Quotes about key
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Benjamin Peirce photo

“Geometry, to which I have devoted my life, is honoured with the title of the Key of Sciences”

Benjamin Peirce (1809–1880) American mathematician

Ben Yamen's Song of Geometry (1853)
Context: Geometry, to which I have devoted my life, is honoured with the title of the Key of Sciences; but it is the Key of an ever open door which refuses to be shut, and through which the whole world is crowding, to make free, in unrestrained license, with the precious treasures within, thoughtless both of lock and key, of the door itself, and even of Science, to which it owes such boundless possessions, the New World included. The door is wide open and all may enter, but all do not enter with equal thoughtlessness. There are a few who wonder, as they approach, at the exhaustless wealth, as the sacred shepherd wondered at the burning bush of Horeb, which was ever burning and never consumed. Casting their shoes from off their feet and the world's iron-shod doubts from their understanding, these children of the faithful take their first step upon the holy ground with reverential awe, and advance almost with timidity, fearful, as the signs of Deity break upon them, lest they be brought face to face with the Almighty.

Wallace Stevens photo

“Just as my fingers on these keys Make music, so the self-same sounds On my spirit make a music, too. Music is feeling, then, not sound”

Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) American poet

Peter Quince at the Clavier (1915)
Context: Just as my fingers on these keys Make music, so the self-same sounds On my spirit make a music, too. Music is feeling, then, not sound;
And thus it is that what I feel,
Here in this room, desiring you,
Thinking of your blue-shadowed silk,
Is music.

Benjamin Peirce photo

“The Key! it is of wonderful construction, with its infinity of combination, and its unlimited capacity to fit every lock. … it is the great master-key which unlocks every door of knowledge and without which no discovery which deserves the name — which is law, and not isolated fact — has been or ever can be made.”

Benjamin Peirce (1809–1880) American mathematician

Ben Yamen's Song of Geometry (1853)
Context: The Key! it is of wonderful construction, with its infinity of combination, and its unlimited capacity to fit every lock. … it is the great master-key which unlocks every door of knowledge and without which no discovery which deserves the name — which is law, and not isolated fact — has been or ever can be made. Fascinated by its symmetry the geometer may at times have been too exclusively engrossed with his science, forgetful of its applications; he may have exalted it into his idol and worshipped it; he may have degraded it into his toy... when he should have been hard at work with it, using it for the benefit of mankind and the glory of his Creator.

Carl Sagan photo

“Books are patient where we are slow to understand, allow us to go over the hard parts as many times as we wish, and are never critical of our lapses. Books are key to understanding the world and participating in a democratic society.”

Carl Sagan (1934–1996) American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science educator

Source: The Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995), Ch. 21 : The Path to Freedom, p. 357
Context: Books, purchasable at low cost, permit us to interrogate the past with high accuracy; to tap the wisdom of our species; to understand the point of view of others, and not just those in power; to contemplate — with the best teachers — the insights, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, drawn from the entire planet and from all of our history. They allow people long dead to talk inside our heads. Books can accompany us everywhere. Books are patient where we are slow to understand, allow us to go over the hard parts as many times as we wish, and are never critical of our lapses. Books are key to understanding the world and participating in a democratic society.

Carl Sagan photo

“Cleverly designed experiments are the key.”

Carl Sagan (1934–1996) American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science educator

Context: The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true. We have a method, and that method helps us to reach not absolute truth, only asymptotic approaches to the truth — never there, just closer and closer, always finding vast new oceans of undiscovered possibilities. Cleverly designed experiments are the key.

Katie Melua photo
Isaac Leib Peretz photo

“It is a key to open a heaven after death and not a key with which to force open the portals of this life.”

Isaac Leib Peretz (1852–1915) Yiddish language author and playwright

Vegn vos Firn op fun Yidishkeit, 1911. S. Liptzin. Peretz. Yivo, 1947, p. 372.
Context: They are all so-called Christian nations, but... this superimposed religion... does not penetrate into the core of their souls. It has no relation to their daily experience... It is a key to open a heaven after death and not a key with which to force open the portals of this life.

