Quotes about goodness
page 37

“All change brings bad things and good things to replace the bad and good things that were before. It is natural to look back and say it was better before—but that does not make it true. Different is not worse. It is just different.”

Patricia Briggs book River Marked

Source: River Marked

Nature, Change

“When I was in my twenties and broke, I'd buy books before food. A meal will sustain you for a few hours, a good book will sustain you for life.”

Gabrielle Zevin (1977) American writer

Life, Books, Food

“And I know now that all the time I was trying to get
out of the dust,
the fact is,
what I am,
I am because of the dust.
And what I am is good enough.
Even for me.”

Karen Hesse book Out of the Dust

Source: Out of the Dust

Time

“You fuss too much over making the "right" choice Gaius. All we need do is make a good choice, see it through, and accept the consequences.”

Graham McNeill (1971) writer

Source: Fulgrim

“You’re the one who unleashed him. (Savitar)
Yeah, well, let’s move on from the blame game. I was having suicidal thoughts and it seemed like a good idea at the time. In retrospect, not so much. (Stryker)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: One Silent Night

Game, Idea, Suicide, Time

“I'm brilliant as well as skilled," he said modestly. "It's a great burden, all of that on top of my angelic good looks. But I try to soldier on as best I can.”

Jim Butcher Dead Beat

Source: Dead Beat

Angels

“Sometimes there are good reasons to do bad things.”

Gena Showalter (1975) American writer

Source: Blacklisted

“I learned the bad guys are not always bad, the good guys are not always good, and to quote Captain Barbossa, the parameters are like rules, mostly guidelines. And that it takes a little bit of bad boy to fight the evil in the world.
--Terri Mitchell”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Phantom in the Night

World, Guy, Quotes, Boy

“It all counts,' Adam said again. 'And the bottom line is, what defines you isn't how many times you crash, but the number of times you get back on the bike. As long as it's one more, you're all good.-pg 325 Along for the Ride”

Sarah Dessen book Along for the Ride

Source: Along for the Ride

Time

“It was nice to see someone who appreciated her for her character, no matter how disgusted Christian was by the idea of ANYONE dating his aunt. And I actually kind of liked seeing Christian so obviously tormented. It was good for him.”

Richelle Mead book Last Sacrifice

Source: Last Sacrifice

Idea

“Damn, you have no idea what I have been through today."

"Actually I have a pretty good idea.”

Richelle Mead book The Fiery Heart

Source: The Fiery Heart

Idea

“I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

Letter to James Madison (30 January 1787); referring to Shays' Rebellion Lipscomb & Bergh ed. 6:65
1780s

World

“The Brotherhood was strong, a unit. a powerful force in their world for good. And so too were the females. Strong. A unit. A powerful force for good in their world.”

Jessica Bird book Lover Revealed

Source: Lover Revealed

World, Strong

“Show no fear to your enemies. Only contempt. Never let anyone look down on you. You're just as good as any of them. I don't care who they are. Better in fact. In our world, Dagans are royalty and you, my son, are a prince.”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Born of Shadows

World, Fear

“He possessed the logic of all good intentions and a knowledge of all the tricks of his trade, and yet he never succeeded at anything, because he believed too much in the impossible. Surprising? Why so? He was forever in the act of conceiving it!”

Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) French poet

Knowledge

“I suppose [my life] has most resembled a blue chip stock: fairly stable, more ups than downs, and gradually trending upward over time. A good buy, a lucky buy, and I've learned that not everyone can say that about his life.”

Nicholas Sparks book The Notebook

Source: The Notebook

Life, Learning, Time

“I think a good book is a good book forever.
I don't think they get less good because times change.”

Megan Whalen Turner (1965) American children's writer

Books, Thinking, Change, Time

“I'm not lazy. I'm just really gifted, only instead of being good at music or math I'm good at sleeping late.”

Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923–2014) writer

Source: Mr Wrong

Music, Sleep

“Out of all the things you could not have there were some things that you could have and one of those was to know when you were happy and to enjoy all of it while it was there and it was good.”

Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American author and journalist

Happiness

“I think when we make choices—for
each choice is individual of the choices we have made before—we must examine not
only our reasons for making them but what result they will have, and whether good people will be hurt by our decisions.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Princess

Source: Clockwork Princess

People, Thinking, Decision, Hurt

“The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom… that is very hard indeed.”

Rick Riordan book The Titan's Curse

Source: The Titan's Curse

Wisdom, Evil, Fight

“All good research-whether for science or for a book-is a form of obsession.”

