Quotes about ring

A collection of quotes on the topic of ring, likeness, time, timing.

Quotes about ring

“A ring of polynomials in any number of variables over a ring of coeffcients that has an identity element and a finite basis, itself has a finite basis.”

Emmy Noether (1882–1935) German mathematician

As quoted in Morris Kline, Mathematical Thought From Ancient to Modern Times (1972) p. 1153.

“so much of the world is plunged in darkness and chaos…

So ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”

Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian poet and singer-songwriter

World, Light, Perfection, Forgetting

“The Rock: I am married to savannah mullins; I need to take this moment, and I need to tell you something as Dwayne. It's been a long time since I've been back. Seven years to be exact; but I want to take this moment, in the middle of this ring, to tell you why I'm back. It's not because of the money. It's not to promote a movie. I am back in the middle of this ring because of you. When I left - when I left the WWE seven years ago I dreamed big, and you guys dreamed big with me. You helped me accomplish my goals - accomplish my dreams - because you never. left. my side; and I wanna take this moment to tell you all here - you're live here - millions watching around the world. I wanna tell you thank you. I love you, and it is because of you that I am back in this ring, and it is because of you - and I give you my word - I am never ever going away. Simply put, ladies and gentlemen, The Rock is back!”

Dwayne Johnson (1972) American actor and professional wrestler

The Rock's return to WWE Raw as host of WrestleMania XXVII (14 February, 2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8ejiG5-BtA&feature=related.

Love, Money, World, Dreams

“Black and ugly as ever, however I stay Coogi down to the socks, rings and watch filled with Rocks.”

The Notorious B.I.G. (1972–1997) American rapper

"One More Chance"
Song lyrics

“Ring the bells that still can ring.
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything.
That's how the light gets in.”

Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian poet and singer-songwriter

"Anthem"
The Future (1992)

Depressing, Light, Perfection, Forgetting

“We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.”

Robert Frost (1874–1963) American poet

" The Secret Sits http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-secret-sits/" (1942) <br class="br">1940s

Secret, Dance

“She rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn't you love to love her?”

Stevie Nicks (1948) American singer and songwriter, member of Fleetwood Mac

Rhiannon
Fleetwood Mac (1976)

Love, Night

“A man might say, "The things that are in the world are what God has made…. Why should I not love what God has made?"…Suppose, my brethren, a man should make for his betrothed a ring, and she should prefer the ring given her to the betrothed who made it for her, would not her heart be convicted of infidelity?… God has given you all these things: therefore, love him who made them.”

Aurelius Augustinus (354–430) early Christian theologian and philosopher

Second Homily, as translated by John Burnaby (1955), pp. 275-276
Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John (414)

Love, God, World, Heart

“I knew I wanted to wrestle when I was little kid. It took hold in me, captured my imagination. … I’m bigger now than I was eating meat. My lifts in the gym are better. I’m in better shape. … I’m healthier than everybody else. All the omega-3s make me smarter. … I’m pretty much friendly and compassionate to everybody. But not to people in the ring.”

Daniel Bryan (1981) American professional wrestler

"Meatless Monday: WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan Stomps On Meat" by Ellen Kanner, HuffPost (16 April 2012) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-kanner/meatless-monday-wwe-super_b_1424303.html.

People, Imagination

“The Rock: I have so much love and respect for the fans. I'll never forget where I came from. I love the business. I grew up in the business. And everyone always asks me, from Letterman to Stone Phillips, what I miss about wrestling. Hands down, I miss the interaction with the fans. Outside of the ring I loved it, too. I mean, how hard is it to sign an autograph? Don't be an asshole to your fans. And there's many [in WWE] that won't, which is bullshit. But inside the ring, just that energy and feeding off that energy is great. There's something so special about it. And every night I would just have a blueprint of what I would say and rely so much on ad-libbing and waiting to see what happens when I get out there and let it materialize organically and see what happens. Every night was a different crowd and they gave me so much energy, and I'll always love that and always miss that for sure.”