Helen Keller photo

“I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it.”

Source: The Story of My Life (1903), Ch. 6
Context: I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it. Children who hear acquire language without any particular effort; the words that fall from others' lips they catch on the wing, as it were, delightedly, while the little deaf child must trap them by a slow and often painful process. But whatever the process, the result is wonderful. Gradually from naming an object we advance step by step until we have traversed the vast distance between our first stammered syllable and the sweep of thought in a line of Shakespeare.

Samuel P. Huntington photo

“At least at a basic “thin” morality level, some commonalities exist between Asia and the West. In addition, as many have pointed out, whatever the degree to which they divided humankind, the world’s major religions — Western Christianity, Orthodoxy, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism — also share key values in common. If humans are ever to develop a universal civilization, it will emerge gradually through the exploration and expansion of these commonalities.”

Samuel P. Huntington (1927–2008) American political scientist

Source: The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996), Ch. 12 : The West, Civilizations, and Civilization, § 2 : The Commonalities Of Civilization, p. 320
Context: At least at a basic “thin” morality level, some commonalities exist between Asia and the West. In addition, as many have pointed out, whatever the degree to which they divided humankind, the world’s major religions — Western Christianity, Orthodoxy, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism — also share key values in common. If humans are ever to develop a universal civilization, it will emerge gradually through the exploration and expansion of these commonalities. Thus, in addition to the abstention rule and the joint mediation rule, the third rule for peace in a multicivilizational world is the commonalities rule: peoples in all civilizations should search for and attempt to expand the values, institutions, and practices they have in common with peoples of other civilizations.
This effort would contribute not only to limiting the clash of civilizations but also to strengthening Civilization in the singular (hereafter capitalized for clarity). The singular Civilization presumably refers to a complex mix of higher levels of morality, religion, learning, art, philosophy, technology, material well-being, and probably other things. These obviously do not necessarily vary together. Yet scholars easily identify highpoints and lowpoints in the level of Civilization in the histories of civilizations. … When civilizations first emerge, their people are usually vigorous, dynamic, brutal, mobile, and expansionist. They are relatively uncivilized. As the civilization evolves it becomes more settled and develops the techniques and skills that make it more Civilized. As the competition among its constituent elements tapers off and a universal state emerges, the civilization reaches its highest level of Civilization, its “golden age,” with a flowering of morality, art, literature, philosophy, technology, and martial, economic, and political competence. As it goes into decay as a civilization, its level of Civilization also declines until it disappears under the onslaught of a different surging civilization with a lower level of Civilization.

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love. And the beautiful thing is that we are moving against wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love. He who hates does not know God, but he who has love has the key that unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

1960s, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
Context: I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn't popular to talk about it in some circles today. I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love, I'm talking about a strong, demanding love. And I have seen too much hate. I've seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs in the South. I've seen hate on the faces of too many Klansmen and too many White Citizens Councilors in the South to want to hate myself, because every time I see it, I know that it does something to their faces and their personalities and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love. And the beautiful thing is that we are moving against wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love. He who hates does not know God, but he who has love has the key that unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality.

Paul Simon photo

“The listener isn't aware that they are new notes, but the sound is pleasing to the ear. I change the key, and somehow it's fresh because you haven't heard those notes before.”

Paul Simon (1941) American musician, songwriter and producer

As quoted in "Paul Simon's Workshop at the Guitar Study Center" by Richard Albero and Fred Styles in Guitar Player (April 1975), p. 21
Context: I didn't want to repeat the same notes in the second verse that I used in the first, so I wrote out all the notes of the song and all the notes that were missing in the scale, given that there are twelve notes from octave to octave. All those notes that weren't in the scale were the ones I wanted in for the next verse. The listener isn't aware that they are new notes, but the sound is pleasing to the ear. I change the key, and somehow it's fresh because you haven't heard those notes before.

