021)

Suffering, Madness, Life

“Chased the good life my whole life long
Look back on my life, and my life gone
Where did I go wrong? And my head keeps spinning
Can't stop having these visions
I gotta get with it.”

Kanye West (1977) American rapper, singer and songwriter

Welcome to Heartbreak
Lyrics, 808s & Heartbreak (2008)

Life

“And I'm back on my grind
A psychic read my lifeline, told me in my lifetime
My name would help light up the Chicago skyline
And that's why I'm
Seven o'clock, that's primetime
Heaven'll watch, God calling from the hotlines
Why he keep giving me hot lines?
I'm a star, how could I not shine?”

Kanye West (1977) American rapper, singer and songwriter

I Wonder
Lyrics, Graduation (2007)

God, Light, Star, Reading

“Words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. It is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses. Poets are the policemen of language; they are always arresting those old reprobates the words.”

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) Irish poet and playwright

Letter to Ellen O'Leary (3 February 1889)

Sense

“The law of giving and receiving is simply this: In a universe where the most absolute truth is that of oneness, you can not ever take, without taking from yourself. And you cannot give without giving to yourself. That is why those who give, get back and those who take, are taken from.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Source: tealswan.com/quotes

Law, Universe, Truth

“SOXX " If you can't fight back just say a word and call it a day " -Abah Sole F. E”

Engr.Abah Sule

Fight

“The people we know are dead, yet you came back for me …, there is no life without you.”

Engr.Abah Sule

Dead, Life, People

“Nature is the greatest healer, by reconnecting back to nature, we begin changing the world all around us. We begin living from the inside out, breathing in the beautiful 'Chi,' becoming peaceful, developing serenity within ourselves, and that will make this planet a much more harmonious place to live in.”

Ralph Smart

World, Change, Peace, Beauty

“Songs to Herself:
She waved at all the people on the trains & later, when she saw they didn't wave back, she started singing songs to herself & it went that way the whole day & she couldn't remember having a better time in her life.”

Brian Andreas (1956) American artist

Variant: She waved at all the people on the train & later, when she saw they didn't wave back, she started singing songs to herself & it went that way the whole day & she couldn't remember having a better time in her life.
Source: Story People: Selected Stories & Drawings of Brian Andreas

Life, People, Way, Singing

“Razo hopped back up and adopted a posture that said he was completely unruffled, never had been, and in fact was ready to do something manly like lift boulders or swallow live worms.”

Shannon Hale River Secrets

Source: River Secrets

“Generally, women can't do this, but men retain the ancient ability to leave a family and a past. They just unhook themselves, like removing a fake beard, and skulk discreetly back into society, changed men. Unrecognizable.”

Zadie Smith book White Teeth

Source: White Teeth

Women, Men, Family, Change

“At birth, we emerge from dream soup.
At death, we sink back into dream soup.
In between soups, there is a crossing of dry land.
Life is a portage.”

Tom Robbins book Jitterbug Perfume

Source: Jitterbug Perfume

Life, Death, Dreams, Birth

“But surely we are not allowed…"
"Allowed?" I counters. "We're allowed to do anything in this world until someone says we ain't allowed and that someone can back it up.”

L.A. Meyer (1942–2014) American writer

World

“No one could tell you: you just had to go through it on your own. If you were lucky, you came out on the other side and understood. If you didn't, you kept getting thrust back, retracing those steps, until you finally got it right.”

Sarah Dessen book The Truth About Forever

Source: The Truth About Forever

“The essential matrimonial facts: that to be happy you have to find variety in repetition; that to go forward you have to come back to where you begin.”

Jeffrey Eugenides book Middlesex

Source: Middlesex

Happiness

“I believe in recovery, and as a role model I have the responsibility to let young people know that you can make a mistake and come back from it.”

Ann Richards (1933–2006) American politician

People

“The expression one wears on one's face is far more important than the clothes one wears on one's back.”

Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American writer and lecturer

Clothes

“It's all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.”