Mary Roach (1959) American science writer

Books, Science

“[D]on’t cling to your self-righteous suffering, let it go…. Nothing is too good to be true, let yourself be forgiven. To the degree you insist that you must suffer, you insist on the suffering of others as well. (90)”

Stephen Levine (1937–2016) American poet and author

Source: A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as If It Were Your Last

Suffering

“It’s good to see your friends happy, isn’t it? (Nick)
How would I know? I have no friends. People basically suck and all friends will screw you over in the end. Take my word for it. (Savitar)
Then why am I here? (Nick)
Hell if I know. (Savitar)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Unleash the Night

People, Hell, Happiness

“Love demands expression. It will not stay still, stay silent, be good, be modest, be seen and not heard, no. It will break out in tongues of praise, the high note that smashes the glass and spills the liquid.”

Jeanette Winterson (1959) English writer

Source: Written on the Body

Love

“The thing is, you can’t always have the best of everything. Because for a life to be real, you need it all: good and bad, beach and concrete, the familiar and the unknown, big talkers and small towns.”

Sarah Dessen book The Moon and More

Source: The Moon and More

Life

“Sometimes love's not enough. And if it's not enough, what good is it?”

Sylvia Day (1973) American writer

Variant: Sometimes love isn't enough. And if it's not enough, what good is it?
Source: Reflected in You

Love

“Shells sink, dreams float. Life's good on our boat.”

Jimmy Buffett (1946) American singer–songwriter and businessman

Life, Dreams

“I can't be good ALL the time.”

Anne Taintor (1953) American artist

Time

“If you argue and rankle and contradict, you may achieve a victory sometimes; but it will be an empty victory because you will never get your opponent's good will.”

Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People

Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People

Victory

“Weapons may be carried by creatures who are evil, dishonest, violent or lazy. The true warrior is good, gentle and honest. His bravery comes from within himself; he learns to conquer his own fears and misdeeds.

—Matthias”

Brian Jacques book Mattimeo

Source: Mattimeo

Fear, Learning, Evil

“They laughed much harder than the memory was funny because it felt good to laugh.”

Shannon Hale Enna Burning

Source: Enna Burning

Memory

“Good art however "immoral" is wholly a thing of virtue. Good art can not be immoral. By good art I mean art that bears true witness, I mean the art that is most precise.”

Ezra Pound (1885–1972) American Imagist poet and critic

Art

“Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.”

Mortimer J. Adler (1902–2001) American philosopher and educator

Misattributed

Life, Reading

“But she laced her fingers through mine. I remember what she’d told me in New York, about building something permanent, and I thought-just maybe-we were off to a good start.”

Rick Riordan book The Last Olympian

Variant: I remembered what she'd told me in New York, about building something permanent, and I thought - just maybe - we were off to a good start.
Source: The Last Olympian

“The only way to solace anyone who loved you in life is to be a good memory”

Alice Walker (1944) American author and activist

Source: By The Light Of My Father's Smile

Love, Life, Way, Memory

“I try to be a good cop. I try to be a good little soldier and follow orders up to a point. But in the end I’m not really a cop, or a soldier. I am a legally sanctioned murderer. I am the Executioner.”

Laurell K. Hamilton book Skin Trade

Source: Skin Trade

“Haymich finally drops the good-natured act. "you know who else, Katniss. You know who stepped up first."
Of course I do.
Gale.”

Suzanne Collins book Mockingjay

Source: Mockingjay

Nature

“Sad stories make good books”

Khaled Hosseini book The Kite Runner

Source: The Kite Runner

Books, Sadness

“It is named the "Web" for good reason.”

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

“Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great”

John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) American business magnate and philanthropist

Earliest citation found in Google Books is from 1993 https://books.google.com/books?id=bdTko5oHTd4C&pg=PA25&dq=%22give+up+the+good+to+go+for+the+great%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiH2e_QivXLAhUps4MKHdf0A9wQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=%22give%20up%20the%20good%20to%20go%20for%20the%20great%22&f=false, where it is attributed to country-music singer Kenny Rogers. Not found attributed to Rockefeller until 2006 https://books.google.com/books?id=F7OGT9WTiPQC&pg=PA24&dq=%22give+up+the+good%22+%22go+for+the+great%22+rockefeller&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjw_rb9ivXLAhXrmoMKHbgHBqkQ6wEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=%22give%20up%20the%20good%22%20%22go%20for%20the%20great%22%20rockefeller&f=false. Disputed Variant: Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.

