Quotes about expression
page 38

“Music is the most ancient instrument in the world, the best medicine, harmony and the pure expression of every soul.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) La musica è lo strumento più antico al mondo, la miglior medicina, l'armonia e la pura espressione di ogni anima.
Source: prevale.net

World, Music, Soul

“There are laws far more powerful for us Catholics, far more powerful than those espoused in Party political agendas and pushed by the vested interests of powerful pressure groups: Natural law, the structures of the human personality built into mankind by God the Creator into the mind and heart of human beings, and the Divine law, the law of Almighty God expressed in the Commandments and in the New Ways of Jesus Christ, illustrated so clearly in the Gospels; Divine and Natural Law which we must always obey and which can never be trumped by the Laws of man, however democratically expressed by Parliament – whichever Parliament – when they clash with the Laws of God. The Law of God is a much higher Law, the ultimate Law. To rebel against the design of the Creator is a grave matter indeed!”

Stephen Robson (1951) Bishop of Dunkeld

Bishop Stephen Robson’s homily https://www.dunkelddiocese.co.uk/chrism-mass-st-andrews-cathedral-2019/ (17 April 2019)

God, Law, Way, Nature

“It is impossible for me to express my loathing and horror of the practice men have of killing things for pastime so-called 'hunting,' or 'sport. No one but a barbarian can engage in such pursuits, or can look upon them or know of them without pain and indignation. It makes me want to fight and cry whenever I think of them. And when I see men engaged in such execrable activities (the crippling, killing, and terrifying of whole communities of innocent and happy beings, shooting them down in cold blood, and with hellish enthusiasm), my feeling is that I must stop them at all hazards. And there have been times, when I have come upon men engaged in these fiendish doings, when I would have shot them down if I had been armed, the enormity of their crimes has come over me with such vividness and power.”

J. Howard Moore (1862–1916)

Source: The New Ethics (1907), The Perils of Over-population, pp. 157–158

Men, Pain, Happiness, Making love

“Men are not zoophilists (being-lovers). Not many of them are philanthropists (man-lovers). They are barbarians. And the wrongs inflicted by them on non-human beings are for the most part inflicted simply because they feel like it. Human nature is so constructed that men get pleasure out of doing the most monstrous deeds. It is worse than this. Human nature is so constructed that it contains elements which demand exercise, demand motor expression, and in whose expression the most lamentable and appalling effects are produced.”

J. Howard Moore (1862–1916)

Source: The New Ethics (1907), The Perils of Over-population, p. 154

Men, Pleasure, Feeling, Exercises

“Goodness, generosity and gentleness have been expressed in neighbourliness, voluntarism and the huge sacrifices made by individuals and families. Our faith will not provide easy answers, yet faith will help to provide perspective which will enable us to address the challenges.”

Michael Neary (bishop) (1946) Irish bishop

Ireland: Archbishop Michael Neary`s homily for Reek Sunday https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/40106 (July 26, 2020)

Family, Faith, Help

“By resorting to illusions, the supreme expression of love is attained. Nothing can compare to it.”

Zhiyanzhai

As quoted in Enchantment and Disenchantment: Love and Illusion in Chinese Literature by Wai-yee Li (Princeton University Press, 1993), p. 159

Love, Making love

“I believe that nature and art can express one of the fundamental mysterious truths of life, equal to all of us.”

Giovanni Morassutti (1980) Italian actor, theatre director and cultural entrepreneur.

Life, Truth, Art, Nature

“Speech is silvern, Silence is golden; or, as I might rather express it: speech is of time, silence is of eternity.”

Thomas Carlyle book Sartor Resartus

As the Swiss inscription says: Sprechen ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden
Bk. III, ch. 3.
1830s, Sartor Resartus (1833–1834)

Silence, Time

“At that time I needed a mask rather than an actor, and Eastwood had only two facial expressions: one with the hat and one without it.”

Clint Eastwood (1930) actor and director from the United States

Sergio Leone Source: Mininni, Francesco (1988), Intervista: Sergio Leone http://www.cinemadelsilenzio.it/index.php?mod=interview&id=17, Cinema del Silenzo (see also, The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/jun/06/1)

Time

“Art is contemplation. It is the pleasure of the mind which searches into nature and which there divines the spirit by which Nature herself is animated. It is the joy of the intellect which sees clearly into the Universe and which recreates it, with conscientious vision. Art is the most sublime mission of man, since it is the expression of thought seeking to understand the world and to make it understood.”

Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) French sculptor

Preface, p. 7-8
1910s, Art, 1912

Pleasure, World, Making love, Art

“The metaphysics that a new generation is imbibing and everyone else is being force-fed has many points of instability, is grounded in a desire to express certainty about things we do not know, and to be wildly dismissive and relativistic about things that we actually do know.”

Douglas Murray (1979) British political commentator and far-right activist

The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity (2019)

“The material home represents the concrete expression of the habits of frugality and saving "for a home of our own."”

Robert Menzies (1894–1978) Australian politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia

Your advanced socialist may rave against private property even while he acquires it; but one of the best instincts in us is that which induces us to have one little piece of earth with a house and a garden which is ours; to which we can withdraw, in which we can be among our friends, into which no stranger may come against our will.
Radio talk, 22 May, 1942
Wilderness Years (1941-1949)

Home

“An important assumption underlying our commitment to freedom of expression is that truth is a process, not a product.”

Alan M. Dershowitz (1938) American lawyer, author

Source: Shouting Fire: Civil liberties in a Turbulent Age (2002), p. 149

Truth, Freedom

“There is no proper meaning … every expression is essentially tropic.”

Cornelius Castoriadis (1922–1997) Greek-French philosopher

Cornelius Castoriadis, The Imaginary Institution of Society, trans. Kathleen Blamey (Cambridge, Mass. 1987) p. 348 ([10.1093/camqtly/bfs004]).

“The main purpose of most genes in the human genome is regulating the expression of other genes in the genome.”

Matt Ridley book Genome

Source: Genome (1999), Chapter 10 “Stress” (p. 150)

“Come then, expressive silence, muse His praise.”

James Thomson (poet) (1700–1748) Scottish writer (1700-1748)

Source: Hymn (1730), line 118.

Silence

“The finesse expresses distinction of spirit.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) La finezza esprime distinzione di spirito.
Source: prevale.net

“I have expressed an opinion on public issues whenever they appeared to me so bad and unfortunate that silence would have made me feel guilty of complicity.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Address to the Chicago Decalogue Society (20 February 1954)
1950s

Feeling, Silence, Appearance

“Time is... the expression of our ignorance of the full microstate.”

Carlo Rovelli (1956) Italian physicist

"Forget time" (Aug, 2008)

Time

“When music is pure expression, the soul sculpts the sound.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Quando la musica è pura espressione, l'anima scolpisce il suono.
Source: prevale.net

Music, Soul

“I carefully follow your creativity expressed by your soul, trying to capture every possible emotion or sensation of yours. Your essence is pure art given as a gift to the whole world.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Seguo con attenzione la tua creatività espressa dalla tua anima, cercando di catturarne ogni tua possibile emozione o sensazione. La tua essenza, è pura arte resa in dono al mondo intero.
Source: prevale.net

World, Art, Soul

“The forms under which human love ends up being expressed are not governed by sex relations. They are governed by the objective love for humanity; that is to say love for humankind as an integral part of nature and of the universe.”

J. Posadas (1912–1981) Argentine Trotskyist (1912-1981)

Source: Childbearing in Space, 1978

Love, Sex, Nature, Universe

“Censorship has an advantage of making you express yourself in very inventive ways and to think in symbols…those are the only weapons you have against censorship. It also helps by filling your desk drawers with mountains of rejected scripts you can use later in life, if you’re as lucky as I am.”

Jan Švankmajer (1934) Czech animator, photographer and director

Surrealism’s Not Dead: Interview with Jan Svankmajer https://beautifulbizarre.net/2016/06/29/surrealisms-not-dead-interview-with-jan-svankmajer/ (June 29, 2016)

Life, Way, Mountain, Thinking

“It may be deeply uncomfortable to reflect on eating savvy creatures who express their emotions. My strong suspicion—which I hope will be tested as a hypothesis—is that some people will decrease their meat and fish intake as they learn more about who they are consuming.”

Barbara J. King (1956) American anthropologist and primatologist

The Inner Lives of "Food Animals" https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-inner-lives-of-food-animals/ (March 16, 2017)

People, Hope, Fish, Strong

“Whenever you express love you become a channel for healing energy.”

Nithyananda (1978) Indian guru

Living Enlightenment

Love

“Destroying the country is not a solution. These demonstrations are a way to express frustration but it is not the solution. We have to find a way to talk.”

