Quotes about need
page 29

“As for me, I am mean: that means that I need the suffering of others to exist. A flame. A flame in their hearts. When I am all alone, I am extinguished.”

Jean Paul Sartre No Exit

Inès, describing her path to Hell, Act 1, sc. 5
Source: No Exit (1944)

Suffering, Heart

“After all, my earstwhile dear,
My no longer cherished,
Need we say it was not love,
Now that love is perished?”

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950) American poet

"Passer Mortuus Est", st. 3, Second April, 1921
Source: Collected Poems

“A mother-in-law dies only when another devil is needed in hell.”

Francois Rabelais (1494–1553) major French Renaissance writer

“Is there a point to your latest irritation, Kish? (Sin)
Had a sudden death wish. Felt the deep need to come up here and have you freeze me. (Kish)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Devil May Cry

“The imagination needs moodling,--long, inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering.”

Brenda Ueland (1891–1985) Journalist and writer

Happiness, Imagination

“Why do you keep looking back there?" the guy in charge had asked.
"From time to time I need an antidote," Eddie said.
"From what?"
"Your face.”

Stephen King book The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three

Source: The Drawing of the Three

“Dreams? If only they had been! But I don't need dreams, Doctor, that's why I hardly have them—because I have this life instead. With me it all happens in broad daylight!”

Philip Roth book Portnoy's Complaint

Source: Portnoy's Complaint (1969)

“Christian, n.: one who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

Source: The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Context: Christian, n. One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ so long as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.

“What strange phenomena we find in a great city, all we need do is stroll about with our eyes open. Life swarms with innocent monsters.”

Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) French poet

“Finding your passion isn't just about careers and money. It's about finding your authentic self. The one you've buried beneath other people's needs.”

Kristin Hannah (1960) American writer

Source: Distant Shores

Money, People, Passion

“I thought you needed to be tougher. But I've been thinking that protecting somebody by hurting them before someone else gets the chance isn't the kind of protecting that anybody wants.”

Holly Black book Doll Bones

Source: Doll Bones

Thinking, Chance, Hurt

“Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately.”

Elie Wiesel book Night

Source: Night

“In order to deal with reality successfully - to pursue and achieve the values which his life requires - man needs self-esteem; he needs to be confident of his efficacy and worth.”

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) Russian-American novelist and philosopher

Source: The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism

Life, Confidence, Reality

“You will receive everything you need when you stop asking for what you do not need”

Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981) Indian guru

“It's not when you realise that nothing can help you - religion, pride, anything - it's when you realise that you don't need any aid.”

William Faulkner book The Sound and the Fury

Source: The Sound and the Fury

“There's not much you need to know about the world. Except how to use a sword and trust very few.”

Melina Marchetta (1965) Australian teen writer

Source: Froi of the Exiles

“Sometimes you need to lie make the world go around”

Koushun Takami book Battle Royale

Source: Battle Royale

“History,' Mari muttered, as if she'd overheard his thoughts. 'Why do we need to know what happened before we were born?'

'So hopefully we get smarter and don't make the same mistakes again.”

Cinda Williams Chima (1952) Novelist

Source: The Demon King

“Yeah, don't you take a break?'
'I don't have time for breaks.'
'That's the whole point of a break. When you've got no time, you need a break.”

Randa Abdel-Fattah (1979) contemporary Australian writer of novels for young adults

Source: Does My Head Look Big In This?

“Remember: the time you feel lonely is the time you most need to be by yourself. Life's cruelest irony.”

Douglas Coupland book Shampoo Planet

Source: Shampoo Planet

Life, Feeling, Time

“We need to be together."
"Why?" I asked softly. The word was carried away on the wind, but he heard.
"Because I want you."
I gave him a sad smile, wondering if we'd meet again in the land of the dead. "Wrong answer," I told him.
I let go”

Richelle Mead Blood Promise

Source: Blood Promise

Sadness, Smile, Dead

“The life you have led doesn't need to be the only life you have.”

Anna Quindlen (1952) journalist, Novelist

“Paper is to write things down that we need to remember. Our brains are used to think.”

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

“Above us our palace waits, the only one I've ever needed. Its walls are space, its floor is sky, its center everywhere. We rise; the shapes cluster around us in welcome, dissolving and forming again like fireflies in a summer evening.”

