“In our rags of light, all dressed to kill.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian poet and singer-songwriter
Quotes about lighting page 12
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be
The candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Edith Wharton (1862–1937) American novelist, short story writer, designer
"Vesalius in Zante (1564)", in North American Review (November 1902), p. 631
Variant: There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it.
“Why do men think you can pick love up and re-light it like a candle? Women know when love is over.”
Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) Welsh poet and writer
“Throw away the light, the definitions, and say what you see in the dark.”
Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) American poet
The Man With the Blue Guitar (1937)
Context: Throw away the lights, the definitions,
And say of what you see in the dark
That it is this or that it is that,
But do not use the rotted names.
Context: Throw away the lights, the definitions,
And say of what you see in the dark
That it is this or that it is that,
But do not use the rotted names.
How should you walk in that space and know
Nothing of the madness of space,
Nothing of its jocular procreations?
Throw the lights away. Nothing must stand
Between you and the shapes you take
When the crust of shape has been destroyed.
Susanna Kaysen book Girl, Interrupted
Source: Girl, Interrupted (1994)
Context: I've gone back to the Frick since then to look at her and at the two other Vermeers. Vermeers, after all, are hard to come by, and the one in Boston has been stolen. The other two are self-contained paintings. The people in them are looking at each other -- the lady and her maid, the soldier and his sweetheart. Seeing them is peeking at them through a hole in a wall. And the wall is made of light -- that entirely credible yet unreal Vermeer light. Light like this does not exist, but we wish it did. We wish the sun could make us young and beauitful, we wish our clothes could glisten and ripple against our skins, most of all, we wish that everyone we knew could be brightened simply by our looking at them, as are the maid with the letter and the soldier with the hat. The girl at her music sits in another sort of light, the fitful, overcast light of life, by which we see ourselves and others only imperfectly, and seldom.
“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”
John Burroughs (1837–1921) American naturalist and essayist
Stephen R. Covey book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
Sonya Sones book One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
Source: One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
Saul D. Alinsky (1909–1972) American community organizer and writer
Source: Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals
Erma Bombeck (1927–1996) When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent le…
Roald Dahl book Boy
Edna St. Vincent Millay, in "First Fig" from A Few Figs from Thistles (1920); said to be a motto Roald Dahl lived by.
Misattributed
Variant: My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But, ah, my foes, and, oh, my friends —
It gives a lovely light.
Source: Boy: Tales of Childhood
“once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look it right”
Jerry Garcia (1942–1995) American musician and member of the Grateful Dead
“Light blooms the brighter in the darkest places.”
Alison Croggon (1962) contemporary Australian poet, playwright and fantasy novelist
Source: The Naming
“Everything, as you well know… cannot always be sweetness and light.”
Kate DiCamillo book The Tale of Despereaux
Source: The Tale of Despereaux
Gretel Ehrlich (1946) American writer
Source: The Solace of Open Spaces
Dean Koontz (1945) American author
Source: The Book Of Counted Sorrows
Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) Italian philosopher, mathematician and astronomer
As quoted in Life and Teachings of Giordano Bruno : Philosopher, Martyr, Mystic 1548 - 1600 (1913) by Coulson Turnbull
“There will always be a door to the light.”
Shiro Amano (1976) Japanese manga artist
Source: Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 1
George Harrison (1943–2001) British musician, former member of the Beatles
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (1973)
Lyrics
John O'Donohue (1956–2008) Irish writer, priest and philosopher
Source: Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) American mythologist, writer and lecturer
Source: The Hero With a Thousand Faces
Elspeth Huxley (1907–1997) Kenyan writer
Source: The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood
“No doubt she was thinking, Who dressed this poor girl like a traffic light?”
Rick Riordan book The Hidden Oracle
Source: The Hidden Oracle
Alan Alda (1936) actor and United States Army officer
Source: Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
Ted Dekker book House
Variant: The light came into the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it, but that no longer mattered because the light was now obliteration the darkness.
Source: House
“the fallen leaves in the forest seemed to make even the ground glow and burn with light”
Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957) British writer
Source: October Ferry To Gabriola
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …
“This is the unforgiving light of the morning, time to drop the illusion.”
Gillian Flynn book Sharp Objects
Source: Sharp Objects
Audre Lorde (1934–1992) writer and activist
"Poetry is Not a Luxury"
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (1984)
“With determination and purpose, I head into the light.”
Julie Anne Peters (1952) American writer
Source: By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) German Lutheran pastor, theologian, dissident anti-Nazi
Source: Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
“Sometimes I think evil is a tangible thing - with wave lengths, just as sound and light have.”
Richard Connell book The Most Dangerous Game
Source: The Most Dangerous Game
Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
Source: Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters
“Don't wait for someone to green light your project, build your own intersection.”
Tyler Perry (1966) American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and songwriter
“It is in the dark times that the light of friendship shines brightest.”
Richard Paul Evans (1962) American writer
Source: The Walk
Maurice Blanchot (1907–2003) French writer, philosopher, and literary theorist
Og Mandino book The Greatest Salesman in the World
Source: The Greatest Salesman in the World (1968), Ch. 9 : The Scroll Marked II, p. 59.
Context: Henceforth I will look upon all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness because it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness because it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards because they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles because they are my challenge.
I will greet this day with love in my heart.
“In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.”
George Lucas (1944) American film producer
Akimine Kamijyo (1975) Japanese manga artist
Source: Samurai Deeper Kyo, Volume 03
Neal Shusterman book Unwind
Variant: One thing yo learn when you've lived as long as I have-people aren't all good, and people aren't all bad. We move in and out of darkness and light all of our lives. Right now, I'm pleased to be in the light.
Source: Unwind