Dwayne Johnson (1972) American actor and professional wrestler

Interview with WWE.com (October 2005).

Love, Business, Waiting, Night

“I should say that, in addition to my tree-love (it was originally called The Tree), it arose from my own pre-occupation with the Lord of the Rings, the knowledge that it would be finished in great detail or not at all, and the fear (near certainty) that it would be 'not at all'.”

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien book Leaf by Niggle

About "Leaf by Niggle", in a letter to Caroline Everett (24 June 1957)
Context: I should say that, in addition to my tree-love (it was originally called The Tree), it arose from my own pre-occupation with the Lord of the Rings, the knowledge that it would be finished in great detail or not at all, and the fear (near certainty) that it would be 'not at all'. The war had arisen to darken all horizons. But no such analyses are a complete explanation even of a short story...

Love, Fear, Knowledge, Tree

“If there's one observation that rings true in today's changing world, it is that freedom and peace go hand in hand.”

Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)

Source: The Quest for Peace, the Cause of Freedom

World, Peace, Freedom, Change

“Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong.”

Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) African American boxer, philanthropist and activist

“no more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks, when the teacher rings the bell, drop your books and run like hell”

Stephen Chbosky book The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Source: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Books, Hell, Teachers

“Since a time has come, Mademoiselle, when the severe laws of men no longer prevent women from applying themselves to the sciences and other disciplines, it seems to me that those of us who can should use this long-craved freedom to study and to let men see how greatly they wronged us when depriving us of its honor and advantages. And if any woman becomes so proficient as to be able to write down her thoughts, let her do so and not despise the honor, but rather flaunt it instead of fine clothes, necklaces, and rings. For these may be considered ours only by use, whereas the honor of being educated is ours entirely.”

Louise Labé (1524–1566) female French poet of the Renaissance, born in Lyon

Women, Men, Education, Law

“When I cannot see words curling like rings of smoke round me I am in darkness—I am nothing.”

Virginia Woolf book The Waves

Source: The Waves

“Love is only a word, until we decide to let it possess us with all its force.
Love is only a word, until someone arrives to give it meaning.
Don't give up. Remember, it's always the last key on the key ring that opens the door.”

Paulo Coelho book Manuscript Found in Accra

Source: Manuscript Found in Accra

Love

“Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, I got on my knees and told her that I was going to marry her some day. We were both married to someone else at the time. ‘Ring Of Fire’—June and Merle Kilgore wrote that song for me-that’s the way our love affair was. We fell madly in love and we worked together all the time, toured together all the time, and when the tour was over we both had to go home to other people. It hurt.”

Johnny Cash (1932–2003) American singer-songwriter

Love, People, Way, Home

“Some people want it all
But I don't want nothing at all
If it ain't you baby
If I ain't got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you, Yeah”

Alicia Keys (1981) American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress

Source: Alicia Keys: Unplugged

People, Baby

“Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it
I guess every superhero need his theme music.”

Kanye West (1977) American rapper, singer and songwriter

Power
Lyrics, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

Music

“A ring without a posy, and that ring mine?”

Robert Browning The Ring and the Book

Book I : The Ring and the Book.
The Ring and the Book (1868-69)

“I'm not a biter, I'm a writer for myself and others / I say a B. I. G. verse, I'm only biggin' up my brother / Biggin' up my borough, I'm big enough to do it / I'm that thorough, plus I know my own flow is foolish / So them rings and things you sing about, bring 'em out / It's hard to yell when the bar-rell's in your mouth”

Jay-Z (1969) American rapper, businessman, entrepreneur, record executive, songwriter, record producer and investor

w:What More Can I Say'What more Can I Say
The Black Album (2003)

Singing

“Nothing has astonished me more (and I think my publishers) than the welcome given to The Lord of the Rings. But it is, of course, a constant source of consolation and pleasure to me. And, I may say, a piece of singular good fortune, much envied by some of my contemporaries. Wonderful people still buy the book, and to a man 'retired' that is both grateful and comforting.”