Mick Jagger (1943) British rock musician, member of The Rolling Stones

“I went back to those graves not long afterward and found as I stood there that sadness was a very heavy thing. My body weighed twice what it had only a moment earlier, as if those graves were pulling me down toward them.”

Arthur Golden book Memoirs of a Geisha

Source: Memoirs of a Geisha

Sadness

“The true writer, the born writer, will scribble words on scraps of litter, the back of a bus tickets, on the wall of a cell.”

David Nicholls book One Day

Source: One Day

“What I'm certain I don't want is to find myself someday in a new century, an old bitter woman looking back, wishing that right now I'd had more nerve.”

Charles Frazier book Cold Mountain

Source: Cold Mountain

“I'm told there's no going back. So I'm choosing forward.”

David Levithan (1972) American author and editor

Source: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

“I miss her. I don't know how to live without her. There is a hole inside me that nothing fills.
If you don't find something to fill that hole, someone else will. And if someone else fills it, they own you. Forever. You'll never get yourself back.”

Karen Marie Moning (1964) author

Source: Dreamfever

“The only thing a person can ever really do is keep moving forward. Take that big leap forward without hesitation, without once looking back. Simply forget the past and forge toward the future.”

Alyson Nöel (1965) writer

Source: The Immortals Boxed Set

Missing You, Moving On, Past, Future

“We're none of us quite so sure of our place in the world that we can't be rocked off our feet by bad times. It's the getting back up again that counts. Not that you fall, but getting back up again counts for more in the long run.”

Mercedes Lackey (1950) American novelist and short story writer

Source: Intrigues

World, Time

“How could you let yourself be sidetracked while I was waiting for your breath on my back?”

Anna Gavalda book I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere

Source: I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere

Waiting

“If there's someone you like and they like you back…It's close to a miracle…”

Natsumi Ando (1970) Manga artist

Source: Kitchen Princess, Vol. 04

“May I make a suggestion," said Will. "About twenty paces behind us, in the Council room, is Benedict. If you'd like to go back in there and try kicking him, I recommend aiming upward and a little to the left-”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Prince

Variant: If I might make a suggestion,” said Will. “About twenty paces behind us, in the Council room, is Benedict. If you’d like to go back in there and try kicking him, I recommend aiming upward and a bit to the left—
Source: Clockwork Prince

“She put one hand on mine. “When someone is in your heart, they’re never truly gone. They can come back to you, even at unlikely times.”

Mitch Albom For One More Day

Variant: When someone is in your heart, they're never truly gone. They can come back to you, even at unlikely times.
Source: For One More Day

Time, Heart

“You can only cruse the boulevards of regret so far, and then you've got to get back up onto the freeway again.”

Thomas Pynchon book Inherent Vice

Source: Inherent Vice

“When you say something really unkind, when you do something in retaliation your anger increases. You make the other person suffer, and he will try hard to say or to do something back to get relief from his suffering. That is how conflict escalates.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

Source: Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

Suffering, Personality, Anger

“You know I used to be the back porch poet with my book of lines, always hoping knowing all the time, I'm probably never gonna find the perfect rhyme… For heavier things”

John Mayer (1977) guitarist and singer/songwriter

Books, Hope, Time, Perfection

“You can want and want and want, but if he doesn't want you back… you might as well wish the sky were red.”

Sophie Kinsella book Twenties Girl

Source: Twenties Girl

“He never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two.”

Victor Hugo book Les Misérables

Source: Les Misérables

Books

“The sad truth is that certain types of things can't go backward. Once they start going forward, no matter what you do, they can't go back the way they were. If even one little thing goes awry, then that's how it will stay forever.”

Haruki Murakami book South of the Border, West of the Sun

Variant: Hajime," she began, "the sad truth is that some things can't go backwards. Once they start going forward, no matter what you do, they can't go back to the way they were. If one little thing goes awry, then that's how it will stay forever.
Source: South of the Border, West of the Sun

Truth, Sadness, Way