Quotes about stranger
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“Truth is stranger than fiction — to some people, but I am measurably familiar with it.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XV
Following the Equator (1897)

“Adultery is in most cases a theft in the dark. At such moments almost every woman betrays her husband's innermost secrets; becomes a Delilah who discloses to a stranger, discloses to her lover, the mysteries of her husband's strength or weakness. What seems to me treason is, not that women give themselves, but that a woman is prone, when she does so, to justify herself to herself by uncovering her husband's nakedness, exposing it to the inquisitive and scornful gaze of a stranger.”

Stefan Zweig (1881–1942) Austrian writer

Confusion of Feelings or Confusion: The Private Papers of Privy Councillor R. Von D (1927)

Women, Secret, Lovers

“The meeting in the open of two dogs, strangers to each other, is one of the most painful, thrilling, and pregnant of all conceivable encounters; it is surrounded by an atmosphere of the last canniness, presided over by a constraint for which I have no preciser name; they simply cannot pass each other, their mutual embarrassment is frightful to behold.”

Thomas Mann book A Man and His Dog

Herr und Hund (A Man and his Dog) (1918)

Pain, Dogs

“Charm was a scheme for making strangers like and trust a person immediately, no matter what the charmer had in mind.”

Kurt Vonnegut book Breakfast of Champions

page 19
Breakfast of Champions (1973)

Personality

“Today, as the Church seeks to experience a profound missionary renewal, there is a kind of preaching which falls to each of us as a daily responsibility. It has to do with bringing the Gospel to the people we meet, whether they be our neighbours or complete strangers. This is the informal preaching which takes place in the middle of a conversation, something along the lines of what a missionary does when visiting a home. Being a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others, and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the street, in a city square, during work, on a journey.”

Pope Francis (1936) 266th Pope of the Catholic Church

Section 127
2010s, 2013, Evangelii Gaudium · The Joy of the Gospel

Love, People, Home

“And gods in guise of strangers from afar in every form do roam our cities, marking the sin and righteousness of men.”

Homér The Odyssey (Cowper)

XVII. 485–487 (tr. G. H. Palmer).
Odyssey (c. 725 BC)

Men, God

“I order that one-fifth of this be used for the poor who serve the priests, and the remainder be distributed by us to strangers and beggars. For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galilaeans support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.”

Julian (emperor) (331–363) Roman Emperor, philosopher and writer

Letter to Arsacius, High-priest of Galatia (June? 362), as translated by Emily Wilmer Cave Wright, in The Works of the Emperor Julian, Volume III (1913)
General sources
Context: The Hellenic religion does not yet prosper as I desire, and it is the fault of those who profess it; for the worship of the gods is on a splendid and magnificent scale, surpassing every prayer and every hope. May Adrasteia pardon my words, for indeed no one, a little while ago, would have ventured even to pray for a change of such a sort or so complete within so short a time. Why, then, do we think that this is enough, why do we not observe that it is their benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead and the pretended holiness of their lives that have done most to increase atheism? I believe that we ought really and truly to practise every one of these virtues. And it is not enough for you alone to practise them, but so must all the priests in Galatia, without exception. … In every city establish frequent hostels in order that strangers may profit by our benevolence; I do not mean for our own people only, but for others also who are in need of money. I have but now made a plan by which you may be well provided for this; for I have given directions that 30,000 modii of corn shall be assigned every year for the whole of Galatia, and 60,000 pints of wine. I order that one-fifth of this be used for the poor who serve the priests, and the remainder be distributed by us to strangers and beggars. For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galilaeans support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us. Teach those of the Hellenic faith to contribute to public service of this sort, and the Hellenic villages to offer their first fruits to the gods; and accustom those who love the Hellenic religion to these good works by teaching them that this was our practice of old.

Men, People, Support

“We never want to count on the kindness of strangers in order to meet tomorrow’s obligations.”

Warren Buffett (1930) American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist

2008 Chairman's Letter
Letters to Shareholders (1957 - 2012)
Context: We never want to count on the kindness of strangers in order to meet tomorrow’s obligations. When forced to choose, I will not trade even a night’s sleep for the chance of extra profits.

