“If it feels like a mistake before you go in, don't go in.”
Clive James (1939–2019) Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist
Source: Memoirs, North Face of Soho (2006), p. 166
“If it feels like a mistake before you go in, don't go in.”
Clive James (1939–2019) Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist
Source: Memoirs, North Face of Soho (2006), p. 166
Timothy Shay Arthur (1809–1885) Novelist, short story writer, publisher
The Mother’s Rule; or, The Right Way and the Wrong Way (1856), Preface
Ysabella Brave (1979) American singer
"Doing Good — for the right reasons!" (13 March 2008)
Stella McCartney (1971) British fashion designer
" “I don’t understand what is going on on this planet, it’s all so fucked up.” Interview with Stella McCartney https://www.numero.com/en/fashion/stella-mccartney-leather-fur-vegan-kering-pinault-met-gala-anna-wintour", Numéro (28 June 2018).
Julian (emperor) (331–363) Roman Emperor, philosopher and writer
"To the Cynic Heracleios" in The Works of the Emperor Julian (1913) edited by W. Heinemann, Vol. II, p. 93
General sources
Alice Borchardt (1939–2007) American fiction writer
Devoted
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian spiritual philosopher
§ II
1910s, At the Feet of the Master (1911)
L. Neil Smith (1946) American writer
"Back to the Trees!" http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle565-20100411-02.html 11 April 2010.
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
Variant transcription from "Death of a Genius" in Life Magazine: "Certainly there are things worth believing. I believe in the brotherhood of man and the uniqueness of the individual. But if you ask me to prove what I believe, I can't. You know them to be true but you could spend a whole lifetime without being able to prove them. The mind can proceed only so far upon what it knows and can prove. There comes a point where the mind takes a leap—call it intuition or what you will—and comes out upon a higher plane of knowledge, but can never prove how it got there. All great discoveries have involved such a leap." <br class="br">Unsourced variant: "The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you do not know how or why. All great discoveries are made in this way." The earliest published version of this variant appears to be The Human Side of Scientists by Ralph Edward Oesper (1975), p. 58 http://books.google.com/books?id=-J0cAQAAIAAJ&q=%22solution+comes+to+you+and+you+do+not+know%22&dq=%22solution+comes+to+you+and+you+do+not+know%22&hl=en, but no source is provided, and the similarity to the "Life Magazine" quote above suggests it's likely a misquote. <br class="br">Source: Attributed in posthumous publications, Einstein and the Poet (1983), p. 136
“Panic in Wall Street, brokers feeling melancholy.”
Scott Joplin (1868–1917) American composer, musician, and pianist
"Wall Street Rag" (1909)
Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon (1732–1802) British Baron
Rex v. Rusby (1800), Peake's N. P. Cases 192.
Prem Rawat (1957) controversial spiritual leader
Undated
Source: Conversation with Prem Rawat The Prem Rawat Foundation
“I deeply resent the way this administration makes me feel like a nutbar conspiracy theorist.”
Teresa Nielsen Hayden (1956) American editor and writer
Post to Electrolite (29 January 2003); Republished at nielsenhayden.com/electrolite/archives/002301 http://nielsenhayden.com/electrolite/archives/002301.html, accessed May 9, 2014.
David Lloyd George (1863–1945) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
War Memoirs: Volume I (London: Odhams, 1938), p. 20.
War Memoirs
Max Tegmark book Our Mathematical Universe
Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality (2014)
Claude Lévi-Strauss book Tristes Tropiques
Source: Tristes Tropiques (1955), Chapter 16 : Markets p. 149
Basil Rathbone (1892–1967) British actor
Letter https://thegreatbaz.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/fuller-text-of-letter-quoted-in-a-life-divided/
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1981) American actor, director, producer, and writer
Los Angeles Times http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/04/13/looper-trailer-joseph-gordon-levitt-completes-time-travel-circle/, 2012
Harry Schwarz (1924–2010) South African activist
Herald Times, (4 November 1979)
Parliament (1974-1991)
Source: http://www.samedia.uovs.ac.za/cgi-bin/getpdf?id=1552889
Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant
"New Priorities" Dancing Toward The Future, Context Institute http://www.context.org/, (1992) <br class="br">1990s and later
Studs Terkel (1912–2008) American author, historian and broadcaster
http://books.google.com/books?id=FucDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT25&lpg=PT25&dq=The+key+issue+is+jobs.+You+can't+get+away+from+it:+jobs.+Having+a+buck+or+two+in+your+pocket+and+feeling+like+somebody&source=bl&ots=TYKi7WaW5v&sig=-4ggLp9hfdxXUvrZIF8U1OpGMSU&hl=en&ei=0CPkS4LSJ4P68Aakk7SpBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA Mother Jones Magazine - Sep 1995
The Guardian interview (2002)
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English Romantic poet
Letter to Thomas Jefferson Hogg (3 January 1811)
“Seek the light
find the light
feel the light
be the light.”