Pranab Mukherjee photo

“The government [India] has announced the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy. One of the key elements of the policy is to position India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020”

Pranab Mukherjee (1935) 13th President of India

Quoted on The Kerala, "Quality of education needs improvement: Pranab Mukherjee" http://www.newkerala.com/news/2014/fullnews-32741.html#.U0AOLqLD-y8, April 3, 2014.
Context: Science, education, research and innovation are the four pillars on which the development as well as the work culture of a nation rests. Scientific temperament cannot happen unless we improve the delivery of education at all levels. The government [India] has announced the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy. One of the key elements of the policy is to position India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020.

Honoré de Balzac photo

“The body may fear and tremble, while the mind is calm and courageous, or vice versa. This is the key to many moral eccentricities.”

Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) French writer

Source: A Bachelor's Establishment (1842), Ch. IX.
Context: There are two species of timidity, — the timidity of the mind, and the timidity of the nerves; a physical timidity, and a moral timidity. The one is independent of the other. The body may fear and tremble, while the mind is calm and courageous, or vice versa. This is the key to many moral eccentricities. When the two are united in one man, that man will be a cipher all his life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson photo

“The key to the period appeared to be that the mind had become aware of itself. Men grew reflective and intellectual. There was a new consciousness.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

1860s, Life and Letters in New England (1867)
Context: The key to the period appeared to be that the mind had become aware of itself. Men grew reflective and intellectual. There was a new consciousness. The former generations acted under the belief that a shining social prosperity was the beatitude of man, and sacrificed uniformly the citizen to the State. The modern mind believed that the nation existed for the individual, for the guardianship and education of every man. This idea, roughly written in revolutions and national movements, in the mind of the philosopher had far more precision; the individual is the world.
This perception is a sword such as was never drawn before. It divides and detaches bone and marrow, soul and body, yea, almost the man from himself. It is the age of severance, of dissociation, of freedom, of analysis, of detachment. Every man for himself. The public speaker disclaims speaking for any other; he answers only for himself. The social sentiments are weak; the sentiment of patriotism is weak; veneration is low; the natural affections feebler than they were. People grow philosophical about native land and parents and. relations. There is an universal resistance to ties rand ligaments once supposed essential to civil society. The new race is stiff, heady and rebellious; they are fanatics in freedom; they hate tolls, taxes, turnpikes, banks, hierarchies, governors, yea, almost laws. They have a neck of unspeakable tenderness; it winces at a hair. They rebel against theological as against political dogmas; against mediation, or saints, or any nobility in the unseen.
The age tends to solitude. The association of the time is accidental and momentary and hypocritical, the detachment intrinsic and progressive. The association is for power, merely, — for means; the end being the enlargement and independency of the individual.

Carole King photo

“The song is the center; the song is the key. If you don't have a good song you don't have anything by my value.”

Carole King (1942) Nasa

As quoted in "The King is Still Alive" in The Birmingham Post [England] (6 November 2001)

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar photo

“The key is to harness the ancient wisdom and being innovative with the modern.”

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (1956) spiritual leader

The Hindustan Times (Nov., 2009)
Context: Pluralism and embracing people of all cultures should be part of our education. The multicultural, multi-religious fabric are the glory and beauty of the planet. If this thought is imparted to children at an early age, they will love the difference. We need to bring about that multi-cultural and multi-ethnic approach, which in Sanskrit we call Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The whole world is one family.)
Through right education, we can change and unite the hearts and minds of people. The key is to harness the ancient wisdom and being innovative with the modern. We, as global citizens, should vow to take this responsibility.

Peace Pilgrim photo

“The key word for our time is practice. We have all the light we need, we just need to put it into practice.”

Peace Pilgrim (1908–1981) American non-denominational spiritual teacher

Source: Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words (1982), Ch. 3 : The Pilgrimage
Context: Please don't say lightly that these are just religious concepts and not practical. These are laws governing human conduct, which apply as rigidly as the law of gravity. When we disregard these laws in any walk of life, chaos results. Through obedience to these laws this world of ours will enter a period of peace and richness of life beyond our fondest dreams.
The key word for our time is practice. We have all the light we need, we just need to put it into practice.

Larry Page photo

“I think for me, the key is setting really big goals.”

