“For it is feeling and force of imagination that makes us eloquent.”
Pectus est enim quod disertos facit, et vis mentis.
Quintilian (35–96) ancient Roman rhetor
Book X, Chapter VII, 15
De Institutione Oratoria (c. 95 AD)
“For it is feeling and force of imagination that makes us eloquent.”
Pectus est enim quod disertos facit, et vis mentis.
Quintilian (35–96) ancient Roman rhetor
Book X, Chapter VII, 15
De Institutione Oratoria (c. 95 AD)
Ariana Grande (1993) American singer-songwriter
"Ariana Grande: "I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding"" https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/ariana-grande-i-love-animals-4754625, interview with the Mirror (5 December 2014)
Elon Musk (1971) South African-born American entrepreneur
Conversation: Elon Musk on Wired Science (2007)
Jean Vanier (1928–2019) Canadian humanitarian
On Being, The Wisdom of Tenderness (transcript) http://www.onbeing.org/program/wisdom-tenderness/transcript/1369 Interview with Krista Tippett, December 24, 2009 <br class="br">From interviews and talks
Bobby Fischer (1943–2008) American chess prodigy, chess player, and chess writer
1960s, Portrait of a Genius As a Young Chess Master (1961)
“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter
"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"; similar expressions were used by others prior to Lennon's use of this line, and have been attributed to Betty Talmadge, Thomas La Mance, Margaret Millar, William Gaddis, and Lily Tomlin, but the earliest known published occurrence was the 1957 attribution of "Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." to Allen Saunders in Reader's Digest, according to The Quote Verifier : Who Said What, Where, and When (2006) by Ralph Keyes
Lyrics, Double Fantasy (1980)
Variant: Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
Variant: Life is what happens while you are making other plans.
Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant
Source: 1930s- 1950s, Landmarks of Tomorrow: A Report on the New 'Post-Modern' World (1959), p. 258
Kiichiro Toyoda (1894–1952) Japanese businessman
Kiichiro Toyoda in The Toyota Way, 2001: Quoted in: "Toyota quotes," New York Times, Feb. 10, 2008.
Comment by Kiichiro Toyoda after thieves had stolen the plans for a new loom from his father's workshop.
Steve Maraboli (1975)
Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 144
Henri Fayol (1841–1925) Developer of Fayolism
Source: Henri Fayol addressed his colleagues in the mineral industry, 1900, p. 909
“I'm a sinner so Jesus please, help me pass and graduate so I'd make it to hell, feel me?”
E.M.S (1995) Nigerian rapper, singer and record producer
Never Told Me (2018)
Anton LaVey book The Satanic Bible
The Satanic Bible (1969)
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and the first President of Turkey
Original: Tarih yazmak, tarih yapmak kadar mühimdir. Yazan yapana sadık kalmazsa değişmeyen hakikat, insanlığı şaşırtacak bir mahiyet alır. <br class="br">Source: As quoted by Hasan Cemil Çambel in T.T.K. Belleten (1939), Vol: 3, no: 10, p. 272, Turkish Republic Ministry of Culture http://www.kultur.gov.tr/TR,25417/tarih.html
Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant
Source: 1990s and later, Managing for the Future: The 1990's and Beyond (1992), p. 139
Fabio Lanzoni (1961) Italian model, actor and author
Fifteen hours with Fabio http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2015/12/23/fabio/?utm_term=.55d4ac289b9c (December 23, 2015)
Plato (-427–-347 BC) Classical Greek philosopher
Often attributed to Plato, it cannot be found in any of his writings. http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=796
Misattributed
Sharon Tate (1943–1969) actress, victim of murder by Charles Manson followers
Quoted in Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders (2000), by Greg King
John Roecker (1966) American film director
An Epic Interview with John Roecker, FilmJerk, www.filmjerk.com, Kristopher, Terrell, August 23, 2003 http://www.filmjerk.com/interviews/article.php?id_int=12,
Elliot Rodger (1991–2014) American spree killer
I ended up walking for two hours, and at the end of it I was crying to myself because I felt so sad.