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy works

No. 165: To Houghton Mifflin Co. (30 June, 1955); also quoted in 'Tolkien on Tolkien' in Diplomat magazine (October 1966).
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981)

People, Pleasure, Books, Thinking

“You can make the Ring an allegory of our own time, if you like: an allegory of the inevitable fate that awaits all attempts to defeat evil power by power. But that is only because all power magical or mechanical does always so work.”

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy works

Letter to his publisher (31 July 1947); published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981), Letter 109

Fate, Evil, Time

“Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunderstorm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols.”

Thomas Mann book The Magic Mountain

Source: The Magic Mountain (1924), Ch. 5

Time

“Tormented by spiritual thirst,
I dragged myself through a somber desert.
And a six-winged seraph
Appeared to meet me at the crossing of the ways.
He touched my eyes
With fingers as light as a dream:
And my prophetic eyes opened
Like those of a frightened eagle.
He touched my ears
And they were filled with noise and ringing:
And I heard the shuddering of the heavens,
And the flight of the angels in the heights,
And the movement of the beasts of the sea under the waters,
And the sound of the vine growing in the valley.
He bent down to my mouth
And tore out my tongue,
Sinful, decitful, and given to idle talk;
with the right hand steeped in blood
He inserted the tongue of a wise serpent,
Into my benumbed mouth.
He clove my breast with a sword,
And plucked out my quivering heart,
And thrust a coal of live fire
Into my gaping breast.
Like a corpse I lay in the desert.
And the voice of God called out to me:
'Arise, O prophet, see and hear,
Be filled with my will,
Go forth over land and sea,
And set the hearts of men on fire with your Word.”

Aleksandr Pushkin The Prophet

English translation found in New Society, Volume 8, (1966). New Society Limited. p. 413.
Also quoted by Kahn, Andrew (2006). The Cambridge Companion to Pushkin. Cambridge University Press, p. 84.
The Prophet (1826)

Men, God, Dreams, Angels

“Never in endless time will ring a sound as sweetly
As when a human heart in God is tuned completely.”

Angelus Silesius (1624–1677) German writer

The Cherubinic Wanderer

God, Time, Heart

“A philosopher who is not taking part in discussions is like a boxer who never goes into the ring.”

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Austrian-British philosopher

Conversation of 1930
Personal Recollections (1981)

Parting

“We always feel younger than we are. I carry inside myself my earlier faces, as a tree contains its rings. The sum of them is me. The mirror sees only my latest face, while I know all my previous ones.”

Tomas Tranströmer (1931–2015) Swedish poet, psychologist and translator

40.
För levande och döda (For the Living and the Dead) 1996

Feeling, Tree

“Well, I'm a product of the Australian film industry which by its very nature is independent, sometimes for better sometimes for worse. I suppose the collaborative nature of being independent is what feels natural to me, and when people talk about working in Hollywood I don't quite know what that means. Being part of the Indiana Jones franchise and The Lord of the Rings, that felt more like a departure for me. But in the end, I think the whole notion of the independent spirit is not just about the way a film is financed but about the creative thinking behind it, and sometimes that can exist in the mainstream; those sensibilities can cross over and audiences are interested in, not a homogenous way of storytelling but a diverse way of receiving a narrative.”

Cate Blanchett (1969) Australian actress

Backstage press room, after winning the Independent Spirit Award for her performance in I'm Not There, in response to the question: "As an actress, do you prefer Independents over the mainstream?"

People, Way, Feeling, Departure

“As when you were a child and some tremendous hurt
Was pulled over your head like a sack-
Glints of sunshine through the mesh
And the hum of the cherry trees.

But it doesn’t help, the great hurt
Covers head and torso and knees
And though you are able to move sometimes
Spring brings no happiness.

Yes, shimmering wool cap, pull it down over your face
Stare through the mesh.
Out on the bay, the rings of water multiply soundlessly
Green leaves darken the earth.”