“We must not disguise from ourselves that we go to found a city among strangers and enemies, and he who undertakes such an enterprise should be prepared to become master of the country the first day he lands, or failing in this find everything hostile to him.”

Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War

Book VI, 6.23-[2]
History of the Peloponnesian War, Book VI

Hostility, Country

“Then he saw what he'd been about to do, and he wiped his forehead, as a man might who's just escaped falling into a pit in the dark.
For it was him they'd come for, not only Jabez Stone. He read it in the glitter of their eyes and in the way the stranger hid his mouth with one hand. And if he fought them with their own weapons, he'd fall into their power; he knew that, though he couldn't have told you how.”

Stephen Vincent Benét book The Devil and Daniel Webster

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1937)
Context: Finally, it was time for him to get up on his feet, and he did so, all ready to bust out with lightning and denunciations. But before he started he looked over the judge and jury for a moment, such being his custom. And he noticed the glitter in their eyes was twice as strong as before, and they all leaned forward. Like hounds just before they get the fox, they thickened as he watched them. Then he saw what he'd been about to do, and he wiped his forehead, as a man might who's just escaped falling into a pit in the dark.
For it was him they'd come for, not only Jabez Stone. He read it in the glitter of their eyes and in the way the stranger hid his mouth with one hand. And if he fought them with their own weapons, he'd fall into their power; he knew that, though he couldn't have told you how. It was his own anger and horror that burned in their eyes; and he'd have to wipe that out or the case was lost. He stood there for a moment, his black eyes burning like anthracite. And then he began to speak.

Way, Reading

“I am a citizen of the world, known to all and to all a stranger.”

Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and theologian

As quoted in Erasmus (1970) by György Faludy, p. 197

World

“Erelong, he no more saw anything alone. — In great variegated images, the perceptions of his senses crowded round him; he heard, saw, touched and thought at once. He rejoiced to bring strangers together. Now the stars were men, now men were stars, the stones animals, the clouds plants; he sported with powers and appearances; he knew where and how this and that was to be found, to be brought into action; and so himself struck over the strings, for tones and touches of his own.”

Novalis (1772–1801) German poet and writer

Pupils at Sais (1799)
Context: Over his own heart and his own thoughts he watched attentively. He knew not whither his longing was carrying him. As he grew up, he wandered far and wide; viewed other lands, other seas, new atmospheres, new rocks, unknown plants, animals, men; descended into caverns, saw how in courses and varying strata the edifice of the Earth was completed, and fashioned clay into strange figures of rocks. By and by, he came to find everywhere objects already known, but wonderfully mingled, united; and thus often extraordinary things came to shape in him. He soon became aware of combinations in all, of conjunctures, concurrences. Erelong, he no more saw anything alone. — In great variegated images, the perceptions of his senses crowded round him; he heard, saw, touched and thought at once. He rejoiced to bring strangers together. Now the stars were men, now men were stars, the stones animals, the clouds plants; he sported with powers and appearances; he knew where and how this and that was to be found, to be brought into action; and so himself struck over the strings, for tones and touches of his own.

Men, Star, Sense, Sport

“In the aftermath of darkest tragedy, we have seen the American spirit at its brightest. We’ve seen the petty divisions of color, class, and creed replaced by a united urge to help. We’ve seen courage and compassion, a sense of civic duty, and a recognition that we are not a collection of strangers; we are bound to one another by a set of ideals, and laws, and commitments, and a deep devotion to this country we love.
That’s what citizenship is. It’s the idea at the heart of our founding – that as Americans, we are blessed with God-given and inalienable rights, but with those rights come responsibilities – to ourselves, to one another, and to future generations.”

