Quotes about expression
page 38

Prevale photo

“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

Stephen Robson photo
J. Howard Moore photo
J. Howard Moore photo

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

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

Giovanni Morassutti photo
Thomas Carlyle photo

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

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

Clint Eastwood photo

“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)

Auguste Rodin photo
Douglas Murray photo
Robert Menzies photo

“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)

Alan M. Dershowitz photo

“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

Cornelius Castoriadis photo

“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]).

Matt Ridley photo

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

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

James Thomson (poet) photo

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

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

Source: Hymn (1730), line 118.

Prevale photo

“The finesse expresses distinction of spirit.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

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

Albert Einstein photo

“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

Carlo Rovelli photo

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

Carlo Rovelli (1956) Italian physicist

"Forget time" (Aug, 2008)

Prevale photo

“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

Prevale photo

“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

J. Posadas photo
Jan Švankmajer photo

“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)

“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)

Nithyananda photo

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

Nithyananda (1978) Indian guru

Living Enlightenment

“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.”

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)

Natalie Goldberg photo
Emma Goldman photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Brigitte Lin photo

“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

Chulpan Khamatova photo

“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/

Michael J. Sandel photo
Matt Ridley photo
João Braz de Aviz photo

“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)

“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)

“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)

Adolf Hitler photo

“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

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj photo

“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)

Daniel Kahneman photo

“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)

“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)

Vera Stanley Alder photo

“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

Liu Wen (model) photo

“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)

Ivica Dačić photo

“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)

Geling Yan photo

“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)

Achille Mbembe photo

“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

Cheng Yen photo
Bo Xilai photo
Nanfu Wang photo

“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)

Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki photo

“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)

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky photo
José Horacio Gómez photo

“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)

Päivi Räsänen photo
Angelo Vulpini photo

“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)

Dwight D. Eisenhower photo

“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

Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi photo

“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

Michel Henry photo
Laurence Tribe photo
Virginia Grey photo

“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]

Winston S. Churchill photo

“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

Rudolf Nureyev photo

“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)

Alexander De Croo photo

“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.

Burt Lancaster photo
Sidney Poitier photo

“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)

Alfred Austin photo

“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.

Eminem photo
René Guénon photo

“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

Zafar Mirzo photo
Ruth Bader Ginsburg photo

“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

Rollo May photo
Umberto Eco photo

“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.

Ron English photo

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

Ron English (1959) American artist

Ron English's Fauxlosophy: Volume 2 (2022)

Susan Cain photo
Susan Cain photo
Nicolas Cage photo

“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)

Nicolas Cage photo

“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)

A. C. Grayling photo

“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)

Susan Cain photo
Daniel Salamanca photo
Helmut Kohl photo

“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

Walt Disney photo
Susan Cain photo
Witness Lee photo

“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

Edward Bellamy photo
Fala Chen photo

“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)

Joe Biden photo

“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

Prevale photo

“[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.

Kamala Harris photo

“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

Zhang Yimou photo

“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)

Zhang Yimou photo

“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)

Angela Davis photo
Kim Stanley Robinson photo
Harry Dean Stanton photo

“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

Frank Lloyd Wright photo
Frank Lloyd Wright photo