Tomas Tranströmer (1931–2015) Swedish poet, psychologist and translator

As When You Were a Child.
För levande och döda (For the Living and the Dead) 1996

Happiness, Tree, Spring, Water

“And I can't even go to the grocery store without some ones that's clean and a shirt with a team/It seems we living the American dream but people highest up got the lowest self esteem/The prettiest people do the ugliest things for the road to riches and diamond rings.”

Kanye West (1977) American rapper, singer and songwriter

All Falls Down
Lyrics, The College Dropout (2004)

People, Dreams

“Today, a nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2016, United Nations Address (September 2016)

“Ah! That must be Aunt Augusta. Only relatives, or creditors, ever ring in that Wagnerian manner.”

Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest

Algernon, Act I
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

“The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.”

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy works

No. 142: letter to his friend Robert Murray, S.J. (December 1953)
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981)

World, Religion

“The choicest pleasures of life lie within the ring of moderation.”

Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) British Conservative politician, writer, aristocrat and Prime Minister

Actually a line from Martin Tupper's Proverbial Philosophy.
Misattributed

Life, Pleasure, Lie

“Ever make fun of someone so much that you feel you should thank them for all the good times you've had? I've got a midget friend, an albino friend, and another friend who thinks "Lord of the Rings" is real. Together we call ourselves "the Unfuckables."”

Dave Attell (1965) comedian

"Skanks for the Memories"

Feeling, Thinking, Time

“Our nation was founded on a bedrock principle that we are all created equal. The project of each generation is to bridge the meaning of those founding words with the realities of changing times -- a never-ending quest to ensure those words ring true for every single American. Progress on this journey often comes in small increments, sometimes two steps forward, one step back, propelled by the persistent effort of dedicated citizens. And then sometimes, there are days like this when that slow, steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2015, Supreme Court Decision on Marriage Equality (June 2015)

Justice, Reality, Effort, Change

“I have the same malice in my heart as far as the fight game is concerned, but outside the ring, I won't say anything a dignified man won't say.”

Mike Tyson (1966) American boxer

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n11_v50/ai_17362107
On himself

Game, Heart, Fight

“The air is bright with hues of light
And rich with laughter and with singing:
Young hearts beat high in ecstasy,
And banners wave, and bells are ringing:
But silence falls with fading day,
And there's an end to mirth and play.
Ah, well-a-day!”

Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) English writer, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer

Four Riddles, no. III
Rhyme? and Reason? (1883)

Laughter, Light, Silence, Singing

“Oh! I want to put my arms around you, I ache to hold you close. Your ring is a great comfort. I look at it and think she does love me or I wouldn't be wearing it!”

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States

In a letter to Lorena Hickok, March 7, 1933

Love, Thinking

“Twould ring the bells of Heaven
The wildest peal for years,
If Parson lost his senses
And people came to theirs,
And he and they together
Knelt down with angry prayers
For tamed and shabby tigers
And dancing dogs and bears,
And wretched, blind, pit ponies,
And little hunted hares.”

Ralph Hodgson (1871–1962) British writer

"The Bells of Heaven", p. 25.
Poems (1917)

People, Dogs, Sense, Dance

“Thy rare gold ring of verse (the poet praised)
Linking our England to his Italy.”

Robert Browning The Ring and the Book

Book XII: The Book and the Ring, line 873.
The Ring and the Book (1868-69)

“The celebrated Mr. K.
Performs his feat on Saturday at Bishops Gate
The Hendersons will dance and sing
As Mr. Kite flies through the ring don't be late
Messrs. K and H. assure the public
Their production will be second to none
And of course Henry the Horse dances the waltz!”

