Quotes about controller
page 5

“No man of sense can put himself and his soul under the control of names... You must consider courageously and thoroughly and not accept anything carelessly.”

Plato book Cratylus

440c–d
Cratylus

Courage, Soul, Sense

“Man does not tame and control the horse because he is strong, but because he is smarter than the animal.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Strong, Animals, Horse

“Jews have always controlled the business (...). The motion picture influence of the United States and Canada (...) is exclusively under the control, moral and financial, of the Jewish manipulators of the public mind.”

Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist

Source: The Dearborn Independent, February 1921

Business

“Aaaah. It's Rewind time. If I could controlled Rewind I would want Fortnite and Marques Brownlee.”

Will Smith (1968) American actor, film producer and rapper

Source: "YouTube Rewind 2018" (6 December 2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbJOTdZBX1g

Time

“It is probably unwise to say this loudly in the United States but the Bolshevik movement is and has been since its beginning guided and controlled by Russian Jews of the greasiest type.”

Montgomery Schuyler (1843–1914) American architecture critic

Source: Military intelligence report dated March 1, 1919. See Behind Communism https://books.google.com.br/books?id=7QLiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 by Frank L. Britton, 2012, p. 83

“Softmindedness often invades religion. ... Softminded persons have revised the Beautitudes to read "Blessed are the pure in ignorance: for they shall see God." This has led to a widespread belief that there is a conflict between science and religion. But this is not true. There may be a conflict between softminded religionists and toughminded scientists, but not between science and religion. ... Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. book Strength to Love

Source: 1960s, Strength to Love (1963), Ch. 1 : A tough mind and a tender heart

God, Personality, Science, Religion

“Schooling is organized by command and control from without; education is self-organized from within…”

John Taylor Gatto (1935–2018) American teacher, book author

Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling (2008)
Source: Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling, New Society Publishers (2013) p. 177

School, Education

“My political opinions lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs) … the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.”

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy works

Source: The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981), No. 52: To his son Christopher Tolkien (29 November, 1943)

Men

“Only when one is equipped with the formidable striking capabilities, overwhelming military power that cannot be stopped by anyone, one can prevent a war, guarantee the security of the country and contain and put under control all threats and blackmails by the imperialists.”

Kim Jong-un (1984) 3rd Supreme Leader of North Korea

As quoted in "Kim Jong Un Defends Nuclear Tests, Says 'powerful Weapons' Help Mitigate Threats" in Republic World https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/kim-jong-un-defends-nuclear-tests-says-powerful-weapons-help-mitigate-threats-articleshow.html (28 March 2022)

War, Country

“We have a conditional relationship with the truth. We only want truth if it makes us feel more stable. We only want truth if it makes us feel more in control. We only want truth if it makes us feel good. And this conditional relationship that we have with the truth will be our downfall.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Feeling, Truth

“We value things like stability, control and feeling good. We often see truth as an oppositional force to these things, when in reality, truth is our only way of actually achieving these things.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Truth, Reality, Way, Feeling

“We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And, indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again."
~Fiddler, pg. 558”

Steven Erikson book Deadhouse Gates

Source: Deadhouse Gates

Soul

“At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.”

Paulo Coelho book The Alchemist

Source: The Alchemist (1988), p. 18.

Fate, Lie, World

“That’s the thing about a human life-there’s no control group, no way to ever know how any of us would have turned out if any variables had been changed.”

Elizabeth Gilbert (1969) American writer

Source: Eat, pray, love: one woman's search for everything

Life, Way, Change

“It has been said of dreams that they are a 'controlled psychosis,' or, put another way, a psychosis is a dream breaking through during waking hours.”

Philip K. Dick book VALIS

Source: VALIS

Dreams, Way

“The prostitute is not, as feminists claim, the victim of men, but rather their conqueror, an outlaw, who controls the sexual channels between nature and culture”

Camille Paglia (1947) American writer

Men, Nature

“Everybody in the world is seeking happiness—and there is one sure way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn't depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.”

Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People

Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People

World, Way, Dependency, Happiness

“You are not controlling the storm, and you are not lost in it. You are the storm.”

Sam Harris book Free Will (book)

Source: 2010s, Free Will (2012), p. 14

“Did you just grab my butt?” I whispered. “What?” “Curran!” “Yes?” I could hear controlled laughter in his voice. Unbelievable. I sped up. “We’re tracking ghouls and you’re grabbing my butt.” “I always make sure to pay attention to important things.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Shifts

Laughter

“Our destinies are our own, if we have the courage to take control of them.”

David Clement-Davies book Fell

Source: Fell

Courage

“The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.”

Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) American science fiction author

People

“The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.”

Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) American author

"How To Build A Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" (1978)

People, Reality

“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”

Wayne W. Dyer (1940–2015) American writer

Attitude, Success, Life, Motivational

“He didnt know what was defeating him, but he sensed it was something he could not cope with, something that was far beyond his power to control or even at this point in time comprehend.”

Hubert Selby Jr. Requiem for a Dream

Source: Requiem for a Dream

Sense, Time

“He squinted at me. "What are you wearing? Is that some new form of birth control?”

Janet Evanovich High Five

Source: High Five

Birth

“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.”

Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019) German fashion designer

Life

“A man must feel he runs things, but as long as you control yourself, you control him.”

Jacqueline Susann book Valley of the Dolls

Source: Valley of the Dolls

Feeling

“You're punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control.”

Suzanne Collins book Mockingjay

Source: Mockingjay

“Easy there," Zach said when I stumbled into him. "Now's probably not the time to get handsy. You might want to control yourself.”

Ally Carter Out of Sight, Out of Time

Source: Out of Sight, Out of Time

Time

“Don't despair: despair suggests you are in total control and know what is coming. You don't - surrender to events with hope.”

Alain de Botton (1969) Swiss writer

Hope, Despair

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be with someone,” I said diplomatically. Unless that person turns your world upside down and makes you lose all self-control.”

Richelle Mead book The Indigo Spell

Source: The Indigo Spell

World, Personality

“I loved the idea of a girl going into a dark alley, and a monster comes, and then she just aces him. It’s like, you want to see the tiny person suddenly take control. God, my whole career is basically about that!”

Joss Whedon (1964) American director, writer, and producer for television and film

Love, God, Girl, Idea

“If I knew I was going to die at a specific moment in the future, it would be nice to be able to control what song I was listening to; this is why I always bring my iPod on airplanes.”

Chuck Klosterman book Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

Source: Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

Future

“Love was one of those feelings that you could never control.”

Cecelia Ahern book If You Could See Me Now

Source: If You Could See Me Now

Love, Feeling

“Learning how to think' really means learning how to exercise some control over how & what you think. It means being conscious & aware enough to choose what you pay attention to & to choose how you construct meaning from experience.”

David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) American fiction writer and essayist

Source: This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life

Exercises, Thinking, Learning

“…. there is a difference between hearing and listening. You can't always help what you hear. But you can control what holds your interest, what you choose to dwell on.”

Brandon Mull (1974) American fiction writer

Source: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

Help

“Fear is an aid to the warrior. It is a small fire burning. It heats the muscles, making us stronger. Panic comes when the fire is out of control, consuming all courage and pride.”

David Gemmell (1948–2006) British author of heroic fantasy

Source: Lord of the Silver Bow

Fear, Courage

“It was nice not having to be the one in control, for a little while. It was nice to be the one who was protected, instead of the one who'd been protecting eveyone else.”

Jodi Picoult book Picture Perfect

Source: Picture Perfect

“This is less teaching than damage control. You may as well paint a house that’s on fire.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Choke

Source: Choke

Painting, Housing

“If you don't feel that you are possibly on the edge of humiliating yourself, of losing control of the whole thing, then probably what you are doing isn't very vital.”

John Irving (1942) American novelist and screenwriter

Feeling

“Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.”

James Allen book As a Man Thinketh

As A Man Thinketh (1902), Serenity
Source: As a Man Thinketh

Wisdom, Law, Beauty, Knowledge

“A baby was like a revolution, Grigori thought: you could start one, but you could not control how it would turn out.”

Ken Follett book Fall of Giants

Source: Fall of Giants

Baby

“Maturity: knowing where you're crazy, trying to warn others of the fact and striving to keep yourself under control.”

Alain de Botton (1969) Swiss writer

“Every day I ran to that book like it was a bottle of whiskey and crawled inside because it was a world that I had at least some control over, and slowly, in time, it began to take shape.”

Craig Ferguson (1962) Scottish-born American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, producer and voice a…

Source: American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot

Books, World, Time

“It is not possible to control the outside of yourself until you have mastered your breathing space. It is not possible to change anything until you understand the substance you wish to change.”

Jeanette Winterson book Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Source: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Understanding, Change

“You don’t need to control emotion,” he said. “Emotions are natural, like passing weather. Sometimes it’s fear, sometimes sorrow or anger. Emotions are not the problem. The key is to transform the energy of emotion into constructive action.”

Dan Millman book Way of the Peaceful Warrior

Source: Way of the Peaceful Warrior

Fear, Nature, Problem, Weather

“I am concentrating docilely on the question why U. S. restrooms always appear to us as infirmaries for public distress, the place to reagain control.”

