Quotes

published 2024-06-28
last updated 2024-06-28

Here are some quotes I've collected. I like collecting quotes because they are each a different lens through which to view life. I read a few when I need a reminder. Some of them I just find interesting. Others are funny. Most of them are melodramatic. As Seneca says, don't each too much candy-- you'll ruin your appetite.

It's a rather eclectic collection so I apologise if you're a farty sort of person.

I'll leave them unattributed unless I think the author is relevant. Most of these are easily searched for anyway.



The presence of others who see what we see and hear what we hear assures us of the reality of the world and ourselves.

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.

Love isn't about looks. It's about being understood.

Make stuff if you want to make stuff.

A river carves through stone not because of its power, but because of its persistence.

Thought is time

If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.

I live life like it's second and long. Shawn Lemon

The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

Silence births true triumph. In the absence of noise, the whispers of greatness echo louder.

Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.

A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

I was ashamed of myself when I realized life was a costume party; and I attended with my real face.

The best revenge is to not be like your enemy.

An Emperor, sovereign of dominions vast, not by the crown he wears, but by the steadfastness of his spirit and the magnanimity of his heart.

the more you embrace your cringe, the more based you become. brotagoras

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like banana.

Everyone is stupid except me.

Man conquers the world by conquering himself.

If you want to see pretty flowers, become the gardener.

I do not love the sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.

Conquer, we must, as conquer, we shall.

One doesn't realize in early life that the price of freedom is loneliness. To be happy one must be tied.

The queen can move anywhere around the board but the king must take one step at a time.

But how hollow is the sound of victory without someone to share it with? Honour alone gives little comfort to a man in his home, and in his heart. Martok

But now he has a mind of metal. Treebeard

when things start getting easy then you’re probably ready for the next step in life

The hands of the king are the hands of a healer.

Fuck bitches, get money. -big

How do you move on? You move on when your heart finally understands that there is no turning back.

Tyranny is the deliberate removal of nuance.

We must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject, for both have laboured in the search for truth, and both have helped us in finding it.

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.

He's got everything. He's young, he's healthy, got a job. And plenty of food.

It may be that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Sometimes just surviving is a noble fight

You can only watch the snow fall when you're outside.

We will build good ships here — at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good ships.

Death is nothing to us since when we are, it has not come and when it has, we are not.

Someone told me the other day that he felt bad for single people because they are lonely all the time. I told him that's not true-- I'm single and I don't feel lonely. I take myself out to eat, I buy myself clothes. I have great times by myself. Once you know how to take care of yourself company becomes an option and not a necessity.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

Do not expect to equal anyone in effect without putting forth a similar effort. A person who rarely leaves home, who doesn't converse with, praise, and encourage others, will not attract friends.
Everything has its price. How much does lettuce cost? If you are unwilling to pay a dollar for lettuce, yet you envy the man who has a bagful of lettuce because he paid five dollars, you are a fool. Do not imagine he has gained an advantage over you-- he has his lettuce, you have your coins.
So if you have not been invited to a party, it is because you haven't paid the price of the invitation. It costs social engagement, conversation, encouragement, and praise. If you are not willing to pay this price, do not be upset when you don't receive an invitation.
Do you have anything good in place of the invitation? Yes-- you have the pleasure of not making small talk with people you don't really like, not praising someone you don't admire, and not mingling with lackeys.
Epictetus, Enchiridion

Be silent for the most part, or, if you speak, say only what is necessary and in a few words.

The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.

It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

We have to learn to die in each moment in order to be fully alive.

Happiness is a child's dream fulfilled in maturity.

One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Trust is earned, not given away. Worf

They have neither honour nor courage. That is our greatest advantage. Worf

“you know what’s pretty crazy? if you lean over on a motorcycle, it crashes” terry davis

What is to give light must endure burning.

The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands. Leonardo Da Vinci

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn. JRRT

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

The wise man knows the Self,
And he plays the game of life.
But the fool lives in the world
Like a beast of burden.

Beware the barrenness of a busy life.

Whenever you have stress in your life it's because your expectations don't match reality.

Confidence is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses — especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else. Leonardo Da Vinci

If you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, that is all you will ever see.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. Roald Dahl

Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.

Songs, like trees, only bear fruit in their own time and their own way. Treebeard

It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life. Picard

and the universe said I love you
and the universe said you have played the game well
and the universe said everything you need is within you
and the universe said you are stronger than you know
and the universe said you are the daylight
and the universe said you are the night
and the universe said the darkness you fight is within you
and the universe said the light you seek is within you
and the universe said you are not alone
and the universe said you are not separate from every other thing
and the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code
and the universe said I love you
because you are love
(minecraft end poem)

Time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle manoeuvres.

Mental health is downstream of spiritual health.

Emotion is redundant in the company of reason. Despair is a pointless surrender. Pain is just information. Strive, and you are already victorious.

He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.

Good design is as little design as possible.

The man whose whole life is spent in performing a few simple operations, of which the effects are perhaps always the same, or very nearly the same, has no occasion to exert his understanding or to exercise his invention in finding out expedients for removing difficulties which never occur. He naturally loses, therefore, the habit of such exertion, and generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become.

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope for a different past.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

You are what you believe in. You become that which you can believe you can become.

Nothing is more powerful than a community of talented people working on related problems.

Michelangelo was not trying to paint like Michelangelo. He was just trying to paint well; he couldn't help painting like Michelangelo.

We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

When you have to climb a mountain you toss everything unnecessary out of your pack.

To have a sense of humour is to be strong: to keep one's sense of humour is to shrug off misfortunes... the mark of strength is to not take oneself too seriously.