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

2013, Commencement Address at Ohio State University (May 2013)
Context: In the aftermath of darkest tragedy, we have seen the American spirit at its brightest. We’ve seen the petty divisions of color, class, and creed replaced by a united urge to help. We’ve seen courage and compassion, a sense of civic duty, and a recognition that we are not a collection of strangers; we are bound to one another by a set of ideals, and laws, and commitments, and a deep devotion to this country we love.
That’s what citizenship is. It’s the idea at the heart of our founding – that as Americans, we are blessed with God-given and inalienable rights, but with those rights come responsibilities – to ourselves, to one another, and to future generations.
But if we’re being honest, as you’ve studied and worked and served to become good citizens, the institutions that give structure to our society have, at times, betrayed your trust. In the run-up to the financial crisis, too many on Wall Street forgot that their obligations don’t end with their shareholders. In entertainment and in the media, ratings and shock value often trumped news and storytelling. And in Washington – well, this is a joyous occasion, so let me put this charitably: I think it’s fair to say our democracy isn’t working as well as we know it can. It could do better. And those of us fortunate enough to serve in these institutions owe it to you to do better, every single day.

Love, God, Law, Color

“Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be! I reach for a cigarette, I cross the street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest stranger — anything that can blow your candles out!”

Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie

for nowadays the world is lit by lightning! Blow out your candles Laura — and so goodbye…
Tom, Scene Seven
The Glass Menagerie (1944)

Faith, Drink

“The House of Commons is a body without a head. The Members give their opinions in a disorderly manner. At their meetings nothing is heard but cries, shouts, and confusion. I am surprised that my ancestors should ever have permitted such an institution to come into existence. I am a stranger and found it here when I arrived, so that I am obliged to put up with what I cannot get rid of.”

James I of England (1566–1625) king during union of English and Scottish crowns

Remark to the Spanish Ambassador, as quoted in A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume Two: The New World (1956) by Winston Churchill, p. 157

Housing

“William inherited very large possessions, part of which consisted of crown debts, due to the vice-admiral for sums he had advanced for the sea-service. No moneys were at that time less secure than those owing from the king. Penn was obliged to go, more than once, and "thee" and "thou" Charles and his ministers, to recover the debt; and at last, instead of specie, the government invested him with the right and sovereignty of a province of America, to the south of Maryland. Thus was a Quaker raised to sovereign power.
He set sail for his new dominions with two ships filled with Quakers, who followed his fortune. The country was then named by them Pennsylvania, from William Penn; and he founded Philadelphia, which is now a very flourishing city. His first care was to make an alliance with his American neighbors; and this is the only treaty between those people and the Christians that was not ratified by an oath, and that was never infringed. The new sovereign also enacted several wise and wholesome laws for his colony, which have remained invariably the same to this day. The chief is, to ill-treat no person on account of religion, and to consider as brethren all those who believe in one God. He had no sooner settled his government than several American merchants came and peopled this colony. The natives of the country, instead of flying into the woods, cultivated by degrees a friendship with the peaceable Quakers. They loved these new strangers as much as they disliked the other Christians, who had conquered and ravaged America. In a little time these savages, as they are called, delighted with their new neighbors, flocked in crowds to Penn, to offer themselves as his vassals. It was an uncommon thing to behold a sovereign "thee'd" and "thou'd" by his subjects, and addressed by them with their hats on; and no less singular for a government to be without one priest in it; a people without arms, either for offence or preservation; a body of citizens without any distinctions but those of public employments; and for neighbors to live together free from envy or jealousy. In a word, William Penn might, with reason, boast of having brought down upon earth the Golden Age, which in all probability, never had any real existence but in his dominions.”

Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher

Variants:
No oaths, no seals, no official mummeries were used; the treaty was ratified on both sides with a yea, yea — the only one, says Voltaire, that the world has known, never sworn to and never broken.
As quoted in William Penn : An Historical Biography (1851) by William Hepworth Dixon
William Penn began by making a league with the Americans, his neighbors. It is the only one between those natives and the Christians which was never sworn to, and the only one that was never broken.
As quoted in American Pioneers (1905), by William Augustus Mowry and Blanche Swett Mowry, p. 80
It was the only treaty made by the settlers with the Indians that was never sworn to, and the only one that was never broken.
As quoted in A History of the American Peace Movement (2008) by Charles F. Howlett, and ‎Robbie Lieberman, p. 33
The History of the Quakers (1762)

Money, God, Sea, Religion

“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met.”