Larry Page (1973) American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur

Larry Page Q&A Zeitgeist Americas 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4Mzlp6mIaC4#t=748s, at the annual Zeitgeist conference in Arizona. Published on October 16, 2012. Answering the question asked by Larry Aidem http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-aidem/42/229/6b7: "And I'm just curious what you do both at Google and also in the way you've managed the YouTube acquisition, which I think you could look at as one of the most successful examples of somebody buying something and not screwing it up. What's consciously done to keep that ethos, both at the Google level and then at YouTube?"
Context: It's hard to keep things moving. And that's always a big trick. I think for me, the key is setting really big goals. And, you know, with YouTube, I think we've had tremendous leadership, both with the founders and now with Salar, who's been running it.

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Organization seemed to be the key.”

Vorkosigan Saga, The Warrior's Apprentice (1986)
Context: Organization seemed to be the key. To get huge masses of properly matched men and materials to the right place at the right time in the right order with the swiftness required to even grasp survival — to wrestle an infinitely complex and confusing reality into the abstract shape of victory — organization, it seemed, might even outrank courage as a soldierly virtue.

John D. Barrow photo
John F. Kennedy photo

“Now it is time to take longer strides — time for a great new American enterprise — time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth. I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

1961, Speech to Special Joint Session of Congress
Context: Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take. […] Now it is time to take longer strides — time for a great new American enterprise — time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth. I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary. But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshaled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time so as to insure theft fulfillment. Recognizing the head start obtained by the Soviets with their large rocket engines, which gives them many months of lead-time, and recognizing the likelihood that they will exploit this lead for some time to come in still more impressive successes, we nevertheless are required to make new efforts on our own. For while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We take an additional risk by making it in full view of the world, but as shown by feat of astronaut Shepard, this very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share.

Sri Aurobindo photo

“Spirituality is the master key of the Indian mind.”

Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru and poet

From an essay in A Defense of Indian Culture, as quoted in The Vision of India (1949) by Sisirkumar Mitra
Context: Spirituality is the master key of the Indian mind. It is this dominant inclination of India which gives character to all the expressions of her culture. In fact, they have grown out of her inborn spiritual tendency of which her religion is a natural out flowering. The Indian mind has always realized that the Supreme is the Infinite and perceived that to the soul in Nature the Infinite must always present itself in an infinite variety of aspects. The aggressive and quite illogical idea of a single religion for all mankind, a religion universal by the very force of its narrowness, one set of dogmas, one cult, one system of ceremonies, one ecclesiastical ordinance, one array of prohibitions and injunctions which all minds must accept on peril of persecution by men and spiritual rejection or eternal punishment by God, that grotesque creation of human unreason which has been the parent of so much intolerance, cruelty and obscurantism and aggressive fanaticism, has never been able to take firm hold of the Indian mentality.

Karen Blixen photo

“The true aristocracy and the true proletariat of the world are both in understanding with tragedy. To them it is the fundamental principle of God, and the key, the minor key, to existence.”

Out of Africa (1937)
Context: The true aristocracy and the true proletariat of the world are both in understanding with tragedy. To them it is the fundamental principle of God, and the key, the minor key, to existence. They differ in this way from the bourgeoisie of all classes, who deny tragedy, who will not tolerate it, and to whom the word tragedy means in itself unpleasantness.

Thomas Merton photo

“Persons are not known by intellect alone, not by principles alone, but only by love. It is when we love the other, the enemy, that we obtain from God the key to an understanding of who he is, and who we are.”

Thomas Merton (1915–1968) Priest and author

Letter to Dorothy Day (20 December 1961).
Context: Persons are not known by intellect alone, not by principles alone, but only by love. It is when we love the other, the enemy, that we obtain from God the key to an understanding of who he is, and who we are. It is only this realization that can open to us the real nature of our duty, and of right action. To shut out the person and to refuse to consider him as a person, as an other self, we resort to the impersonal "law" and to abstract "nature." That is to say we block off the reality of the other, we cut the intercommunication of our nature and his nature, and we consider only our own nature with its rights, its claims, it demands. And we justify the evil we do to our brother because he is no longer a brother, he is merely an adversary, an accused. To restore communication, to see our oneness of nature with him, and to respect his personal rights and his integrity, his worthiness of love, we have to see ourselves as similarly accused along with him … and needing, with him, the ineffable gift of grace and mercy to be saved. Then, instead of pushing him down, trying to climb out by using his head as a stepping-stone for ourselves, we help ourselves to rise by helping him to rise. For when we extend our hand to the enemy who is sinking in the abyss, God reaches out to both of us, for it is He first of all who extends our hand to the enemy. It is He who "saves himself" in the enemy, who makes use of us to recover the lost groat which is His image in our enemy.