Désinord Jean (1967)

In Haiti, bishops call on government for urgent action to quell ‘fratricidal warfare’ https://www.churchinneed.org/in-haiti-bishops-call-on-government-for-urgent-action-to-quell-fratricidal-warfare/ (10 October 2019)

Way, Country

“Of course, you can sit down and have something you want to say. But then you must let its expression be born in you and on the paper. Don't hold too tight; allow it to come out how it needs to rather than trying to control it.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Essay, "Writing is not a McDonald's hamburger". p.39
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

“With Puritanism as the constant check upon American life, neither truth nor sincerity is possible. Nothing but gloom and mediocrity to dictate human conduct, curtail natural expression, and stifle our best impulses.”

Emma Goldman book Anarchism and Other Essays

Anarchism and Other Essays (1910), The Hypocrisy of Puritanism

Life, Truth, Nature, Sincerity

“Love is simply a bundle of feelings that we express, whether to attract, arouse or communicate our thoughts to someone else.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Love, Feeling, Communication

“The poor man has sold his freedom of expression to the state.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Freedom

“Women are great at talking and expressing their emotions, while men are great at reasoning and writing down their thoughts.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Women, Men

“Writing is tiring and difficult, but I can sit at my desk for hours and hours, writing through the night to dawn. I never had any prior writing experience, but I learned that it’s not about using heavy vocabulary, and more about how I can express my sincerity.”

Brigitte Lin (1954) Taiwanese actress

As quoted in "Brigitte Lin, a timeless national treasure" in Taipei Times (15 May 2018) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/05/15/2003693091

Learning, Sincerity, Night

“I would probably say that music is one of the most expressive art forms for me. Of course, I don’t perform professionally, though it does play a huge role: it helps me think differently and want to go on living.”

Chulpan Khamatova (1975) Russian actress

As quoted in "An interview with Chulpan Khamatova" in Mariinsky Theatre (28 February 2012) https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/interview1/interview_with_chulpan_khamatova/

Art, Music, Thinking, Help

“The idea that freedom consists in our capacity to choose our ends finds prominent expression in our politics and law. Its province is not limited to those known as liberals rather than conservatives in American politics; it can be found across the political spectrum.”

Michael J. Sandel (1953) American political philosopher

Chap. 1. The Public Philosophy of Contemporary Liberalism
Democracy's Discontent (1996)

Law, Idea, Freedom

“Freedom lies in expressing your own determinism, not somebody else’s. It is not the determinism that makes a difference, but the ownership. If freedom is what we prefer, then it is preferable to be determined by forces that originate in ourselves and not in others.”

Matt Ridley book Genome

Source: Genome (1999), Chapter 22 “Free Will” (p. 313)

Freedom

“We Christians believe in a sensitive God: He hears the groaning of the oppressed and listens to the widow’s plea; He suffers with and for humanity, we want to believe that consecrated life, with its many charisms, is the very expression of this sensitivity.”

João Braz de Aviz (1947) Catholic cardinal

Consecrated women and men are ‘witnesses to the beauty of God’ https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-03/cardinal-de-aviz-25-anniversary-vita-consecrata-exhortation.html (25 March 2021)

Life, God, Suffering

“I will contribute who I am. I deeply believe in the beauty of the Church of Montreal, of its diversity, of its expressions, and of its culture. It is our mission to strive for reconciliation and peace. I believe that that's what the people need.”

Alain Faubert (1965) Canadian religious servant and auxiliary bishop

Inside the Heart of a Bishop https://www.diocesemontreal.org/en/news-and-info/latest-news/inside-heart-bishop (April 27, 2016)

People, Peace, Beauty

“The supermodels all have skeletal bodies . . . the very existence of their bodies expresses an attitude: the disdain for men. The more men like a certain part of their bodies, the less they want to grow that part. Fashion is such an attitude.”

Yang Li (1992) Chinese stand-up comedian

Source: "The Art of Telling the Truth: Chinese Female Stand-up Comedians" in World Literature Today https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/culture/art-telling-truth-chinese-female-stand-comedians-ping-zhu (1 February 2021)

Men, Fashion, Parting

“The English language lacks the ability to express thoughts that surpass the order of concrete things. It’s because the German language has this ability that Germany is the country of thinkers.”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party

Source: 7 March 1942, quoted in Hitler's Table Talk, 1941–1944

Country

“An overtly expressed political commitment does not debar a scientist from viewing nature accurately—if only because no honest scientist or effective political activist would be foolish enough to advance a program in evident discord with the world as we find it.”