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) Irish poet and playwright

Friendship, For Friend

“Knowledgeable persons are strangers because of the many ignorant people around them.”

Muhammad al-Taqi (811–835) ninth of the Twelve Imams of Twelver Shi'ism

[Baqir Sharīf al-Qurashi, The life of Imam Muhammad al-Jawad, Wonderful Maxims and Arts, 2005]

Personality, People, Knowledge

“At first we are all strangers, until you decide to approach. Only effective communication can break this barrier and build the bridge of friendship.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Friendship, Communication

“Meeting you for the first time felt like my search was over and you became a part of my life's journey despite being a stranger and time passed and you slowly became my destination.”

Shabdon Ka Jahan

Search, Time, Life, Parting

“We are strangers. Our forefathers came to live in India from abroad. For us, Arab descent and the Arabic language are cause of pride, because these two bring us nearer to the Lord of First and the Last, the noblest of the Prophets and Apostles.”

Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (1703–1762) Indian muslim scholar

Source: Wasiyat Nama, in Prasad B Pathways to Indias partition. 2001: 74). quoted in Jain, M. (2010). Parallel pathways: Essays on Hindu-Muslim relations, 1707-1857.

“I want to be your stranger across a crowded room.”

Jeffrey Archer (1940) English author and former politician

“Writing is, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.”

Pico Iyer (1957) British writer

“There were people everywhere on the city street, but the stranger could not have been more alone if it were empty.”

Markus Zusak book The Book Thief

Source: The Book Thief

People

“In the beginning I was so young and such a stranger to myself I hardly existed. I had to go out into the world and see it and hear it and react to it, before I knew at all who I was, what I was, what I wanted to be.”

Mary Oliver (1935–2019) American writer

Source: Upstream: Selected Essays

World

“I woke up in bed with a man and a cat. The man was a stranger; the cat was not”

Robert A. Heinlein book The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

Source: The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

Cats

“I, a stranger and afraid
In a world I never made.”

A.E. Housman Last Poems

Source: Last Poems

World

“You see I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad things that happened to me.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

Source: The Great Gatsby

Sad, Heartbreaking, Depressing, Hurtful

“Caring about the quality of your work causes stress. Stress can kill you. Maintain good health by remembering that the stockholders are complete strangers who have never done anything for you.”

Scott Adams (1957) cartoonist, writer

Source: Dilbert's Guide to the Rest of Your Life: Dispatches from Cubicleland

Health

“Adam wants to know what took you so long?
"Tell him I had wild, passionate sex with a complete stranger.”

Patricia Briggs book Blood Bound

Source: Blood Bound

Sex, Passion

“All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian writer

Literature

“To sit and pass hour after hour in idle chatter with a roomful of strangers is to me the worst sort of torment.”

Susanna Clarke book Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Variant: I have a scholar's love of silence and solitude. To sit and pass hour after hour in idle chatter with a roomful of strangers is to me the worst sort of torment.
Source: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

“instead, we just sat there, together but really apart, watching a show about a stranger and all her secrets, while keeping our own to ourselves, as always.”

Sarah Dessen book Just Listen

Source: Just Listen

Secret

“Poor strangers, they have so much to be afraid of.”

Shirley Jackson book We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Source: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

“Gay men are guardians of the masculine impulse. To have anonymous sex in a dark alleyway is to pay homage to the dream of male freedom. The unknown stranger is a wandering pagan god. The altar, as in pre-history, is anywhere you kneel.”

Camille Paglia (1947) American writer

Men, God, Dreams, Sex

“It is an extraordinary act of courage,' said Tulas Shorn, 'to come to know a stranger's pain.”

Steven Erikson (1959) Canadian fantasy author

Pain, Courage

“Tis strange,-but true; for truth is always strange;
Stranger than fiction: if it could be told,
How much would novels gain by the exchange!
How differently the world would men behold!”