Success, Leadership, Life, Business

“They say of me, and so they should,
It's doubtful if I come to good.”

Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist

“Nothing good is a miracle, nothing lovely is a dream.”

Richard Bach (1936) American spiritual writer

Source: Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

Love, Dreams

“It is good that a man's enemies want him dead, for it proves he has lived a life of worth.”

Forrest Carter (1925–1979) Political speechwriter, politician, novelist, memoirist

Source: The Outlaw Josey Wales

Life, Dead

“God never witholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.”

Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015) American missionary

Love, Wisdom, God, Time

“Love made you admire funny things about a person, like how good she was at remembering to return her library books and at slicing cucumbers very thin. She was a veritable wonder at pulling a splinter out of her foot.”

Ann Brashares (1967) American children's writer

Love, Books, Personality

“The incapacity to name is a good symptom of disturbance.”

Roland Barthes (1915–1980) French philosopher, critic and literary theorist

Source: Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography

“Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience.”

Eleanor Hibbert (1906–1993) English novelist

Motivational

“One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast.”

Robert A. Heinlein book Friday

Source: Friday

World

“Only half a page left now. Shall I fill it with 'I love you, I love you'-- like father's page of cats on the mat? No. Even a broken heart doesn't warrant a waste of good paper.”

Dodie Smith (1896–1990) English novelist and playwright

Love, Cats, Heart

“And he left. I watched him walk out – he didn’t say good-bye, he didn’t even look back. It scared me, how easy it was for him to do that.”

Sara Zarr (1970) American children's writer

Source: Sweethearts

“Better than nothing is not good enough for you!”

Greg Behrendt (1963) American comedian

“He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”

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

Variant: He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

Dead

“Sometimes it's a good idea to think about what youfrom a situation, and try to get it, rather than just blurt out the first thing that comes into your head.”

E. Lockhart (1967) American writer of novels as E. Lockhart (mainly for teenage girls) and of picture books under real name Emily J…

Source: The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver

Idea, Thinking

“It seems to me that the good lord in his infinate wisdom gave us three things to make life bearable- hope, jokes, and dogs. But the greatest of these was dogs.”

Robyn Davidson (1950) Australian writer

Source: Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback

Life, Wisdom, Dogs, Hope

“In the final analysis, the questions of why bad things happen to good people transmutes itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it happened.”

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin (1881–1955) French philosopher and Jesuit priest

People, Question

“Rose only hangs out with guys and psychopaths," said Mia.

"Well," he said cheerfully, "since I'm both a psychopath and a guy, that would explain why we're such good friends.”

Richelle Mead book Frostbite

Source: Frostbite

Guy

“It's a good thing Jack was no longer in my hands, because I would've pulled a full-on Kylo Ren temper tantrum.”

Rick Riordan book The Hammer of Thor

Source: The Hammer of Thor

“A sort of good-bye without saying good-bye," he said. "It is a reference to a passage in the Bible. 'And Mizpah, for he said, the Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Angel

Source: Clockwork Angel

“Sometimes being a good mother gets in the way of being a good person.”

Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey (1938) American journalist and playwright

Source: A Woman of Independent Means

Way, Personality

“Memories did one no good, not when one knew the truth in the present”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Prince

Source: Clockwork Prince

Truth, Memory

“Instead, it just reminded her that sometimes there were no good choices.”

Holly Black book The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Source: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

“I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean
But I shall be good health to you nonetheless
And filter and fibre your blood.”

Walt Whitman (1819–1892) American poet, essayist and journalist

Love, Health, Grass

“I'm not sure that insecurity is a good enough excuse for that sort of behavior. We're all insecure, and I really think he's old enough to have discovered the reasons behind his insecurity, and do something about them."

… Lucy”

Jane Green (1968) British writer

Behavior, Thinking

“… An average of seventy-four species become extinct every day, which was one good reason but not the only one to hold someone's hand…”

Nicole Krauss The History of Love

Source: The History of Love

“No… I mean, I'm sorry he… You know, said those things to you."
"It's part of being a 'good' family. Everyone's got skeletons in their closet.”

Richelle Mead Blood Promise

Source: Blood Promise

Family, Parting

“The way I see it, life is a jelly doughnut. You don't really know what it's about until you bite into it. And then, just when you decided it's good, you drop a big glob of jelly on your best T-shirt.”

Janet Evanovich Hard Eight

Source: Hard Eight

Life, Way

“What, eBay isn't good enough for us?”