John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" (1967)
Lyrics

Singing, Horse, Dance

“So, I come home, I was so tired, and I look at my phone to check my messages, and I had a voicemail message from a guy by the name of Channing Tatum. [Female audience members cheer and woop] Now, for those of you not "woo"-ing, let me explain who that is. Channing Tatum is the new Hollywood hot guy, he's doing all these movies, coming out really good-looking, ripped, you know. He's making a lot of films, and there's a voicemail on there from him. "Gabriel Iglesias, this is Channing Tatum, call me at your earliest convenience…" blah-blah-blah. So, I was like, "Well, okay." So, I call him. [Mimics dialing on phone and ringing] "Hello?" "Hi, this is Gabriel Iglesias calling for Mr. Channing Tatum?" He yells, "FLUFFY!" [Mimes pulling his phone away in surprise] "…Hello?" "Oh, dude, man, I'm a huge fan. Hey, listen, real quick, I only have, like, a minute. Look, bro, I'm doing a new movie, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in reading and auditioning for one of the parts." I said, "Sure, bro, I'd be happy to audition for…for your movie. What's it called?" He goes, "The movie's called Magic Mike." [Female audience members woop loudly] I was like, "Oh, cool, Magic Mike. So, you need a magician, you need an assistant, you gonna saw me in half, what's gonna happen?" "Actually, bro. The movie has nothing to do with magic. It's actually a movie about male strippers." I said, "Male strippers?" He goes, "Yeah, male strippers."”

Gabriel Iglesias (1976) American actor

I said, "You do know that this is Gabriel Iglesias, right?"
Aloha, Fluffy (2013)

Guy, Home, Reading, Parting

“The murderer smiles palely in wine,
Death's horror grips the sick.
Excoriated and naked, the nun prays
Before the Savior's agony on the cross.

The mother sings quietly in sleep.
Peacefully the child looks into the night
With eyes that are completely truthful.
In the whorehouse laughter rings.

By candlelight down in the cellar hole
The dead one paints with white hand
A grinning silence on the wall.
The sleeper whispers still.”

Georg Trakl (1887–1914) austrian poet

"Romance in the Night"

Death, Truth, Smile, Laughter

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.”

John Rogers writer, comedian and producer from the United States

In an "Ephemera" blog post http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html<br>This also appears in Ch. 10 of The Value of Nothing (2010) by Raj Patel, who later acknowledged it was a borrowed joke in "Citation Alert!" http://rajpatel.org/2010/01/21/citation-alert/ (21 January 2010) at rajpatel.org.

Life, World, Change, Adulthood

“Hear the mellow wedding bells
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!”

Edgar Allan Poe book The Bells

"The Bells", st. 2 (1849).

World, Wedding, Night, Happiness

“Names have a mysterious transforming power. Like a ring on a finger, a name may at first seem merely accidental, committing you to nothing; but before you realize its magical power, it's gotten under your skin, become part of you and your destiny.”

Stefan Zweig book The Post Office Girl

The Post Office Girl (published posthumously in 1982)

Parting

“We came to a tree which was still bare, and on which the birds were singing out gaily in the morning, without any fear of us. Then stooping over like an Indian on the hunt, my companion placed a pebble in the leather of his sling and stretched it. Obeying his peremptory glance I did the same, with frightful twinges of conscience, vowing firmly that I would shoot when he did. At that very moment the church bells began to sound, mingling with the song of the birds in the sunshine. It was the warning bell that came a half-hour before the main bell. For me it was a voice from heaven. I threw the sling down, scaring the birds away, so that they were safe from my companion's sling, and fled home. And ever afterwards when the bells of Holy Week ring out amidst the leafless trees in the sunshine I remember with moving gratitude how they rang into my heart at that time the commandment: Thou shalt not kill.”

Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French-German physician, theologian, musician and philosopher

Memoirs of Childhood and Youth (1924)

Fear, Home, Bird, Tree

“And so tomorrow, as we take the campaign South and West; as we learn that the struggles of the textile workers in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas; that the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of L. A.; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people, we are one nation. And, together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story, with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea: Yes, we can.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2008, Yes, we can speech (January 2008)

People, School, Dreams, Hope

“I had a good political career, and I have a good business career. I didn't get the brass ring, but I did very well.”