My Twisted World (2014), Thoughts at 19, Longing
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
"On the Method of Theoretical Physics" The Herbert Spencer Lecture, delivered at Oxford (10 June 1933); also published in Philosophy of Science, Vol. 1, No. 2 (April 1934), pp. 163-169., p. 165. [thanks to Dr. Techie @ www.wordorigins.org and JSTOR] <br class="br">There is a quote attributed to Einstein that may have arisen as a paraphrase of the above quote, commonly given as “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler,” "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler", or “Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.” See this article from the Quote Investigator http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/05/13/einstein-simple/ for a discussion of where these later variants may have arisen. <br class="br">The original quote is very similar to Occam's razor, which advocates that among all hypotheses compatible with all available observations, the simplest hypothesis is the most plausible one. <br class="br">The aphorism "everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler" is normally taken to be a warning against too much simplicity and emphasizes that one cannot simplify things to a point where the hypothesis is no more compatible with all observations. The aphorism does not contradict or extend Occam's razor, but rather stresses that both elements of the razor, simplicity and compatibility with the observations, are essential. <br class="br">The earliest known appearance of Einstein's razor is an essay by Roger Sessions in the New York Times (8 January 1950) http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30615FE3559137A93CAA9178AD85F448585F9, where Sessions appears to be paraphrasing Einstein: “I also remember a remark of Albert Einstein, which certainly applies to music. He said, in effect, that everything should be as simple as it can be, but not simpler.” <br class="br">Another early appearance, from Time magazine (14 December 1962) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872923,00.html: “We try to keep in mind a saying attributed to Einstein—that everything must be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.” <br class="br">1930s
“Possession make you rich? I don't have that type of richness. My richness is Life, forever.”
Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician
Interview for the Australian TV show 60 Minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LnxGoglJck
James Brown (1933–2006) American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist
Brown, J. & Tucker, B. (2003). James Brown: The Godfather of Soul, p. 266. Thunder's Mouth Press: New York. ISBN 1-56025-388-6
Robert K. Merton book Social Theory and Social Structure
Source: Social Theory and Social Structure (1949), p. 477 (1968 Enlarged edition)
Context: The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the original false conception come "true". This specious validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning.
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Austrian-British philosopher
6.522
Original German: Es gibt allerdings Unaussprechliches. Dies zeigt sich, es ist das Mystische.
1920s, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Hammurabi (-1810–-1750 BC) sixth king of Babylon
Charles L. Souvay, The Catholic Encyclopedia (1910), Volume VII.
About
George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist
"As I Please," Tribune (8 December 1944)<sup> http://alexpeak.com/twr/tdoaom/</sup> <br class="br">"As I Please" (1943–1947) <br class="br">Context: The important thing is to discover which individuals are honest and which are not, and the usual blanket accusation merely makes this more difficult. The atmosphere of hatred in which controversy is conducted blinds people to considerations of this kind. To admit that an opponent might be both honest and intelligent is felt to be intolerable. It is more immediately satisfying to shout that he is a fool or a scoundrel, or both, than to find out what he is really like. It is this habit of mind, among other things, that has made political prediction in our time so remarkably unsuccessful.
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
1980s, First term of office (1981–1985), First Inaugural address (1981)
Context: We are a nation that has a government — not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.
It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.
Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work-work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.
Emma Watson (1990) British actress and model
The "Burke quote" she uses here is a common but disputed attribution.
UN Speech on the HeForShe campaign (2014)
Context: You might be thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing speaking at the UN. And it’s a really good question. I've been asking myself the same thing. All I know is that I care about this problem. And I want to make it better.
And having seen what I’ve seen — and given the chance — I feel it is my responsibility to say something. Statesman Edmund Burke said: “All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.”
In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt I’ve told myself firmly — if not me, who, if not now, when. If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you I hope that those words might be helpful.
“Profits are what you make when not working.”
Michael Parenti (1933) American academic
Source: Democracy for the Few (2010 [1974]), sixth edition, Chapter 2, p. 9
Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty
Variant translations
A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter I · Detail Assessment and Planning
“Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.”
Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty
Source: The Art of War, Chapter XIII · Intelligence and Espionage
“Nobody makes up my mind for me. They used to at Columbia.”
Rita Hayworth (1918–1987) American actress, dancer and director
As quoted in "Rita Remains Striking, Trim, Busy" in The Palm Beach Post (16 October 1969) http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19691016&id=MHwyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=j7UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2776,5246577
Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty
Source: The Art of War, Chapter I · Detail Assessment and Planning
Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty
Translation by Lionel Giles
Source: The Art of War, Chapter XII · Attacking with Fire
“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed”
William H. McRaven (1955) United States admiral
University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70 <br class="br">Context: If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed... If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. And by the end of the day, that one task completed, will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you'll never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made, that you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.
“We put everything we had into this record, just like we do with every other record that we make.”
Billie Joe Armstrong (1972) American singer and guitarist
“Art is about trying to find the good in people and making the world a more compassionate place.”
Keanu Reeves (1964) Canadian actor, director, producer and musician
“Just because we wear make-up don't mean we can't kick your butt.”
Andrew Biersack (1990) American singer-songwriter
“The white man knows how to make everything, but he does not know how to distribute it.”
Sitting Bull (1831–1890) Hunkpapa Lakota medicine man and holy man
GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5712889.Sitting_Bull <br class="br">Attributed quotes
Marianne Williamson (1952) American writer
Source: A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles" (1992), Ch. 7 : Work, §3 : Personal Power, p. 190 (p. 165 in some editions). This famous passage from her book is very often erroneously attributed to Nelson Mandela. About the mis-attribution Williamson said, "Several years ago, this paragraph from A Return to Love began popping up everywhere, attributed to Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural address. As honored as I would be had President Mandela quoted my words, indeed he did not. I have no idea where that story came from, but I am gratified that the paragraph has come to mean so much to so many people."