Mike Scott (1958) songwriter, musician
"Seek the Light" (co-written with May East and Craig Gibsone)
Universal Hall (2003)
Miranda July (1974) American performance artist, musician and writer
Pretty Cool People interview (2007)
Nigel Cumberland (1967) British author and leadership coach
Your Job-Hunt Ltd – Advice from an Award-Winning Asian Headhunter (2003), Successful Recruitment in a Week (2012) https://books.google.ae/books?idp24GkAsgjGEC&printsecfrontcover&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIGjAA#vonepage&qnigel%20cumberland&ffalse, 100 Things Successful People Do: Little Exercises for Successful Living (2016) https://books.google.ae/books?idnu0lCwAAQBAJ&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIMjAE
Tommy Robinson (1982) English right-wing activist
Interview with Jamie Bartlett, «'The guards don't run the prison, Islam does': my interview with a 'reformed' Tommy Robinson», The Telegraph (17 June 2014) http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/jamiebartlett/100013835/the-guards-dont-run-the-prison-islam-does-my-interview-with-a-reformed-tommy-robinson/ <br class="br">2014
John Stuart Mill book Autobiography
Source: Autobiography (1873)
https://archive.org/details/autobiography01mill/page/35/mode/1up p. 35
E. L. Konigsburg (1930–2013) American writer and illustrator
Mrs. Frankweiler in From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967)
M. C. Escher (1898–1972) Dutch graphic artist
version in original Dutch (origineel citaat van M.C. Escher, in het Nederlands): 'Nu wou ik je nog wat zeggen over het verband met muziek, en wel in hoofdzaak met die van Bach, d.w.z. de Fuga, of eenvoudiger canon.. .Het heeft heel veel van mijn motieven, die ik ook om verschillende assen laat draaien. Ik heb dat gevoel van relatie, verwantschap, tegenwoordig zoo sterk, dat ik tijdens het luisteren naar Bach, dikwijls geïnspireerd word en een sterke drang naar zijn dwingende ritme voel, een cadans die iets van de eindeloosheid zoekt. In de Fuga is alles gebaseerd op een enkel motief, dikwijls maar van enkele noten. Bij mij draait ook alles om een enkele gesloten contour.. <br class="br">Quote from Escher’s letter, 1940 to his friend Hein 's-Gravezande; as cited (and translated!) on the website of museum 'Escher in the Palace', The Hague: dutch original text https://www.escherinhetpaleis.nl/escher-vandaag and english translation https://www.escherinhetpaleis.nl/escher-today/?lang=en <br class="br">1940's
Diederik Aerts (1953) Belgian theoretical physicist
Source: World views. From Fragmentation to Integration (1994), p. 1; About "The fragmentation of our world"
Patsy Cline (1932–1963) American country music singer
On singing and performing
Attributed by Dottie West in [Nassour, Ellis, Patsy Cline, 1980, unidentified edition, unidentified pages]
Quoted in The Real Patsy Cline (1986 documentary film)
Attributed
Alan Shepard (1923–1998) American astronaut
Andrew Chaikin (August 2, 1998) "Real American heroes: Shepard pushed our frontiers", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, p. 3.
About
John Bright (1811–1889) British Radical and Liberal statesman
Speech in Birmingham (29 October 1858), quoted in G. M. Trevelyan, The Life of John Bright (London: Constable, 1913), pp. 274-275.
1850s
Alison Bechdel book Dykes to Watch Out For
#425, "Rites of Fall" (2003), collected in Invasion of the DTWOF (2005).