Dan Quayle (1947) American politician, lawyer

Interview with Cathleen Decker (5 September 2008) "Before Sarah Palin, the GOP had Dan Quayle", Los Angeles Times

Business

“Greb gave me a terrible whipping. My jaw was swollen from the right temple down the cheek, along the chin and part way up the other side. The referee, the ring itself, was full of my blood. If boxing was afflicted with the commission doctors that we have now, the first fight probably would have been stopped and no one would have heard of me today.”

Harry Greb (1894–1926) American boxer

Former boxing great Gene Tunneyhttp://coxscorner.tripod.com/greb.html

Way, Affliction, Fight, Parting

“I was sitting alone in an empty locker room, left leg injured. I need to prove my worth when the opportunity is given. I look at my leg, powerless, and wonder why I had to get hurt in this moment. Then, Coach Hiddink appears out of nowhere with an interpretor and speaks to me in English. Not understanding, I stare at the interpretor. He says you have great mentality. With that kind of mental strength, you will become a great player. I was shocked. Before I could murmur the easy 'thank you' in English, he was gone. My heart was pounding. The coach always seemed to be so far away, but he came to me and told me I have great mentality. Somewhere inside, energy was rousing up…. mentality. I have nothing else to boast, but one thing I could do is to never give up. I will endure all hardships, even if I would die from it. And I will keep this mentality…. in the entire World Cup, I played with those words ringing in my ears. With my mentality, I can become a great player. I kicked the ball and ran around the field clinging on to those words. For better or for worse, I am calm and quiet, so not many people take notice of me. But I was sure that Coach Hiddink would be looking at me and urging me to move on. This gave me courage. If it was not for Coach Hiddink, I would not be where I am now. With the words 'where I am now,' I am not referring to me becoming famous or being able to purchase a spacious condo for my parents. I am referring to the fact that I learned to love myself more. Within a minute, what Coach Hiddink said to me changed my life forever. I feel a bit shy thinking about what he would think after reading this, but he is my 'master' and I owe him everything and I won't be able to repay it in my lifetime.”

Park Ji-sung (1981) South Korean footballer

From Park's autobiography, praising the efforts of Guus Hiddink.

Love, Life, People, World

“Gold as it was, is, shall be evermore:
Prime nature with an added artistry —
No carat lost, and you have gained a ring.”

Robert Browning The Ring and the Book

Book I : The Ring and the Book.
The Ring and the Book (1868-69)
Context: Gold as it was, is, shall be evermore:
Prime nature with an added artistry —
No carat lost, and you have gained a ring.
What of it? 'T is a figure, a symbol, say;
A thing's sign: now for the thing signified.

Nature

“What is this eternity to me without you?
What is the infinity of my domains?
Empty ringing words,
A spacious temple — without a divinity!”

Mikhail Lermontov (1814–1841) Russian writer, poet and painter

"The Demon" (1830)
Poems

“You say You want Diamonds on a Ring of Gold,Your Story to remain untold.Your Lovee not to go Cold”

Bono (1960) Irish rock musician, singer of U2

"All I Want Is You"
Lyrics, Rattle And Hum(1988)
Context: You say You want Diamonds on a Ring of Gold, Your Story to remain untold. Your Lovee not to go Cold

Love

“Here on this ring of grass we have sat together, bound by the tremendous power of some inner compulsion. The trees wave, the clouds pass. The time approaches when these soliloquies shall be shared.”

Virginia Woolf book The Waves

Source: The Waves (1931), pp. 39-40
Context: Here on this ring of grass we have sat together, bound by the tremendous power of some inner compulsion. The trees wave, the clouds pass. The time approaches when these soliloquies shall be shared. We shall not always give out a sound like a beaten gong as one sensation strikes and then another. Children, our lives have been gongs striking; clamour and boasting; cries of despair; blows on the nape of the neck in gardens.