George Gordon Byron Don Juan

Source: Don Juan

Men, Truth, World

“Being a stranger was like being dead,
and brought to mind how, in a book he had read
that most folks misunderstood one common state:
The flip side of love is indifference, not hate.”

David Rakoff (1964–2012) writer

Source: Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish

Love, Hate, Books, Reading

“You know, the condom is the glass slipper of our generation. You slip it on when you meet a stranger. You dance all night, then you throw it away.”

Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club

Source: Fight Club

Dance, Night

“I was walking through the leaves Falling from the trees.
Feelin' like a stranger nobody sees.”

Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist

Song lyrics, Love and Theft (2001), Mississippi

Tree

“She wanted to ask him why they were all strangers who shared the same last name.”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie book Half of a Yellow Sun

Source: Half of a Yellow Sun

“Maybe she'd always been there. Maybe strangers enter your heart first and then you spent the rest of your life searching for them.”

Melina Marchetta (1965) Australian teen writer

Source: The Piper's Son

Life, Search, Heart

“One of the characteristics of the dream is that nothing surprises us in it. With no regret, we agree to live in it with strangers, completely cut off from our habits and friends.”

Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker

"Du Rêve" in La Difficulté d’Etre [The Difficulty of Being] (1947)

Dreams

“Tis strange - but true; for Truth is always strange,
Stranger than Fiction”

George Gordon Byron (1788–1824) English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement

Variant: For truth is always strange; stranger than fiction.

Truth

“Most travel, and certainly the rewarding kind, involves depending on the kindness of strangers, putting yourself into the hands of people you don't know and trusting them with your life.”

Paul Theroux book Ghost Train to the Eastern Star

Source: Ghost Train to the Eastern Star

Life, People, Travel, Dependency

“She was a stranger now, but she'd been a friend once, and that was enough for him.”

Nicholas Sparks book The Last Song

Source: The Last Song

“All of a sudden I didn't fit in anywhere. Not at school, not at home… and every time I turned around, another person I'd known forever felt like a stranger to me. Even I felt like a stranger to me.”

Wendelin Van Draanen Flipped

Source: Flipped

School, Home, Time, Personality

“Most of us remain strangers to ourselves, hiding who we are, and ask other strangers, hiding who they are, to love us.”

Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) Motivational speaker, writer

Love

“Do you miss Susie?"
Because it was dark, because Ruth was facing away from her, because Ruth was almost a stranger, Lindsey said what she felt.
"More than anyone will ever know.”

Alice Sebold book The Lovely Bones

Source: The Lovely Bones

“Jesus is the starving, the parched, the prisoner, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the dying. Jesus is the oppressed, the poor. To live with Jesus is to live with the poor. To live with the poor is to live with Jesus.”

Jean Vanier (1928–2019) Canadian humanitarian

Source: Community And Growth

“Speak your latent conviction… Else tomorrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.”

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

Source: Self-Reliance and Other Essays

Sense, Time

“I have to spring a cat out of Rumelt Animal Shelter. Think of it as a prison break."

It does the trick. He laughs. "Whose cat?"

"My cat. What do you think? That I break out the cats of strangers?"

"Let me guess, she was framed. She's innocent.”

Holly Black book White Cat

Source: White Cat

Spring, Cats, Thinking, Animals

“Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me?
And why should I not speak to you?”

Walt Whitman book Fulles d'herba

Source: Leaves of Grass

“He was poor, yet always appeared to be giving something away; a stranger, yet everyone was his friend; no longer young, but as happy-hearted as a boy; plain and peculiar, yet his face looked beautiful to many.”

Louisa May Alcott book Little Women

Source: Little Women

Beauty, Boy, Appearance, Heart

“Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.”

Shirley MacLaine (1934) American actress

Don't Fall Off the Mountain http://books.google.com/books?id=f6yc35pUhEwC&q=%22The+more+I+traveled+the+more+I+realized+that+fear+makes+strangers+of+people+who+should+be+friends%22&pg=PA160#v=onepage (1970) <br class="br">Variant: The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.

People, Fear