James Patterson (1947) American author

Source: The Final Warning

“Major Major had lied, and it was good. He was not really surprised that it was good, for he had observed that people who did lie were, on the whole, more resourceful and ambitious and successful than people who did not lie.”

Joseph Heller book Catch-22

Source: Catch-22

People, Lie, Success

“I believe that you've created a metaphorical universe in which you can express your darkest fears. In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves, and sometimes we do such a good job, we lose track of reality.”

Laurie Halse Anderson Wintergirls

Source: Wintergirls

Fear, Reality, Universe

“That was a good time in my life, in spite of having the sensation of floating on a cloud, surrounded by both lies and things left unspoken. Occasionally I thought I glimpsed the truth, but soon found myself once again lost in a forest of ambiguities.”

Isabel Allende book Eva Luna

Source: Eva Luna

Life, Truth, Time

“Jenny looked up quickly. "Do you believe in good and evil?"
"Oh, yes. Very strongly. And I believe that evil sometimes has to be fought—personally. Hand to hand. If you care enough to do it.”

L.J. Smith The Forbidden Game

Source: The Forbidden Game

Evil, Personality

“Better a good journalist than a poor assassin.”

Jean Paul Sartre (1905–1980) French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and …

“What good is knowledge if it just floats in the air? It goes from computer to computer. It changes and grows every second of every day. But nobody actually knows anything.”

Don DeLillo (1936) American novelist, playwright and essayist

Source: Don DeLillo's White Noise

Knowledge, Change

“My letters are for when I don't want to be in love anymore. They're for good-bye. Because after I write in my letter, I'm not longer consumed by my all-consuming love… My letters set me free. Or at least they're supposed to.”

Jenny Han book To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Source: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Love

“If you want to give the devil a nervous breakdown, just get up every day and see how much good you can do.”

Joyce Meyer (1943) American author and speaker

Source: Living Beyond Your Feelings: Controlling Emotions So They Don't Control You

“What use is? What good is watching for that matter? People are forever watching things. They should be. Ithe things I look at. I am a see-er.”

Patrick Rothfuss book The Wise Man's Fear

Source: The Wise Man's Fear

People

“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”

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

People, Fear, Hope

“It's always easier to say good-bye when you know it's just a prelude to hello.”

Maureen Johnson (1973) writer from the USA

Source: The Last Little Blue Envelope

“Good, bad, and indifferent - It takes all sorts to make a world.”

Kenneth Grahame book The Wind in the Willows

Variant: It takes all sorts to make a world.
Source: The Wind in the Willows (1908), Ch. 4
Context: The Wild Wood is pretty well populated by now; with all the usual lot, good, bad, and indifferent — I name no names. It takes all sorts to make a world.

World, Indifference

“Man, that did his ego good. Matter of fact, she hit him with anything like that again, he was going to feel like he could bench-press a city bus. With a jet plane on its roof.”

Jessica Bird (1969) U.S. novelist

Source: Lover Reborn

Feeling

“In eight years not a day has gone by when she hasn’t thought of him. She misses him and she wants him back. I want my best friend back, she thinks, because without him nothing is good and nothing is right.”

David Nicholls book One Day

Source: One Day

Thinking

“What I'm saying is that I'm trying to find rational reasons to explain irrational feelings, and that's neveer a good sign.”

Stephen King The Dark Tower

Source: The Dark Tower

Feeling

“There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters”

Daniel Webster (1782–1852) Leading American senator and statesman. January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852. Served as the Secretary of Sta…

A speech delivered at Niblo’s Saloon, in New York, on the 15 of March, 1837. The Works of Daniel Webster, Boston, Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851, vol. 1, p. 358 http://books.google.com/books?id=9DMOAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA358&lpg=PA358&dq=%22They+mean+to+govern+well%3B+but+they+mean+to+govern%22&source=bl&ots=oJ6IWDhF2B&sig=iYuDQMQjnHzxMjzbd6rJohrXVrQ&hl=en&ei=xqYqTKDpFML-nAeF2omjAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCwQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22They%20mean%20to%20govern%20well%3B%20but%20they%20mean%20to%20govern%22&f=false. Context: There are men, in all ages, who mean to exercise power usefully; but who mean to exercise it. They mean to govern well; but they mean to govern. They promise to be kind masters; but they mean to be masters.

Men, Age

“Being loved is a good thing. A grand thing. The best damned thing of all.”

Lori Wilde (1958) American writer

Source: High Stakes Seduction

Love