Dykes to Watch Out For
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
1850s, Latter-Day Pamphlets (1850), Stump Orator (May 1, 1850)
Michelle Obama (1964) lawyer, writer, wife of Barack Obama and former First Lady of the United States
2010s, Commencement speech for Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep graduates (2015)
Philip Pullman His Dark Materials trilogy
Lyra and the seaman Jerry, in Ch. 10 : The Consul and the Bear
His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass (1995)
Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964) Italian painter
in an interview with L. Vitali, 1957; as quoted in Morandi 1894 – 1964, published by Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, ed: M. C. Bandera & R. Miracco - 2008; p. 295
1945 - 1964
Robert Barro (1944) American classical macroeconomist
Robert J. Barro, "Rational Expectations and Macroeconomics in 1984" (1984).
John Gray (1948) British philosopher
'Santayana's Alternative' (p.67-8)
Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings (2009)
Henri Matisse (1869–1954) French artist
Source: 1900s, Notes d'un Peintre (Notes of a Painter) (1908), p. 410
Pourquoi ne pas en finir? se dit-il enfin; pourquoi cette obstination à lutter contre le destin qui m'accable? J'ai beau faire les plans de conduite les plus raisonnables en apparence, ma vie n'est qu'une suite de malheurs et de sensations amères. Ce mois-ci ne vaut pas mieux que le mois passé; cette année-ci ne vaut pas mieux que l'autre année; d'où vient cette obstination à vivre? Manquerais-je de fermeté? Qu'est-ce que la mort? se dit-il en ouvrant la caisse de ses pistolets et les considérant. Bien peu de chose en vérité; il faut être fou pour s'en passer.
Source: Armance (1827), Ch. 2
Nina Kiriki Hoffman (1955) American writer
“No,” said Maggie.
Source: The Thread That Binds the Bones (1993), Chapter 11 (p. 105)
John Galt (novelist) (1779–1839) British writer
Ringan Gilhaize (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1823) vol. 3, p. 313.
Halle Berry (1966) American actress
Steve Pratt (March 27, 2004) "Blazing a trail with Halle's comet", The Northern Echo, p. 10.
Holden Karnofsky (1981) American nonprofit executive
In "Chocolate-covered broccoli" https://blog.givewell.org/2007/01/03/chocolate-covered-broccoli/, January 2007
Harry Reid (1939) American politician
On the Senate floor, during a debate on health care reform, December 7, 2009 <br class="br"> Reid Compares Health Reform Bill with Slavery, Suffrage - George's Bottom Line, abcnews.com, December 7, 2009, 2009-12-08 http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/12/reid-compares-health-reform-bill-with-slavery-suffrage.html,
Colleen Fitzpatrick (1972) American singer and actress
laughs
Asked where her "itches" come from
Attributed
Sam Harris (1967) American author, philosopher and neuroscientist
Sam Harris in interview by Big Think (04/07/2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zV3vIXZ-1Y&t=6s <br class="br">2000s
K. S. Lal book The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India
Source: The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India (1992), Chapter 6
Charles Fort (1874–1932) American writer
Ch. 4 http://www.resologist.net/talent04.htm <br class="br">Wild Talents (1932)
Terry Jones (1942–2020) Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director and author
The Observer http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1143405,00.html, February 8, 2004.
Heidi Klum (1973) German model, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and actress
Interview with Stylelist.com, 10 February 2010 http://www.stylelist.com/2010/02/10/heidi-klum-heart-truth-red-dress/.
Robert Cormier book The Chocolate War
Source: The Chocolate War (1974), p. 33
Harry Chapin (1942–1981) American musician
Better Place to Be
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)
Paul Harvey (1918–2009) American broadcaster
Commenting on historical military and social policies, during his ABC News broadcast (23 June 2005); quoted in "Agression Dominates the Airwaves" by Saul Landau, at Transnational Institute (19 July 2005) http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?act_id=1859&username=guest@tni.org&password=9999&publish=Y.