David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) American fiction writer and essayist

Question, Appearance

“Control is the basis of all true power. Authority and strength are matters of perception”

Brandon Sanderson book Words of Radiance

Source: Words of Radiance

“I don’t know. She was a sweet girl. As sweet as they come. I don’t know why I didn’t love her. It’s something you can’t really control.”

Emily Giffin Something Borrowed

Source: Something Borrowed

Love, Girl

“Who are you, gaijin? What do you know about honor?'
'I'm called Chocho,' Will said…
'Chocho?' Arisaka shouted, goaded beyond control. 'Butterfly? Then die, Butterfly!”

John Flanagan (1873–1938) Irish-American hammer thrower

Source: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Your reputation is in the hands of others. That's what the reputation is. You can't control that. The only thing you can control is your character.”

Wayne W. Dyer (1940–2015) American writer

“The irony of the process of thought control: the more energy you put into trying to control your ideas and what you think about, the more your ideas end up controlling you.”

Nassim Nicholas Taleb book Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Source: Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Idea, Thinking

“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,
Can circumvent or hinder or control
The firm resolve of a determined soul.”

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American author and poet

"Will," included in Maurine: And Other Poems, p. 145 (1888). Often quoted by Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji.
Poetry quotes, New Thought Pastels (1913)
Context: There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,
Can circumvent or hinder or control
The firm resolve of a determined soul.
Gifts count for nothing; will alone is great;
All things give way before it soon or late.
What obstacle can stay the mighty force
Of the sea seeking river in its course,
Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait?

Leadership, Fate, Soul, Chance

“When we are overly concerned with what people think we will be controlled by the thoughts and opinions of other people.”

Joyce Meyer (1943) American author and speaker

People, Thinking

“Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it's just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it.”

David Sedaris (1956) American author

People

“I cannot consent to place in the control of others one who cannot control himself.”

Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) Confederate general in the Civil War

Comment regarding officers who became inebriated, as quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1874) by John William Jones, p. 170

“What does it feel like to get shot?"
"I don't recommend it," said Nellie in a controlled voice. "Chocolate is definitely better.”

Gordon Korman book The Medusa Plot

Source: The Medusa Plot

Feeling

“Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts.”

Og Mandino (1923–1996) American author

Strong

“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao-tsu
One who can control his thoughts has conquered himself.”

Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015) American Mormon leader

Strong

“Having a normal person around me made it poingnantly clear to me that I was out of control.”

Marya Hornbacher book Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia

Source: Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia

Personality

“The secret story is the one we'll never know, although we're living it from day to day, thinking we're alive, thinking we've got it all under control and the stuff we overlook doesn't matter. But every single damn thing matters! Only we don't realize. We just tell ourselves that art runs on one track and life, our lives, on another, and we don't realize that's a lie.”

Roberto Bolaño book Last Evenings on Earth

Dentist
Last Evenings on Earth (2006)

Life, Lie, Secret, Art

“He was unbelievably hard. Everywhere. He was in control, infinitely stronger, and he wanted me to know it.

-Ella”

Lisa Kleypas (1964) American writer

Source: Smooth Talking Stranger

“As a magician, you must think about chaos and order. Those are the two forces that control the universe.”

Rick Riordan book The Red Pyramid

Source: The Red Pyramid

Thinking, Universe

“You realize that people take drugs because it's the only real personal adventure left to them in their time-constrained, law-and-order, property-lined world. It's only in drugs or death we'll see anything new, and death is just too controlling.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Survivor

Source: Survivor

Death, People, World, Law

“I don't want it to be attributed to a loss of control on my part. When I throw you out of the window, I want there to be no doubt the act was deliberate.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Burns

Loss, Parting

“My will can control anything that’s empty.”

Michael Ende book The Neverending Story

Source: The Neverending Story

“Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him.”

Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American comedian

For women, Life, Women, Fate

“No," Frank said. "I'm only a centurion."

Jason cursed in Latin. "He means he can't control a whole legion. He's not of high enough rank."

Nico swung back his black sword at another gryphon. "Well, then, promote him!”

Rick Riordan book The House of Hades

Source: The House of Hades

“When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions.”

Carter G. Woodson book The Mis-Education of the Negro

Preface 
Source: The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933)
Context: When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his "proper place" and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.
The same educational process which inspires and stimulates the oppressor with the thought that he is everything and has accomplished everything worth while, depresses and crushes at the same time the spark of genius in the Negro by making him feel that his race does not amount to much and never will measure up to the standards of other peoples. The Negro thus educated is a hopeless liability of the race.

Thinking

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.

(Popular misquote of "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.")”

Maya Angelou book Letter to My Daughter

Source: Letter to My Daughter

Change

“He who controls the spice controls the universe.”

Frank Herbert book Dune

Source: Dune

Universe

“When at last I came upon the right book, the feeling was violent: it blew open a hole in me that made life more dangerous because I couldn't control what came through it.”