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (1956) novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist

Source: The Palace of Illusions

Waiting, Summer

“My friend Terry says that when you need to make a decision, in your work or otherwise, and you don’t know what to do, just do one thing or the other, because the worst that can happen is that you will have made a terrible mistake.”

Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist

“The older you get, the more you realize you need a handful of good, close, tight friends.”

Nicole Richie (1981) American television personality, musician, actress, and author

“Hassan couldn't read a first-grade textbook but he'd read me plenty. That was a little unsettling but also sort of comfortable to have someone who always knew what you needed.”

Khaled Hosseini book The Kite Runner

Source: The Kite Runner

“There is something about jumping a horse over a fence, something that makes you feel good. Perhaps it's the risk, the gamble. In any event it's a thing I need.”

William Faulkner (1897–1962) American writer

As quoted in "Visit to Two-Finger Typist" by Elliot Chaze in LIFE magazine (14 July 1961)

“Perhaps family itself, like beauty, is temporary, and no discredit need attach to impermanence.”

Gregory Maguire book A Lion Among Men

Source: A Lion Among Men

“Sometimes what we want isn't what we need.”

Gena Showalter (1975) American writer

Source: The Darkest Night

“We need much less than we think we need.”

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet

“Now listen, we need to be quiet as mice. No, quieter than that. As quiet as… as…”
“Dead mice?” Reynie suggested.
“Perfect,” said Kate with an approving nod. “As quiet as dead mice.”

Trenton Lee Stewart book The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma

Source: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma

Perfection, Dead

“Sometimes we don't need words. Rather, it's words that need us. If we were no longer here, words would lose their whole function. They would end up as words that are never spoken, and words that aren't spoken are no longer words.”

Haruki Murakami book Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Source: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

“She frowned at me. "You need some rest. You look like hell. And you're obviously tired enough to have gotten the giggles."

Wizards don't giggle," I said, hardly able to speak. "This is cackling.”

Jim Butcher book Changes

Source: Changes

“Whenever we engage in consumption or production patterns which take more than we need, we are engaging in violence.”

Vandana Shiva (1952) Indian philosopher

Source: Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace

“But the thing about a cry for help is that someone else needs to be around to hear it.”

David Levithan book Every Day

Source: Every Day

“Whatever you focus upon, increases…… When you focus on the things you need, you'll find those needs increasing…… A grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person's life.”

Andy Andrews (1959) author and corporate speaker

Life, Happiness, Personality

“They're not so bad. They just need some attention…. Like pets. Or my brother.”

Rick Riordan book The Serpent's Shadow

Source: The Serpent's Shadow

“I will deny I ever said this, of course, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise we would not keep you annoying little brats around."

I feel so wanted. Thanks.”

Rick Riordan book The Last Olympian

Source: The Last Olympian

“What he needs now is to love and have that love returned.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Prince

Source: Clockwork Prince

“Good men don't become legends," he said quietly.
"Good men don't need to become legends." She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "They just do what's right anyway.”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

Source: The Well of Ascension

“Tore up my heart and shut it down. Nothing to do, nowhere to be. A simple little kind of free. Nothing to do, no one but me, and that's all I need. I'm perfectly lonely.”

John Mayer (1977) guitarist and singer/songwriter

Source: John Mayer - Battle Studies

“It's impossible to explain to a Yankee what `tacky' is. They simply have no word for it up north, but my God, do they ever need one.”

Pat Conroy The Lords of Discipline

Source: The Lords of Discipline

“People see what they want to see when they need to.”

Libba Bray A Great and Terrible Beauty

Source: A Great and Terrible Beauty

“He [Percy] pleaded with those sea-green eyes, like a cute baby seal that needed help. Piper wondered how Annabeth ever won an argument with this guy.”

Rick Riordan The Mark of Athena

Source: The Mark of Athena

Guy, Help, Baby, Sea

“We come from a generation of people who need their TV or stereo playing all the time. These people so scared of silence. These soundaholics, these quietophobics.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Lullaby

Source: Lullaby (2002), Chapter 3

People, Silence, Time

“If you allow your rhythm to be interrupted, you'll create a void. Then to replace what you give up, you'll start to expect and need more from your partner.”

Sherry Argov (1977) American writer

Source: Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl—A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship

“Hide-and-seek, grown-up style. Wanting to hide. Needing to be sought. Confused about being found.”

Robert Fulghum (1937) American writer

Source: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things

“We need the courage to learn from our past and not live in it.”