People who can't laugh at themselves will always be outwitted by people who can.

Fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

It's odd that people think of programming as precise and methodical. Computers are precise and methodical. Hacking is something you do with a gleeful laugh.

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

A man does what he must
in spite of personal consequences
in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures
and that is the basis of all human morality

Your natural state is enlightening. Everything else you've ever been told about yourself is a lie. We are trying to wake ourselves up, because we come from source energy and we are ALL one. We have to realize that our brothers and sisters that we are seeing in the dream, are mere reflections of our inner self. Yin and yang, love and hate. People that we dislike, are mere reflections of our own character defects. People that we like and love are true successful manifestations of our deepest most inner self. We are beings of light. Our mission, is to be creation, and create positive energy on spaceship Earth. (t-t)b

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

Focusing is about saying no.

Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

If you ever seek for outside approval, realize you've compromised your integrity. If you need a witness, be your own, and you will be all the witness you need.

Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.

The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.

Because he believes in himself, he doesn't try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself, he doesn't need other's approval.
Because he accepts himself, the whole world accepts him.

The inferior man argues about his rights, while the superior man imposes duties on himself.

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace.

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

To feel truly good is to live morally, which is the same as to be free.

What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him.

Real G's move in silence like lasagna

How to be a man: climb a mountain, tell no one.

The moment you change from life's victim, to champion of your own life is when it all starts to change. The challenges don't disappear but you face them in a whole new way.

Get busy with life's purpose, toss aside empty hopes, get active in your own rescue.

Not to assume it's impossible because you find it hard. But to recognize that if it's humanly possible, you can do it too.

At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: 'I have to go to work -- as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I'm going to do what I was born for -- the things I was brought into the world to do? Run to do what your nature demands. Love yourself enough, and love your nature too.

Be the person you are. Never try to be another, and you will become mature. Maturity is accepting the responsibility of being oneself, whatsoever the cost.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

It's easy to be a naive idealist. It's easy to be a cynical realist. It's quite another thing to have no illusions and still hold the inner flame.

Greatness is a journey, not a destination

The bird is okay even though he doesn't understand the world. You're that bird looking at the monitor, and you're thinking to yourself, 'I can figure this out.' Maybe you have some bird ideas. Maybe that's the best you can do.” terry davis

Listening is loving.

and if i asked you to name all the things that you love, how long would it take for you to name yourself?

Thinking about what you can't control only wastes energy. And creates its own enemy. Worf

The greatest love seems indifferent, the greatest wisdom seems childish.

The aim of meditation is that it eventually becomes your normal state of consciousness.

There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized through it all, that in the midst of winter I found there was within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger -- something better -- pushing right back. Albert Camus

The tree that would grow to heaven must send its roots to hell.

All that is gold does not glitter; not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither; deep roots are not reached by the frost. JRRT

Don't waste the rest of your life worrying about what others think and do. Direct your thoughts to a useful end. When you dissipate your mental energy on things you can't control, you lose the opportunity to accomplish something yourself.

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Just be one.

youll never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice

one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious

My countrymen should have nerves of steel, muscles of iron, and minds like thunderbolt.

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On!' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

There is nothing noble being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle. It's just a matter of finding it.

There were loose threads -- untidy parts of me that I would like to remove. But when I pulled on one of those threads -- it unravelled the tapestry of my life. Picard

Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.

Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting.

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

If everyone starts giving love instead of talking about love. This very earth can become a paradise.

A man's got to have a code, a creed to live by

I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it's like to feel absolutely worthless and they don't want anybody else to feel like that. Robin Williams

For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories. Plato

A nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its laws made by cowards and its wars fought by fools.

I used to worry too. Then I realized: why worry? And look at me now. Hank

“When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place.”

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. Nelson Mandela

Until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Gandalf

Dark have been my dreams of late, but I feel as one new-awakened. Theoden

We suffer more in imagination than in reality. Seneca

Today I escaped from anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions - not outside.

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.

Smart people learn from their mistakes, wise people learn from others' mistakes.

“People fear what they don't understand and hate what they can't conquer.”

Real masculinity is not dominating the weak; real masculinity is empowering the weak.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit

To be everywhere is to be nowhere.

He who is only an athlete is too crude, too vulgar, too much a savage. He who is a scholar only is too soft, too effeminate. The ideal citizen is the scholar athlete. The man of thought and the man of action. Plato

A good soul by its own virtue makes the body as good as possible. Plato

It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.

Speech is the shadow of action.

“In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength.”

He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.

A tycoon always chooses the win, no matter how he comes by it.

“Loneliness is like sitting in an empty room and being aware of the space around you. It is a condition of separateness. Solitude is becoming one with the space around you. It is a condition of union. Loneliness is small, solitude is large. Loneliness closes in around you; solitude expands toward the infinite. Loneliness has its roots in words, in an internal conversation that nobody answers; solitude has its roots in the great silence of eternity.” Kent Nerburn

Let delight pull you instead of making a to-do list push you.

Start with the things that you know and the things that are unknown will be revealed to you. Rembrandt

The supreme misfortune is when theory outstrips performance.

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how. Neitzsche

Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. Scott Adams, cartoonist

If you're not dead, you're not done. Sam Coster

Don't compare yourself to anyone except your previous self. Quality is a matter of intelligent persistence and discipline.

Don't let other people and this world disrupt your inner peace.

Ikigai: Do what you love, what you are good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs.

There's no risk when you go after a dream. There's a tremendous amount of risk to playing it safe. Bill Burr

You can fail at what you don't want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love. Jim carrey

Batman's superpower is confidence.

He who says he can and he who says he cannot, are both correct.