Ernest Flagg photo
Kate Bush photo

“With a kiss
I'd pass the key
And feel your tongue
Teasing and receiving.”

Kate Bush (1958) British recording artist; singer, songwriter, musician and record producer

Song lyrics, The Dreaming (1982)
Context: With a kiss
I'd pass the key
And feel your tongue
Teasing and receiving.
With your spit
Still on my lip,
You hit the water.

“I think mental preparation is the key to succeeding”

Arjun Nair (1998) cricketer

Quoted on The Sydney Morning Herald, "Arjun Nair is a name to remember, says Cricket Australia's Greg Chappell" http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/arjun-nair-is-a-name-to-remember-says-cricket-australias-greg-chappell-20160129-gmhk9z.html, January 30, 2016.
Context: So many thought processes. When I'm not playing or training I'm thinking 'what more can I do to improve'. I'll train most days, I'm very hungry for wickets and runs and that's been the main key to what I've done. I think mental preparation is the key to succeeding.

Oliver Wendell Holmes photo

“The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men, — from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) Poet, essayist, physician

Source: The Professor at the Breakfast Table (1859), Ch. V.
Context: The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men, — from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms. It is in their hearts that the "sentimental" religion some people are so fond of sneering at has its source. The sentiment of love, the sentiment of maternity, the sentiment of the paramount obligation of the parent to the child as having called it into existence, enhanced just in proportion to the power and knowledge of the one and the weakness and ignorance of the other, — these are the "sentiments" that have kept our soulless systems from driving men off to die in holes like those that riddle the sides of the hill opposite the Monastery of St. Saba, where the miserable victims of a falsely-interpreted religion starved and withered in their delusion.

Reza Pahlavi photo
Reza Pahlavi photo

“… the [Obama] administration has spent, in my view, too much time, in maintaining its extended hand of engagement toward the regime without getting anything in return. Meanwhile, the clock has been ticking. Some countries in the area are becoming more antsy about the imminence of Iran's ability to be equipped with weapons of mass destruction. Obviously, the rhetoric and language from some key countries would be to mention the fact we are exploring this and this is an option on the table. I could not say otherwise. But that doesn't mean to me that there is a major change of policy. We need to think a little bit outside the box and perhaps look at other avenues. It's not limited to the character of this administration because successive, previous administrations have fallen systematically into the same “loophole” -- and I'm not even saying the same “trap.” Einstein said, if I'm not mistaken, that “thinking that doing more of the same will produce a different outcome is a sign of insanity.””

Reza Pahlavi (1960) Last crown prince of the former Imperial State of Iran

When I look at the overall diplomacy of the free world, particularly of the U.S., I can only see a repeat pattern of the same attempts made while hoping to obtain a different result. Something's got to change.
As quoted by Felice Friedson, Iranian Crown Prince: Ahmadinejad's regime is "delicate and fragile" http://www.rezapahlavi.org/details_article.php?article=459&page=2, August 12, 2010.
Interviews, 2010