Tree, Grass, Time

“Look at him, just like a god,
that man sitting across from you,
whoever he is,
listening to your
close, sweet voice,
your irresistible laughter
And O yes,
it sets my heart racing—
one glance at you
and I can't get any words out,
my voice cracks,
a thin flame runs under my skin,
my eyes go blind,
my ears ring,
a cold sweat pours down my body,
I tremble all over,
turn paler than grass.”

Sappho (-630–-570 BC) ancient Greek lyric poet

Stanley Lombardo translations, Frag. 20

God, Laughter, Grass, Heart

“You say you want diamonds on a ring of Gold,You say you want your story to remain untold.But all the promise we made from the Cradle to the Grave,When All I want is You”

Bono (1960) Irish rock musician, singer of U2

"All I Want Is You"
Lyrics, Rattle And Hum(1988)
Context: You say you want diamonds on a ring of Gold, You say you want your story to remain untold. But all the promise we made from the Cradle to the Grave, When All I want is You

“If gold here figures as the demon strangling manhood's innocence, our greatest poet shews at last the goblin's game of paper money. The Nibelung's fateful ring become a pocket-book, might well complete the eerie picture of the spectral world-controller.”

Richard Wagner (1813–1883) German composer, conductor

Know Thyself (1881)
Context: Clever though be the many thoughts expressed by mouth or pen about the invention of money and its enormous value as a civiliser, against such praises should be set the curse to which it has always been doomed in song and legend. If gold here figures as the demon strangling manhood's innocence, our greatest poet shews at last the goblin's game of paper money. The Nibelung's fateful ring become a pocket-book, might well complete the eerie picture of the spectral world-controller. By the advocates of our Progressive Civilisation this rulership is indeed regarded as a spiritual, nay, a moral power; for vanished Faith is now replaced by "Credit," that fiction of our mutual honesty kept upright by the most elaborate safeguards against loss and trickery. What comes to pass beneath the benedictions of this Credit we now are witnessing, and seem inclined to lay all blame upon the Jews. They certainly are virtuosi in an art which we but bungle: only, the coinage of money out of nil was invented by our Civilisation itself; or if the Jews are blamable for that, it is because our entire civilisation is a barbaro-judaic medley, in nowise a Christian creation.

Money, Fate, Books, World

“Nothing has astonished me more (and I think my publishers) than the welcome given to The Lord of the Rings.”

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy works

But it is, of course, a constant source of consolation and pleasure to me. And, I may say, a piece of singular good fortune, much envied by some of my contemporaries. Wonderful people still buy the book, and to a man 'retired' that is both grateful and comforting.
No. 165: To Houghton Mifflin Co. (30 June, 1955); also quoted in 'Tolkien on Tolkien' in Diplomat magazine (October 1966).
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981)

Thinking

“Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Live in silence. Flow down and down in always
widening rings of being.”

Rumi (1207–1273) Iranian poet

"A Community of the Spirit" in Ch. 1 : The Tavern, p. 2
Disputed, The Essential Rumi (1995)

Silence, Thinking, Fear

“People look at me, and they have a certain perception, and they slap a label on me. The guy you saw in a wrestling ring is not who I am.”

Dave Bautista (1969) American actor and professional wrestler

unsourced

Guy, People

“It seems, we living the American dream
But people highest up got the lowest self esteem.
The prettiest people do the ugliest things
For the road to riches and diamond rings.”

Kanye West (1977) American rapper, singer and songwriter

All Falls Down
Lyrics, The College Dropout (2004)

Dreams, People

“when the phone rings
I too would like to hear words
that might ease
some of this.”

Charles Bukowski book Love Is a Dog from Hell

Source: Love Is a Dog from Hell

“Books are, let's face it, better than everything else. If we played Cultural Fantasy Boxing League, and made books go fifteen rounds in the ring against the best that any other art form had to offer, then books would win pretty much every time.”