Sharon Salzberg (1952) American writer

Source: The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love & Compassion

Courage, Learning, Past

“You've got to follow your passion. You've got to figure out what it is you love--who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

Love, Dreams, Courage, Passion

“I need a watchman to tell me this is what a man says but this is what he means, to draw a line down the middle and say here is this justice and there is that justice and make me understand the difference.”

Harper Lee book Go Set a Watchman

Source: Go Set a Watchman

Justice, Understanding, Drawing

“… survival is a dance between our needs and our consciences.”

Neal Shusterman (1962) American novelist

Source: UnDivided

“In many cases, our need to wonder about or be told what God wants in a certain situation is nothing short of a clear indication of how little we are engaged in His work.”

Dallas Willard (1935–2013) American philosopher

Source: Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God

“But not all dark places need light, I have to remember that.”

Jeanette Winterson book Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Source: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985)

“She became whoever she needed to be to survive, but she never let anyone else define her.”

Jodi Picoult book The Storyteller

Source: The Storyteller

“Now Everybody has some secret goals in life… Sometimes you can get what you want and what you need at the sames time.”

Robert Fulghum book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Source: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Life, Secret, Time

“I need someone who can keep up with me, not some sickly creature that looks as if he’s doddering off to the grave.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Princess

Source: Clockwork Princess

“You already have one asshole, you don't need another one”

Greg Behrendt (1963) American comedian

Source: He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys

“Twice we stood beside each other at the altar, Rosie. Twice. And twice
we got it wrong. I needed you to be there for my wedding day but I was too
stupid to see that I needed you to be the reason for my wedding day. But we
got it all wrong.”

Cecelia Ahern book Love, Rosie

Source: Love, Rosie

Stupidity, Wedding

“It's not about winning, Haven. I'm not a prize to be won. I'm not the princess that needs rescuing from the dragon. I'm the prince and I kill my own monsters. You need to be ok with that. -Anita Blake”

Laurell K. Hamilton book Bullet

Source: Bullet

“The mind-is not the heart.
I may yet live, as I know others live,
To wish in vain to let go with the mind-
Of cares, at night, to sleep; but nothing tells me
That I need learn to let go with the heart.”

Robert Frost (1874–1963) American poet

Sleep, Learning, Heart, Night

“Are you sure you want me to go after Christina? Lately I've kind of thought I might just give up on that. Plus, didn't you and I need to gaze into each other's eyes first? How will I know how to gaze at Christina? And my pebble kicking? Disaster.”

Jaclyn Moriarty (1968) Australian writer

Source: The Year of Secret Assignments

“He felt as if his heart had dried up. I needed her he thought. I needed someone like her to fill the void inside me. But I wasn’t able to fill the void inside her. Until the bitter end, the emptiness inside her was hers alone.”

Haruki Murakami book Kafka on the Shore

Source: Kafka on the Shore

“In other words, our opinions and our thoughts and feelings, anything we experience, need not define us forever.”

Nicholas Sparks book The Longest Ride

Source: The Longest Ride

“It felt very good to have him walking beside her. Good like rest and quiet, like something you could live without but you needed anyway. That you had to learn how to miss, and then you'd never stop missing it.”

Marilynne Robinson book Lila

Source: Lila

“Friends are "annuals" that need seasonal nurturing to bear blossoms. Family is a "perennial" that comes up year after year, enduring the droughts of absence and neglect. There's a place in the garden for both of them.”

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…

Source: Family - The Ties that Bind...And Gag!

“Someone needs to drag you kicking and screaming into this century.”

Christine Feehan book Dark Prince

Source: Dark Prince

“Allegra's Austen wrote about the impact of financial need on the intimate lives of women. If she'd worked in a bookstore, Allegra would have shelved Austen in the horror section.”

Karen Joy Fowler The Jane Austen Book Club

Source: The Jane Austen Book Club

“Sometimes I feel the need to reaffirm all of it, the whole unhappy territory and all the things loved and unlovable in it, for all of it is part of me.”

Ralph Ellison book Invisible Man

Epilogue.
Source: Invisible Man (1952)

Love, Feeling, Parting

“What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds.”

Wayne W. Dyer (1940–2015) American writer

Thinking, Change, Wise

“Sometimes you need to make a mess.
-Loretta, the Rollinses' hosekeeper”

Ann Brashares The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Source: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

“I didn't need to understand the hypostatic unity of the Trinity; I just needed to turn my life over to whoever came up with redwood trees.”

Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist

Source: Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

Life, Understanding, Tree

“We have a Bill of Rights. What we need is a Bill of Responsibilities.”

Bill Maher (1956) American stand-up comedian

“If you need to stop an asteroid, you call Superman. If you need to solve a mystery, you call Batman. But if you need to end a war, you call Wonder Woman.”

Gail Simone (1974) writer

“need is never a good basis for any relationship. it has to be much more than that.”

David Levithan book Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Source: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

“Could I but lay my head in your lap, lass. Feel your hand on me, and sleep wi' the scent of you in my bed.

Christ, Sassenach. I need ye.”

Diana Gabaldon book The Scottish Prisoner

Source: The Scottish Prisoner

Feeling, Sleep, Christ

“Sometimes we need to be apart to understand just how much we truly love each other.”

Nicholas Sparks book The Notebook

Source: The Notebook

Love, Understanding

“The world is filled with people who are no longer needed -- and who try to make slaves of all of us -- and they have their music and we have ours.”

Woody Guthrie (1912–1967) American singer-songwriter and folk musician

People, World, Music

“You want to put a band-aid on something that needs stitches.”

Eric Jerome Dickey (1961) American author

Source: Cheaters

“We need men who can dream of things that never were.”

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

Men, Dreams, Motivational, For Men

“Love needs room to grow. Like a rose. Or a tumor.”

Christopher Moore book Fool

Source: Fool

“Who needs an umbrella in the rain?" she said, and stepped into the car.”

Ellen Schreiber (1967) American writer

Source: Royal Blood

“The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.”

Gary Gygax (1938–2008) American writer and game designer

“It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.”

Dave Barry (1947) American writer

People, Coffee, Waiting

“We need time to lose interest in things.”

Don DeLillo Point Omega

Source: Point Omega

“I looked at him. "You really need to work on your threats. I can't tell if you're threatening me or inviting me for tea.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Slays

“Most countries are static, all they need to do is keep having babies. But America's like this big old clanking smoking machine that just lumbers across the landscape scooping up and eating everything in sight.”

Neal Stephenson book Snow Crash

Source: Snow Crash

“Even bipolar vampires needed sleep from time to time, and he was well past his recommended safe dosage of stress.”

Rachel Caine (1962) American writer

Source: Black Dawn

Sleep, Time, Past

“She took a deep breath, "Last chance. Are you in need of rescuing?"
His expression turned very strange, almost as if she'd struck him, "Yes," he said finally.”

Holly Black book The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Source: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

“I am here, and he is here, and everything I need to know is that I will hold him and he will hold me until I am warm again, until I know I belong. (Your Temporary Santa)”

David Levithan (1972) American author and editor

Source: My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

“A good man is as strong as the right woman needs him to be.”

Gregory David Roberts book Shantaram

Source: Shantaram

“Han smiled, then, a bright, charming smile that lit up the room, more dangerous than any blade.
All you ever needed was that smile, she thought. I'd have given in immediately.”

Cinda Williams Chima (1952) Novelist

Source: The Exiled Queen

“I do what I do, and write what I write, without calculating what is worth what and so on. Fortunately, I am not a banker or an accountant. I feel that there is a time when a political statement needs to be made and I make it.”

Arundhati Roy (1961) Indian novelist, essayist

“Not everything that's true needs to be said.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Bones

Source: City of Bones

“I don't need anyone to hold me, I can hold my own.”

Ani DiFranco (1970) musician and activist

“Should we put out the light? And then put out the light. But once put out thy light, I cannot give it vital breath again. It needs must wither.”

Anne Rice (1941) American writer

“But nothing is solid and permanent. Our lives are raised on the shakiest foundations. You don't need to read history books to know that. You only have to know the history of your own life.”

Ron Rash (1953) American poet, short story writer and novelist

Source: One Foot in Eden

Life, Books, History, Reading

“You need to follow your own heart in light of God’s word and do what you feel is right and good for you.”

Joel Osteen (1963) American televangelist and author

Source: Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential

God, Feeling, Light, Heart

“I need this wild life, this freedom.”

Zane Grey (1872–1939) American novelist

“Of all the needs a book has, the chief need is that it be readable.”

Anthony Trollope (1815–1882) English novelist (1815-1882)

Source: An Autobiography (1883), Ch. 19