Reza Pahlavi photo
Reza Pahlavi photo

“I think [Israel attacking Iran] would be a very disastrous event if it were to occur. I have long stated that I think this would be a lose-lose proposition by and large, especially when there's a much better alternative in play, which will be much less costly and far more legitimate than trying to bring any change as a result of any kind of external measures, particularly of the violent and military kind. You have in place the best natural army in the world: namely, the Iranian people themselves, who have bravely fought this fight for years, without any help or support from anyone in the international community. Today, they are already committed to that struggle and I think this is a much better way to put pressure on the regime and abide by international rules. It's a much better way to help the Iranian people bring about whatever changes they want in Iran and nothing is being done about this while everybody contemplates striking the country just because they don’t have faith in diplomacy, which was doomed from the very beginning. I think there's still a chance for a lot of serious fundamental change that will bring an end to all the threats if Iran wants to change from this regime to a democratic nation. If it invests time and effort in helping the movement of the young people in Iran today and be supportive of their demands; be supportive of what they want; engage them after 30 years of limiting engagement to only members of the regime and its representatives. I don't think that's far too much to ask for those of us who are fighting for freedom. What I am saying is that in my opinion, not using this opportunity and going straight to conflict would be historically criminal. That option has to be given its chance but the time is limited and the window of opportunity is now. I hope that many key governments will decide to commit some of their policies to give a chance for this movement to succeed before jumping to conclusions that the only familiars we're left with are either capitulation or attacking Iran.”

Reza Pahlavi (1960) Last crown prince of the former Imperial State of Iran

As quoted by Felice Friedson, Iranian Crown Prince: Ahmadinejad's regime is "delicate and fragile" http://www.rezapahlavi.org/details_article.php?article=459&page=2, August 12, 2010.
Interviews, 2010

Winston S. Churchill photo

“I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.”

BBC broadcast (“The Russian Enigma”), London, October 1, 1939 ( partial text http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/RusnEnig.html, transcript of the "First Month of War" speech https://ww2memories.wordpress.com/2011/09/24/churchills-ww2-speech-to-the-nation-october-1939/).
The Second World War (1939–1945)

“Patience and perseverance are key. Cultivate a spirit of generosity. Find your tribe of collaborators and keep working with them. Trust your gut. Stay true to your vision. Seek mentorship…”

On her advice for Latina playwrights in “Anne García-Romero” https://50playwrights.org/2016/05/06/anne-garcia-romero/ in 50 Playwrights Project (2016 May 6)

Helena Roerich photo
Joseph E. Stiglitz photo
Muhammad photo
Muhammad photo
Muhammad photo
Benjamin Peirce photo
Richard Feynman photo
Doris Veillette photo

“Graduate studies are not only, today, the key golden men.”

Doris Veillette (1935–2019) Quebec journalist

Chronicle "Interdit aux hommes" (Forbidden to men), by Doris Veillette-Hamel, Journal Le Nouvelliste, Sept. 14, 1974, page 17.
Chronicle "Forbidden to Men", 1974

Wendy Doniger photo

“An array of puns, asides and (sometimes off-key) jokes makes the book more bulky and somewhat anecdotal, but also entertaining to read.”

Wendy Doniger (1940) American Indologist

Shome, Shubhodeep (2012), "Review of The Hindus: An Alternative History by Wendy Doniger", South Asia Research, 32: 77–79
The Hindus' (2009), About her book 'The Hindus

Questlove photo

“Dare I hesitate to say that creativity might be in jeopardy because one of the key components of being creative is boredom and silence and isolation.”

Questlove (1971) American rapper, multi-instrumentalist and journalist from Pennsylvania

On how distractions might affect creativity in “Questlove Aims To Save Your Brain: 'Creativity Might Be In Jeopardy'” https://www.npr.org/2018/05/01/600852801/questlove-aims-to-save-your-brain-creativity-might-be-in-jeopardy in NPR (2018 May 1)

Evo Morales photo
Vijay Prashad photo
Harold Wilson photo

“I intend to play it low-key throughout. The decision is purely a marginal one. I have always said so. I have never been a fanatic for Europe. I believe the judgment is a finely balanced one.”

Harold Wilson (1916–1995) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Remarks to Barbara Castle (26 April 1975), quoted in Barbara Castle, The Castle Diaries, 1974–76 (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980), p. 379
Prime Minister

Jair Bolsonaro photo

“This shows that those who attack us are not concerned with the indigenous human being, but with the mineral wealth and biodiversity in these areas. The United Nations has played a key role in overcoming colonialism and cannot accept this mentality to return to these halls and corridors under any pretext.”