Nicole Krauss book Great House

Source: Great House

Life, Books, Feeling

“and a rather controversial one for birth control that had nevertheless quickly become the most often used rune in the lexicon.”

Cassandra Clare book Lady Midnight

Source: Lady Midnight

Birth

“Men control the world, but women control the men.”

Sherry Argov (1977) American writer

Source: Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl—A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship

Women, Men, World

“I am Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades. I control the shadows. They do not control me.”

Rick Riordan book The Blood of Olympus

Source: The Blood of Olympus

“For men love what they cannot have, and hate what they cannot control.”

Robin Maxwell (1948) American writer

Source: The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn

Love, Men, Hate

“Because sometimes, a man could do nothing about where he came from, he could only control where he went”

Lora Leigh (1965) American writer

Source: Killer Secrets

“Control your temper. Remember, you can measure the size of a person by what makes him or her angry.”

Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People

Variant: you can measure the size of a person by what makes him or her angry
Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People

Personality

“When the game ended, Mike laid down his control paddle. "So you've met the Nordic goddess, right?"

Aria glanced up at him warily. "Excuse me?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Klaudia, which I'm pretty sure is Scandinavian for.”

Sara Shepard (1973) Author

Source: Twisted

Game

“Worry about the things you can control; the rest will either work themselves out, or they'll kill you. Either way, no more worries.”

Laurell K. Hamilton book Bloody Bones

Source: Bloody Bones

Way

“Welcome to the human race. Nobody controls his own life, Ender.”

Orson Scott Card book Ender's Game

Source: Ender's Game

Life

“I wondered about her chicken-and-egg relationship with Dad. Which came first? Her helplessness or his controlling?”

Justina Chen (1968) American writer

Source: North of Beautiful

“You may have created my past and screwed up my present, but you have no control over my future.”

David Klass book You Don't Know Me

Variant: The good news is that you may have created my past and screwed up my present, but you havce no control over my future. You don't know me at all.
Source: You Don't Know Me

Past, Future

“There are things in this universe that we cannot control, and then there are the things we can…. Let fate, coincidence, and accident conspire; human beings must act on reason.”

David Guterson book Snow Falling on Cedars

Source: Snow Falling on Cedars

Fate, Universe

“Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.”

Philip Roth (1933–2018) American novelist

Paris Review Interview (1986)
Context: You ask if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but people are scandalized all the time; it's a way of life for them. It doesn't mean a thing. If you ask if I want my fiction to change anything in the culture, the answer is still no. What I want is to possess my readers while they are reading my book — if I can, to possess them in ways that other writers don't. Then let them return, just as they were, to a world where everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt, and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise, to have set loose in them the consciousness that's otherwise conditioned and hemmed in by all that isn't fiction.

Change

“No, women like you don't write. They carve onion sculptures and potato statues. They sit in dark corners and braid their hair in new shapes and twists in order to control the stiffness, the unruliness, the rebelliousness.”

Edwidge Danticat Krik? Krak!

Source: Krik? Krak!

Women

“…"We were the pair. One too afraid to feel anything lest she lose control of her ironclad hold on her emotions, and the other so hungry to feel anything that she´d risk her free will for one night of fun."…”

Kim Harrison (1966) Pseudonym

Source: Every Which Way But Dead

Feeling, Night

“You can't control everything. You can't control how someone feels about you. Or what makes them tick. You can only control how you react, how you act, how you think and feel.”

Maya Banks (1964) Author

Source: Rush

Thinking, Feeling

“No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change”

Barbara De Angelis (1951) American psychologist

Happy, Life, Change, Happiness

“Though we may not be able to see His purpose or His plan, the Lord of heaven is on His throne and in firm control of the universe and our lives.”

Max Lucado (1955) American clergyman and writer

Source: America Looks Up: Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing

Universe

“I knew immediately something was terribly wrong, but you can know that and not allow the thought in your head, at the front of your head. It dances around at the back, where it can't be controlled. But the front of the head is where the pain begins.”

Sebastian Barry book The Secret Scripture

Source: The Secret Scripture

Pain, Dance

“Victor smiled through the pain and the blood. "Of course you have. I used to think Belikov was the savage one, but it's really you, isn't it? You're the animal with no control, no higher reasoning except to fight and kill.”

Richelle Mead book Last Sacrifice

Source: Last Sacrifice

Pain, Smile, Thinking, Animals

“All men are created equal. It is what you do from there that makes the difference. We are all free agents in life. We make our own decisions. We control our own destiny.”

Glenn Beck book An Inconvenient Book

The Income Gap: The Rich Get Richer, Good for Them
An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems
2007-11-20
Threshold Editions
1416560440
83
2000s

Life, Men, Decision