Ariel Sharon (1928–2014) prime minister of Israel and Israeli general
Ariel Sharon, David Chanoff (2002) Warrior: An Autobiography p. 343, 542-3
2000s
Lewis Black (1948) American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor
The Carnegie Hall Performance (2006)
Nigel Cumberland (1967) British author and leadership coach
Your Job-Hunt Ltd – Advice from an Award-Winning Asian Headhunter (2003), Successful Recruitment in a Week (2012) https://books.google.ae/books?idp24GkAsgjGEC&printsecfrontcover&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIGjAA#vonepage&qnigel%20cumberland&ffalse, 100 Things Successful People Do: Little Exercises for Successful Living (2016) https://books.google.ae/books?idnu0lCwAAQBAJ&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIMjAE
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) Indian philosopher and statesman who was the first Vice President and the second President of India
Radhakrishnan, 'The Spirit of Man', quoted in Rajiv Malhotra, Indra's Net, p. 316., 1st ed.
Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
"Marilyn Monroe Pours Her Heart Out" interview by Richard Meryman, in LIFE (3 August 1962)
“I feel sex is a beautiful thing between two people. Between five, it's fantastic.”
Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician
Standup Comic (1999)
Maurice de Vlaminck (1876–1958) French painter
Source: Quotes dated, Dangerous Corner', 1929, p. 18-19
David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) American fiction writer and essayist
E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction
Essays
William Mountford (1816–1885) English Unitarian preacher and author
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 221.
“Either no feeling remains to the soul after death, or death itself matters not at all.”
Aut nihil est sensus animis a morte relictum
aut mors ipsa nihil.
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus book Pharsalia
Book III, line 39 (tr. J. D. Duff).
Pharsalia
Jacoba van Heemskerck (1876–1923) Dutch painter
translation from German, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018
(original version, written by Jacoba in German:) Meine Idee ist es die Menschen zu malen, wie ich sie sehe. Ich nehme aus einem Gesicht einige meiner Ansicht nach am meisten sprechende Züge und ich mache dann vom ganzen ein Bild in den Farben und Linien, wie die Person mir entgegentritt. Das Ganze ist gar kein Porträt im gewöhnlichen Sinne.. .Ich habe mich bemüht, jetz noch Typen zu machen und werde mehr und mehr persönliche Eigenschaften und alle mögliche hereinbringen.. .Alles muss man sich natürlich ganz abstrakt denken, es ist ein persönliches Gefühl und gar kein System.
in a letter to Herwarth Walden, 6 Feb. 1918; as cited by Arend H. Huussen Jr. in Jacoba van Heemskerck, kunstenares van het Expressionisme, Haags Gemeentemuseum The Hague, 1982, p. 20
1910's
Gautama Buddha (-563–-483 BC) philosopher, reformer and the founder of Buddhism
Gautama Buddha, Samyutta Nikaya [citation needed]
Unclassified
Carrie Fisher (1956–2016) American actress, screenwriter and novelist
And it's this incredibly intense process!
From the filmmaking documentary Dreams on Spec
Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) First wife of Charles, Prince of Wales
"Princess Diana: 10 most inspiring quotes from the 'people's princess'", Hello Magazine, Daily News (1 July 2015)
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
Reminiscences (1881), referring to his father, James Carlyle.
Sometimes quoted as "Man was created to work, not to speculate, or feel, or dream; Every idle moment is treason". The second of those two clauses in fact comes from Thomas Arnold The Christian Life (1841), Lecture VI.
1880s
Kent Hovind (1953) American young Earth creationist
Source: What On Earth Is About To Happen… For Heaven’s Sake? (2013), p. 94-95
Peter Benenson (1921–2005) English human rights activist
Benenson (1961), in: The Observer, 28 May 1961.
Opening of article, which gave birth to Amnesty International.
“I believe… that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America
Letter to John Adams (1816)
1810s
Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966) Egyptian author, educator, Islamic theorist, poet, and politician
Sayyid Qutb and Islamic Activism: A Translation and Critical Analysis of Social Justice in Islam (1996), p. 16
““And how do you feel?” the Prince asked in a smooth voice.
“Better than you look,” Thane grunted.”
Lin Carter (1930–1988) American fantasy writer, editor, critic
Source: Tower at the Edge of Time (1968), Chapter 9, “Slaves of Chan” (p. 85)
André Maurois (1885–1967) French writer
Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939), The Art of Marriage