Jair Bolsonaro (1955) Brazilian president elect

Speech at the at the 74th UN General Assembly. Statement by Mr. Jair Messias Bolsonaro, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil http://statements.unmeetings.org/GA74/BR_EN.pdf. United Nations PaperSmart (24 September 2019).

Robert A. Heinlein photo
Ko Wen-je photo

“What matters most (for Taiwan in dealing with Mainland China) is exerting the positive influence of Taiwan and making (mainland) Chinese people envy life on the (Taiwan) island. This would be key to the survival of Taiwan.”

Ko Wen-je (1959) Taiwanese politician and physician

Ko Wen-je (2019) cited in " Taipei Mayor says no need to infuriate China https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3792875" on Taiwan News, 9 October 2019.

Marilyn Ferguson photo
Simone Weil photo
David Lloyd George photo
David Cameron photo
Paul Deussen photo
Thorsten J. Pattberg photo
Thorsten J. Pattberg photo

“Revive Asian words and promote important key concepts!”

Thorsten J. Pattberg (1977) German philologist

Knowledge is a Polyglot (2019)

Baruch Spinoza photo
Dave Barry photo
Rousas John Rushdoony photo
Rajinikanth photo

“Rajnikanth’s dedication, compassion for the welfare of co-artistes and passion for cinema have been key factors for his success as a mass-entertainer.”

Rajinikanth (1950) Indian actor

Sankar Narayan alias ‘Cable’ Sankar, an Assistant Director and a writer on film industry trends
Decoding Rajinikanth

“Loving does not necessarily mean liking. But it still is loving, yes — totally, completely, utterly. Take the key of wisdom and unlock your own heart. Then let people in one by one. Listen to them, with full attention, with all your mind, heart, body and soul, unto exhaustion. And look!”

Catherine Doherty (1896–1985) Religious order founder; Servant of God

the exhaustion will be lifted, and you will be able to listen still more. Yes, love must be communicated person to person; otherwise it will not be effective.
Molchanie (1982)

Alan Moore photo
Anthony Burgess photo
Jamelle Bouie photo
Rajiv Gandhi photo
Robert Greene photo

“Creating this feeling of validation is the golden key that will unlock people’s defenses. And we cannot survive and thrive in this highly competitive world without possessing such a power.”

Robert Greene (1959) American author

Chap. 7 : Soften People’s Resistance by Confirming Their Self-opinion
The Laws of Human Nature (2018)

Cory Doctorow photo
Hasan al-Askari photo

“Vices have been put in a house whose key is lies.”

Hasan al-Askari (846–874) Eleventh of the Twelve Imams

[Baqir Shareef al-Qurashi, Abdullah al-Shahin, The Life of Imam Hasan al-'Askari, Wonderful short maxims, 2005]
General subjects

Hasan al-Askari photo

“Anger is the key to every evil.”

Hasan al-Askari (846–874) Eleventh of the Twelve Imams

[Baqir Shareef al-Qurashi, Abdullah al-Shahin, The Life of Imam Hasan al-'Askari, Wonderful short maxims, 2005]
General subjects

James Thurber photo
Tedros Adhanom photo
Waleed Al-Husseini photo
Stephen Baxter photo

“Understanding is the key to turning anything from a threat into an opportunity.”

Source: Ring (1994), Chapter 17 (p. 736)

Morrissey photo

“That’s the key to modern Britain … only the mentally castrated are eligible for praise and awards. It’s against the law to be intelligent! The dumb have inherited the earth. Because of this, British arts are controlled by completely limited possibilities, and the same faces appear everywhere.”

Morrissey (1959) English singer

CULTURE Pop Icon Morrissey Says Diversity is Not a Strength https://summit.news/2019/06/24/pop-icon-morrissey-says-diversity-is-not-a-strength/?fbclid=IwAR398wYgRpEduvLPMg8qiO9WQNVnZl3LaNydJ8Bx1-DTF33ahE2rVTHFKuE, June 24 2019
In interviews etc., About politics and society

Caryl Phillips photo

“Questions of identity have always played a large part in my thinking and writing; and, of course, race is a key component of identity. Certainly for me, and certainly in Britain.”