Stephen Jay Gould book An Urchin in the Storm

Source: An Urchin in the Storm (1987) "Nurturing Nature", p. 150

World, Nature

“Of course, when you are in office, you have certain responsibilities. But when you are out of office, you also have more freedom to express your ideas.”

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (1963) Mongolian politician

Source: "When You Live Next to an Autocracy" in The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/12/china-democracy-mongolia/617391/ (15 December 2020)

Idea, Freedom

“There's literally no difference between a physician recognizing a disease from a "facial expression", and a little child pointing to something and saying "doggie."”

Daniel Kahneman (1934) Israeli-American psychologist

Source: Talks at Google - Nov 10, 2011

Disease

“I kept on reading, observing and reflecting on China’s political and social problems. Then in that year I suddenly felt a strong need to express my ideas. Comics is what I am good at, so I began to create political comics.”

Rebel Pepper (1973) Chinese political cartoonist

"Rebel with a cause: An interview with China’s most famous political cartoonist" in SAGE Journals https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306422016657031a (29 June 2016)

Idea, Problem, Strong, Reading

“People who live in totalitarian countries experience educational brainwashing and real fear of the government. They are not brave enough to stand out and express different opinions.”

Rebel Pepper (1973) Chinese political cartoonist

"Rebel with a cause: An interview with China’s most famous political cartoonist" in SAGE Journals https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306422016657031a (29 June 2016)

People, Education, Fear, Country

“At present nations are held back by fear for the loss of their individuality, and they are quite right, because individual expression is essential.”

Vera Stanley Alder (1898–1984) British artist

Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Introduction p. I - XII

Fear, Loss

“People assume modeling is about being thin and pretty, but it’s about, how can you express yourself? Can you radiate strength and confidence? Personality is most important.”

Liu Wen (model) (1988) Chinese model

Source: "Liu Wen Sees Beauty as a Journey, Not a Destination" in Harper's Bazaar https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a36205161/liu-wen-beauty-issue-may-2021/ (26 April 2021)

People, Confidence, Personality

“Stability is of huge significance to the future of our region. And I have to express great pleasure, and it is a huge potential and advantage that Serbia has, and that is that in Serbia there is political stability. On our part we will do everything to make a contribution to regional stability.”

Ivica Dačić (1966) Serbian politician

Source: "ΙΒΝΑ-Exclusive Interview-Ivica Dacic: Stability is of huge importance to the future of our region" in Independent Balkan News Agency https://balkaneu.com/ibna-exclusive-interview-ivica-dacic-stability-is-of-huge-importance-to-the-future-of-our-region/ (20 May 2017)

Pleasure, Future, Parting

“It’s frustrating seeing things lost in translation. Some expressions are just so Chinese, or so English, you have to switch your thinking to English in order to write it with spontaneity and naturally.”

Geling Yan (1958) Chinese writer and screenwriter

Source: "Chinese writer finds freedom in English" in Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-literature-yan-interview/chinese-writer-finds-freedom-in-english-idUSTRE53M00D20090423 (22 April 2009)

Nature, Thinking

“The ultimate expression of sovereignty resides, to a large degree, in the power and the capacity to dictate who may live and who must die.”

Achille Mbembe (1957) Cameroonian political scientist

Source: "Necropolitics," as translated by Libby Meintjes, Public Culture, Volume 15, Number 1, Winter 2003, pp. 11-40

“Life is a journey; we board an express train at birth and head for the unavoidable destination of death. The scenery drifts by, and the only meaningful thing we can do is to be good and kind to our fellow passengers.”

Cheng Yen (1937) Taiwanese Buddhist nun

Source: Master of Love and Mercy: Cheng Yen, p. 13

Life, Death, Birth, Training

“People always love expressing themselves, and they often pretend to be modest in their words, saying that they are no good at this or that. This is particularly common among friends. But even if people are actually modest, there is no benefit to their behavior.”

Bo Xilai (1949) former Politburo member of the Communist Party of China

Source: Excerpts of letter to his first wife (14 July 1975)

Love, People, Behavior

“The most repressed countries often produce some of the most amazing films. I think that it will push people to find a way to express their ideas in new ways.”

Nanfu Wang (1985) director and filmmaker

Source: "Hot Docs 2017 Interview: Nanfu Wang on “I Am Another You”" in Roger Ebert https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hot-docs-2017-interview-nanfu-wang-on-i-am-another-you (3 May 2017)

People, Way, Idea, Thinking

“One's friendship with God consists in being satisfied with whatever comes from God and expresses his gratitude hundred thousand time that he was remembered by Him.”

Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki (1173–1235) Indian Sufi

Source: The Sayings and Teachings of the Great Mystics of Islam (2004), p. 263

God, Friendship, Time, Gratitude

“You've got a blank face there pal, if you hold that expression for long enough you'd get fucking switched off.”

Frankie Boyle (1972) Scottish comedian

Stand-up, The Last Days of Sodom (2012)

“The purpose of this book is exactly expressed in its title, “The Key to Theosophy,” and needs but few words of explanation. It is not a complete or exhaustive text-book of Theosophy, but only a key to unlock the door that leads to the deeper study.”

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky book The Key to Theosophy

Source: The Key to Theosophy (1889)

Books, Study

“Much has been lost in U.S. culture because of secularism. The values of the immigrants are very basic, reflecting a profound Catholicism where faith, family, and expressions of piety, etc., are part of our daily life.”

José Horacio Gómez (1951) Roman Catholic archbishop

Source: Latin Influence and the Future of the Church in U.S. https://zenit.org/2005/06/20/latin-influence-and-the-future-of-the-church-in-u-s/ (20 June 2005)

Life, Family, Faith, Parting

“I will defend my right to confess my faith, so that no one else would be deprived of their right to freedom of religion and speech. I hold to the view that my expressions are legal, and they should not be censored. I will not back down from my views. I will not be intimidated into hiding my faith.”

Päivi Räsänen (1959) Finnish politician

Source: The Persecution of a Finnish Parliamentarian https://www.ncregister.com/news/the-persecution-of-a-finnish-parliamentarian (December 15, 2020)

Faith, Religion, Freedom

“Freedom does not exist partially, if I don't have the freedom of opinion or expression regarding whoever, then there's certainly no actual freedom”

Angelo Vulpini (2003) Venezuelan recording artist

Source: Posted on @angelovulpini, Instagram (June 3, 2019)

Freedom

“Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first—the most basic—expression of Americanism. Thus the Founding Fathers saw it, and thus, with God's help, it will continue to be.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American general and politician, 34th president of the United States (in office from 1953 to 1961)

Source: From remarks recorded for the "Back to God" Program http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=10414 of the American Legion, which was broadcast over radio and television from 8:00 – 8:30 PM on 20 February 1955

Life, God, Way, Help

“The modern historian of India must approach her as a living entity with a central continuous urge, of which the apparent life is a mere expression. Without such an outlook, it is impossible to understand India, which…stands today strong…determined not to be untrue to its ancient self.”

Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (1887–1971) Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer and educationist (1887-1971)

Source: quoted in https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/revisiting-km-munshis-majestic-vision-for-writing-indias-history https://www.esamskriti.com/e/National-Affairs/For-The-Followers-Of-Dharma/History-Writing-And-Nationalism-1.aspx http://www.eng.vedanta.ru/library/prabuddha_bharata/August2005_editorial.php

Life, Understanding, Strong

“Technology is nature without the human being. It is abstract nature, reduced to itself, delivered over to itself, exalting and expressing itself on its own. It develops in such a way that all the virtualities and potentialities within it must be actualized, for them and for what they are, for their own sake, so that everything is done that can be done, that is to say, everything that nature can become. It is a matter of making gold, going to the moon, building self-guiding and self-monitoring missiles that can decide on the moment to self-destruction – and destroy us. Technology is alchemy; it is the self-fulfillment of nature in place of the self-fulfillment of the life that we are. It is barbarism, the new barbarism of our time, in place of culture. Inasmuch as it puts the prescriptions and regulations of life out of play, it is not simply barbarism in its most extreme and inhumane form that has ever been known – it is sheer madness.”

Michel Henry (1922–2002) French writer

Michel Henry, Barbarism, Continuum, 2012, p. 52
Books on Culture and Barbarism, Barbarism (1987)

Life, Way, Nature, Time

“That all lawful power derives from the people and must be held in check to preserve their freedom is the oldest and central tenet of American constitutionalism. ...[I]t was believed that personal freedom could be secured more effectively by decentralization than by express command.”

Laurence Tribe (1941) American lawyer and law school professor

Source: American Constitutional Law (1978), Approaches to Constituitonal Analysis

People, Law, Freedom, Personality

“I consider myself a professional who acts, not to express my soul or elevate the cinema but to entertain and get paid for it.”