Nick Hornby book The Polysyllabic Spree

Source: The Polysyllabic Spree

Books, Art, Time, Box

“… the landscape inside Lord of the Rings was so stunning and so stupendous that it could be absorbed as a form of nourishment.”

Jasper Fforde book One of Our Thursdays Is Missing

Source: One of Our Thursdays Is Missing

“Oh, is that what's in the box? You threw my engagement ring at me?”

Linda Howard book To Die For

Source: To Die For

Box

“Let me be the ring leader in your guilt gang-bang.”

Chuck Palahniuk (1962) American novelist, essayist

“Trees, for example, carry the memory of rainfall. In their rings we read ancient weather—storms, sunlight, and temperatures, the growing seasons of centuries. A forest shares a history, which each tree remembers even after it has been felled.”

Anne Michaels book Fugitive Pieces

Source: Fugitive Pieces

History, Tree, Memory, Reading

“I let it ring. I wanted to breathe for a few minutes, and I could think of nothing that couldn't wait. Besides, I had paid almost $50 for an answering machine. Let it earn its keep.”

Jeff Lindsay book Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Source: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Thinking, Waiting

“I decided that giving a girl a ring when you're not in a serious relationship is sort of like giving a guy a blow job when you have no real feelings for him. It makes everything feel a little cheap. It cheapens the giver and the recipient.”

Emily Giffin (1972) American writer

Source: Baby Proof

Guy, Feeling, Girl

“I saw endless depths of brown, the depths I'd fallen into so many times. No red rings.
Dimitri… was not a Strigoi.
And he was weeping.”

Richelle Mead book Spirit Bound

Source: Spirit Bound

Time

“Chumps always make the best husbands. When you marry, Sally, grab a chump. Tap his head first, and if it rings solid, don't hesitate. All the unhappy marriages come from husbands having brains. What good are brains to a man? They only unsettle him.”

P.G. Wodehouse book Doctor Sally

Source: Doctor Sally

Marriage

“Just then, my phone started ringing. The ring must have been damaged by the water as well, so now it had a high, keening note - kind of the sound I imagine a mermaid might make if you punched her in the face.”

Maureen Johnson book Let It Snow

Source: Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances

Imagination, Water

“When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it's never good news.”

Anthony Horowitz book Stormbreaker

Source: Stormbreaker

“If I fall out, pull this ring? What happens then? I sprout wings and fly?" -Spader in "The Never War”

D.J. MacHale book The Never War

Source: The Never War

War, Flying

“In the end, coming to faith remains for all a sense of homecoming, of picking up the threads of a lost life, of responding to a bell that had long been ringing, of taking a place at a table that had long been vacant.”

Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990) English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist

Life, Faith, Sense

“Weren't you wearing a purity ring when we got here? Aren't you supposed to be saving yourself?" Shanti asked.

"Yeah," Mary Lou answered. "And then I thought, for what? You save leftovers. My sex is not a leftover, and it is not a Christmas present.”

Libba Bray (1964) American teen writer

Source: Beauty Queens

Sex, Christmas

“Once I'm free, we're going to find out exactly how much pain you can endure while remaining conscious. I won't stop until you tell me where my ring is." He leaned in to say at his ear, "I'll be sure to make you feel your.”

Kresley Cole American writer

Source: Dreams of a Dark Warrior

Pain, Feeling

“When you turn an election into a three-ring circus, there’s always a chance that the dancing bear will win.”

Nancy Isenberg (1958) American historian

Source: White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America

Chance, Dance

“I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks.”

Harper Lee book To Kill a Mockingbird

Pt. 2, ch. 22
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Context: "I think I'll be a clown when I get grown," said Dill. "Yes, sir, a clown.... There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off."
"You got it backwards, Dill," said Jem. "Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them."
"Well, I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks."

“Tell people the hammered truth, and it will ring like steel against an anvil.”

Elizabeth Haydon book The Floating Island

Source: The Floating Island

People, Truth