Caryl Phillips (1958) Kittian-British writer

On the recurring theme of his works in “CARYL PHILLIPS: INTERVIEW” https://mosaicmagazine.org/caryl-phillips-interview/#.Xe58ovlKjcs in Mosaic Magazine (2012 Mar 19)

Bobby Sands photo

“There's rain on the wind, the tears of spirits,
The clink of key on iron is near,
A shuttling train passes by on rail,
There's more than God for man to fear.”

Bobby Sands (1954–1981) Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army

"A Place to Rest"
Poetry, Miscellaneous poems

Gaur Gopal Das photo

“Every person in this world wants to know the secrete behind success in professional as well as personal life. Having positive attitude is the key to achieving success in life.”

Gaur Gopal Das (1973) Indian spiritual leader, lifestyle coach and motivational speaker

[Positive attitude key to success, says Gaur Gopal Das, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/positive-attitude-key-to-success-says-gaur-gopal-das/articleshow/62501124.cms, Times of India, 15 January 2018]

Gaur Gopal Das photo

“You’re the secret to change your life, you’re the key to your own happiness. It's not the happy people who are thankful, it’s the thankful people who are happy.”

Gaur Gopal Das (1973) Indian spiritual leader, lifestyle coach and motivational speaker

[Power to choose is much bigger than the challenges one faces,says Gaur Gopal Das, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/power-to-choose-is-much-bigger-than-the-challenges-one-faces-says-gaur-gopal-das/articleshow/65516324.cms, Times of India, 23 August 2018]

Ronnie James Dio photo
Muhammad photo

“I have been given the keys of eloquent speech and given victory with awe (cast into the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping last night, the keys of the treasures of the earth were brought to me till they were put in my hand.”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Sunni Hadith
Source: Narrated in Bukhari by Abu Huraira, Vol. 9, Book 87, Hadith 127 http://sunnah.com/bukhari/91/17

Omar Khayyám photo

“The Vine had struck a fibre: which about
If clings my being — let the Dervish flout;
Of my Base metal may be filed a Key,
That shall unlock the Door he howls without.”

Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) Persian poet, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer

Source: The Rubaiyat (1120)

Douglas Engelbart photo

“The key thing about all the world’s big problems is that they have to be dealt with collectively. If we don’t get collectively smarter, we’re doomed.”

Douglas Engelbart (1925–2013) American engineer and inventor

Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/intelligence-in-the-internet-age/

Milton Friedman photo
Warren Farrell photo

“With confidentiality as the key, men’s groups open the door to men opening their hearts.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Source: The Boy Crisis (2018), pp. 286

Warren Farrell photo

“A key measure of emotional intelligence is knowing that every virtue taken to its extreme becomes a vice.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Source: The Boy Crisis (2018), pp. 89

Zaman Ali photo
Jacob Rees-Mogg photo

“The key is that we have our fish back: they are now British fish, and they are better and happier fish for it.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg (1969) British politician

In response to a question in the House of Commons about the fishing industry losing money due to Brexit red tape https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-01-14/debates/329F59AC-D8A3-464D-AF4D-58C7EAA560C6/BusinessOfTheHouse#contribution-F5E677D7-58DE-4634-88A4-E97E2AA8F7E6 (14 January 2021)
2021

Li-Meng Yan photo
Michael Bloomberg photo
Larry Page photo

“It's hard to keep things moving. And that's always a big trick. I think for me, the key is setting really big goals. And, you know, with YouTube, I think we've had tremendous leadership, both with the founders and now with Salar, who's been running it.”

Larry Page (1973) American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur

Larry Page Q&A Zeitgeist Americas 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4Mzlp6mIaC4#t=748s, at the annual Zeitgeist conference in Arizona. Published on October 16, 2012. Answering the question asked by Larry Aidem http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-aidem/42/229/6b7: "And I'm just curious what you do both at Google and also in the way you've managed the YouTube acquisition, which I think you could look at as one of the most successful examples of somebody buying something and not screwing it up. What's consciously done to keep that ethos, both at the Google level and then at YouTube?"

Richard Cobden photo