Variant which appears in the film Coach Carter (2005): "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Variant which appears in the film Akeelah and the Bee (2006), displayed in a picture frame on the wall, attributing it to Mandela: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."
Volodymyr Zelensky (1978) 6th President of Ukraine
Original: (uk) Кожен мій ранок починається з sms-повідомлення. Це sms від Генерального штабу. За минулу добу обстрілів – сім, втрат – дві. Цифри можуть бути різними, але тільки одна робить ранок добрим. Це – нуль. Обстрілів – нуль. Втрат – нуль.<br><br>Transliteration: Kozhen miy ranok pochynayetʹsya z sms-povidomlennya. Tse sms vid Heneralʹnoho shtabu. Za mynulu dobu obstriliv – sim, vtrat – dvi. Tsyfry mozhutʹ buty riznymy, ale tilʹky odna robytʹ ranok dobrym. Tse – nulʹ. Obstriliv – nulʹ. Vtrat – nulʹ.<br><br> Speech by Zelensky during the celebration of Independence Day of Ukraine https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-society/2766331-promova-zelenskogo-z-nagodi-28i-ricnici-nezaleznosti-ukraini.html (24 August 2019)
Volodymyr Zelensky (1978) 6th President of Ukraine
interview to NewsWeek https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/2859479-zelensky-we-are-ready-for-ratings-going-down-due-to-unpopular-reforms.html (20 January 2020)
George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist
Source: Review of Zest for Life by Johann Wöller, in Time and Tide (17 October 1936)
Dante Alighieri book De Monarchia
Libri iii, Caput XIII, (XV.) emendati Johann Heinrich F. Karl Witte (1874) p. 25. https://www.google.com/books/edition/De_monarchia_libri_iii_emendati_per_C_Wi/_RhcAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA25&printsec=frontcover Translation as quoted by Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition (1958) p. 175. https://archive.org/details/humancondition0000aren/page/175/mode/1up <br class="br">De Monarchia (1312-1313) <br class="br">Original: (la) Nam in omni actione principaliter intenditur ab agente, sive necessitate naturae, sive voluntarie agat, propriam similitudinem explicare, unde fit, quod omne agens, in quantum huiusmodi, delectatur; quia, quum omne quod est appetat suum esse, ac in agendo agentis esse quodammodo amplietur, sequiturde necessitate delectatio... Nihil igitur agit, nisi tale existens, quale patiens fieri debet...
Alexis Karpouzos (1967)
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/14108295.alexis_karpouzos?page=2
Solomon B Taiwo (1990) English actor and author
Impact interview (2020)
“We make our own fortunes and we call them fate.”
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) British Conservative politician, writer, aristocrat and Prime Minister
Sunisa Lee (2003) American artistic gymnast; first Hmong American Olympic gold medalist
"Sunisa Lee Says She's 'Going to Delete Twitter' So She Can Focus on Preparing for Beam Final" in People (1 August 2021) https://people.com/sports/tokyo-olympics-sunisa-lee-going-to-delete-twitter-focus-preparing-beam-final/
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) Russian author
Personal correspondence (1839), as quoted in Dostoevsky: His Life and Work (1971) by Konstantin Mochulski, as translated by Michael A. Minihan, p. 17
General
“But it takes a war to make map-reading popular.”
George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist
Source: "As I Please," Tribune (11 February 1944)
“I think it is good that books still exist, but they do make me sleepy.”
Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer
“Remember, you are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes.”
Max Lucado (1955) American clergyman and writer
“When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.”
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
“Fear makes idiots out of us all, at some time or other.”
Patricia Briggs (1965) American writer
Source: When Demons Walk
“Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.”
John Wooden (1910–2010) American basketball coach
“Those that are most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it.”
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) Genevan philosopher
Cheryl Strayed book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Source: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
“Tell me then, does love make one a fool or do only fools fall in love?”
Orhan Pamuk (1952) Turkish novelist, screenwriter, and Nobel Prize in Literature recipient
Source: My Name is Red
Gretchen Rubin (1966) American writer
Source: The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
Ally Carter I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Source: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
Ben Carson (1951) 17th and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; American neurosurgeon
Source: Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence
“Dream beautiful dreams and then work to make those dreams come true.”
Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Nikki Sixx (1958) American musician
Source: This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography, And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx
“Only a woman can make you feel wrong for doing something right.”
Chris Rock (1965) American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer, and director
“To weep is to make less the depth of grief.”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English playwright and poet
Source: King Henry VI, Part 3
“The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.”
David Ogilvy (1911–1999) Advertising executive