Virginia Grey (1917–2004) American actress (1917-2004)

Source: Western Clippings Interview, Mike Fitzgerald, 1998 [citation needed]

Soul

“No one in England has ever wished to prevent the fullest expression of Scottish or Welsh traditions and customs. Indeed, their manifestation is regarded with pleasure and pride by the English people. We have reaped great advantages from this tolerant mood.”

Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Source: 'Yugoslavia and Europe' (29 October 1937), quoted in Winston Churchill, Step by Step, 1936–1939 (1939; 1947), p. 169

People, Pleasure, Mood

“For me, purity of movement wasn't enough. I needed expression, more intensity, more mind.”

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

Source: "Nureyev: A Life That Changed The Face Of Dance" in Orlando Sentinel https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1993-01-10-9301080854-story.html (10 January 1993)

“Freedom of expression is one of the foundations of our society. Everyone is free to express their opinion. But our society will never accept indiscriminate violence, and even less towards our police forces.”

Alexander De Croo (1975) Belgian politician

Source: Alexander De Croo (2022) cited in: " Clashes as tens of thousands protest Covid rules in Belgium https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2022/01/24/clashes-as-tens-of-thousands-protest-covid-rules-in-belgium/2037074" in Malay Mail, 24 January 2022.

Freedom

“I always try to improve, to find new ways of expressing myself, to keep looking for truth and originality.”

Burt Lancaster (1913–1994) American actor and producer

other quotes

Truth, Way

“Compassion for other human beings has to extend to the society that’s been grinding the powerless under its heel. The more civilized the society becomes, the more humane it becomes; the more it can see its own humanity, the more it sees the ways in which its humanity has been behaving inhumanly. This injustice of the world inspires a rage so intense that to express it fully would require homicidal action; it’s self-destructive, destroy-the-world rage. Simply put, I’ve learned that I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me. I have to try to find a way to channel that anger to the positive, and the highest positive is forgiveness.”

Sidney Poitier (1927) American-born Bahamian actor, film director, author, and diplomat

Variant: I’ve learned that I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me. There is a certain anger; it reaches such intensity that to express it fully would require homicidal rage — self-destructive, destroy-the-world rage — and its flame burns because the world is so unjust. I have to try to find a way to channel that anger to the positive, and the highest positive is forgiveness.
Source: The Measure of a Man (2000)

World, Way, Forgiveness, Learning

“The rites of the church are expressions of our faith. As we all individually have differing histories and experiences, communities of Christians do as well. One will find subtle differences even between parishes. Jesus Christ founded one Catholic Church with fundamental truths and sacraments. He did not detail the way that should be experienced. History and geography have provided the alternate expressions. With a unified Catholic Church, our differences can be ways of understanding those truths and celebrating the sacraments while protecting their integrity.”

John Michael Kudrick (1947) Roman Catholic bishop

Source: Pope Francis & Married Catholic Priests: Q&A with Bishop John of Parma https://www.americamagazine.org/content/all-things/pope-francis-married-catholic-priests-qa-bishop-john-parma (3 December 2014)

Truth, Faith, Way, History

“It is always delightful to have one's feelings expressed by some one else in language of enthusiasm one might oneself be afraid to employ.”

Alfred Austin (1835–1913) British writer and poet

Source: Lamia's Winter-Quarters (1898), p. 68.

Feeling

“Have you ever loved someone so much you'd give an arm for?
Not the expression, no, literally give an arm for?
When they know they're your heart and you know you are their armor
And you will destroy anyone who would try to harm her”

Eminem (1972) American rapper and actor

"When I'm Gone" (2005)
2000s

Love, Heart

“A philosopher's renown is increased more by inventing a new error than by repeating a truth that has already been expressed by others.”

René Guénon (1886–1951) French metaphysician

Source: The Crisis of the Modern World (1927), p. 56

Truth, Error

“An aphorism can be considered a logically completed thought, accepted from the point of view of its meaning for the expression of new sensations, knowledge and meanings.”

Zafar Mirzo (1972)

Knowledge

“Abortion prohibition by the State, however, controls women and denies them full autonomy and full equality with men. That was the idea I tried to express in the lecture to which you referred.”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

When Sen. Hank Brown (R-CO) asked about her remarks during her 1993 Senate confirmation hearing about the above quoted lecture, Ginsburg clarified her stance with the quoted sentences. As quoted in: Olivia Waxman (August 2, 2018): Ruth Bader Ginsburg Wishes This Case Had Legalized Abortion Instead of Roe v. Wade. In: Time Magazine. Archived https://web.archive.org/web/20220527151841/https://time.com/5354490/ruth-bader-ginsburg-roe-v-wade/ from the original https://time.com/5354490/ruth-bader-ginsburg-roe-v-wade/ on May 27, 2022. 1990s

Women, Men, Idea

“Violence is the daimonic gone awry. It is "demon possession" in its starkest form. Our age is one of transition, in which the normal channels for utilizing the daimonic are denied; and such ages tend to be times when the daimonic is expressed in its most destructive form.”

Rollo May book Love and Will

Source: Love and Will (1969), Ch. 5, p. 130

Age, Time

“The basic principle [of hermetic drift semiotics] is not only that the similar can be known through the similar but also that from similarity to similarity everything can be connected with everything else, so that everything can be in turn either the expression or the content of any other thing.”

Umberto Eco (1932–2016) Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist

U. Eco (1990), The limits of Intepretation, as quoted in Thomas A. Sebeok, Jean Umiker-Sebeok (2020), The Semiotic Web 1991: Biosemiotics https://books.google.it/books?id=NUK0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53.

“The heart’s desire is expressed in blood.”

Ron English (1959) American artist

Ron English's Fauxlosophy: Volume 2 (2022)

Heart

“It's not that pain equals art. It's that creativity has the power to look pain in the eye, and to decide to turn it into something better. ... The quest to transform pain into beauty is one of the great catalysts of artistic expression.”

Susan Cain book Bittersweet

Bittersweet, Chapter 3 at p. 61

Pain, Beauty, Art

“We like art forms that express our longing for union, and for a more perfect and beautiful world.”

Susan Cain book Bittersweet

Bittersweet, Chapter 2 at p. 36

World, Beauty, Art, Perfection

“I do love romantic movies, but at my age it doesn’t happen very often. I’ve always admired love stories—the expression of love is like white light to me. Every color of the universe is in the love story.”

Nicolas Cage (1964) American actor

"Nicolas Cage Is Ready to Be Taken Seriously Again" in Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/07/nicolas-cage-pig-interview (15 July 2021)

Love, Age, Color, Light

“I think I’m going to continue, not so much to remind people or myself, but continue to play parts that allow me to express some meaning or some understanding of what it means to be a person.”

Nicolas Cage (1964) American actor

"Nicolas Cage Is Ready to Be Taken Seriously Again" in Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/07/nicolas-cage-pig-interview (15 July 2021)

People, Understanding, Thinking, Parting

“Prudery expresses itself most forcibly as censorship.”

A. C. Grayling (1949) English philosopher

Source: Life, Sex, and Ideas: The Good Life Without God (2002), Chapter 13, “Sex” (p. 47)

“To me, one of the best things in the world is that sublime moment when a writer, artist, or musician manages to express something you’ve always felt but never articulated, or at least never quite so beautifully.”

Susan Cain (1968) self-help writer

"About", SusanCain.net, May 2022.

World

“In some grocery stores there is an expressive sign that says: Today I don't trust, tomorrow I do. I have some desire to compare that sign the promises of happiness that life gives us.”

Daniel Salamanca (1863–1935) President of Bolivia (1863-1935)

Life, Happiness

“The Berlin Wall is perhaps the most visible expression of the moral gulf between free democracy and totalitarian dictatorship.”

Helmut Kohl (1930–2017) former chancellor of West Germany (1982-1990) and then the united Germany (1990-1998)

As quoted in "East, West Mark Berlin Wall in Conflicting Ways" https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/08/14/east-west-mark-berlin-wall-in-conflicting-ways/0ee15034-ea45-4c31-9490-7f64e7ac159b/ (August 14, 1986), The Washington Post

Democracy

“Deeds rather than words express my concept of the part religion should play in everyday life. I have watched constantly that in our movie work the highest moral and spiritual standards are upheld, whether it deals with fable or with stories of living action.”

Walt Disney (1901–1966) American film producer and businessman

1963, Deeds Rather Than Words (1963)

Life, Religion, Parting

“When you listen to music, you can transcend your own pain and turn towards another and feel bonded with the whole of humanity because you know that they have felt that grief and love. By expressing it, by communing with that song or picture, you realize you are not alone.”

Susan Cain book Bittersweet

Walker, Suzy (interviewer). "The Big Happiness Interview: Susan Cain on how embracing sadness can make us happier", Metro, June 5, 2022.
Bittersweet

Love, Pain, Music, Feeling

“The highest morality is one in which divinity is added to our humanity. This is the divine attributes of God expressed in the created virtues of man.”

Witness Lee (1905–1997) Chinese Christian preacher

The Glorious Vision and the Way of the Cross, of Witness Lee - By Living Stream Ministry, ISBN 978-0-87083-479-0

God

“...the theory that a person has a right in dealing with his fellows to take advantage of his superior abilities is nothing other than a slightly more roundabout expression of the doctrine that might is right.”

Edward Bellamy book Equality

Equality (1897)

Personality

“I’m not physically a super expressive person. I think I’m pretty put-together.”

Fala Chen (1982) Hong Kong actress

"Let Fala Chen Reintroduce Herself" in Elle https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a37359800/fala-chen-shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings-interview/ (25 August 2021)

Thinking, Personality

“In every single crisis we have had that I have been around, going back to Jimmy Carter and the hostages all the way through to this moment, presidents’ ratings have always gone up in a crisis, but that old expression, the proof is going to be in eating the pudding. What’s it going to look like?”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

29 March 2020 https://news.grabien.com/story-joe-biden-you-know-old-expression-proof-going-be-eating-pudd 2020, March 2020

Way

“[Do you have a myth, a person you admire more than others, with whom you would like to collaborate?] I don't have a particular myth, I would like to collaborate with any person who is able to express their creativity through what they feel in the heart and soul.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

From the interview Professione DJ https://issuu.com/massimomarino/docs/viviroma_magazine_aprile_2016/64, Viviromamagazine.com From the interview by Andrea Belfiore, Professione DJ https://issuu.com/massimomarino/docs/viviroma_magazine_aprile_2016/64, Viviromamagazine.com, April 4, 2016, pp. 64-65 on Issuu.com https://issuu.com/massimomarino/docs/viviroma_magazine_aprile_2016/64. Original: (it) [Hai un mito, una persona che ammiri più delle altre, con la quale ti piacerebbe collaborare?] Non ho un mito in particolare, mi piacerebbe collaborare con qualsiasi persona che riesce ad esprimere la propria creatività attraverso ciò che sente nel cuore e nell'anima.

Feeling, Soul, Heart, Personality

“You motivate us. You inspire us.
And you are the voice of so many people who are in this room because of the voice that you express around these issues.
And so I thank you for that and your strength and your sense of purpose.”

Kamala Harris (1964) United States Senator from California

2022, June 2022, Remarks by Vice President Harris Announcing the Launch of the White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse

People, Motivation, Sense

“It is true that I was a cinematographer, so for me, the narration of the spectacular is powerful and important. I always pay special attention to the expression of the pictures. It has always been my style.”

Zhang Yimou (1950) Chinese actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer

"No one to be Missed" in Off Screen https://offscreen.com/view/zhang_yimou (April 1999)

“Fiction film is really different from documentary in this aspect. It is less objective, because the director expresses a subjective point of view with the movie. I would like the movie to look like a documentary, look real.”

Zhang Yimou (1950) Chinese actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer

"No one to be Missed" in Off Screen https://offscreen.com/view/zhang_yimou (April 1999)

“Because we are so accustomed to talking about race in terms of black and white, we often fail to recognize and contest expressions of racism that target people of color who are not black.”

Angela Davis Are Prisons Obsolete?

Source: Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003), Chapter Two

People, Color

“Dominance hierarchies had underlain every system ever realized so far, but at the same time democratic values had been always a hope and a goal, expressed in every primate’s sense of self, and resentment of hierarchies that after all had to be imposed, by force.”

Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) American science fiction writer

Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 11, “Viriditas” (p. 483)

Hope, Sense, Time

“I’m a late bloomer. It’s just a matter of how you evolve; of what your pace is. Hopefully, the older you get the more you grow. So, that has been my speed, the beat of my drum. I march to the beat of a different drum … you’ll pardon me for using this expression.”

Harry Dean Stanton (1926–2017) American actor, musician, and singer

Actor Harry Dean Stanton Dies at 91", by Patrick Mcdonald, HollywoodChicago.com (16 September 2017) https://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/27911/film-news-character-actor-harry-dean-stanton-dies-at-91"Character

Speed

“Genuine expressions as essence of the great art itself cannot be taught or imitated. Nor can they in any way be forced.”

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) American architect (1867-1959)

A Testament (1957)

Art, Way

“In every new expression of a fundamental Idea there will always be the substitutes, the imitations, dangling from it, as the soiled fringe from a good garment.”

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) American architect (1867-1959)

A Testament (1957)

Idea

Quotes about expression page 38

Quotes about expression
page 38