Life
John Ruskin Wisdom Quote
“What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” John Ruskin English critic, essayist, & reformer (1819 – 1900)
Alfred Hitchcock on Media
“Seeing a murder on television… can help work off one’s antagonisms. And if you haven’t any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.” Alfred Hitchcock British movie director (1899 – 1980)
William James on Life
“The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” William James US Pragmatist philosopher & psychologist (1842 – 1910)
Theodore Roosevelt on Criticism
“It’s not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” Theodore Roosevelt
Robert Louis Stevenson on Life
“Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.” Robert Louis Stevenson Scottish author (1850 – 1894)
John F. Kennedy on Power
“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.” John F. Kennedy
Marie Curie on Science & Understanding
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” Marie Skłodowska-Curie Polish chemist & physicist (1867 – 1934)
Cullen Hightower on Mistakes
“Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.” Cullen Hightower
Leo Rosten on Happiness
“Money can’t buy happiness, but neither can poverty.” Leo Rosten US (Polish-born) author (1908 – 1997)
Mark Twain on Desire
“A human being has a natural desire to have more of a good thing than he needs.” Mark Twain, Following the Equator US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Thomas Szasz on Life
“The proverb warns that ‘You should not bite the hand that feeds you.’ But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself.” Thomas Szasz
Woody Allen on Life
“You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.” Woody Allen US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 – )
Ambrose Bierce Philosophical Quote
“Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum (I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.)” Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary US author & satirist (1842 – 1914)
Arthur C. Clarke on Intelligence
“It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.” Arthur C. Clarke English physicist & science fiction author (1917 – 2008)
Mark Twain on Life
“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” Mark Twain
Helen Keller on Knowledge
“Knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge – broad, deep knowledge – is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low. To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man’s progress is to feel the great heartthrobs of humanity through the centuries; and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward striving, one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life.” Helen Keller
Michael E. Gerber on Life
“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.” Michael E. Gerber
Danny Kaye on Life
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” Danny Kaye
Jay Leno Cynical Quote
“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.” Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 – )
Otto von Bismarck Cynical Quote
“When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn’t the slightest intention of putting it into practice.” Otto von Bismarck German Prussian politician (1815 – 1898)
E. V. Lucas on Tardiness
“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.” E. V. Lucas
Mark Twain on Life
“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author (1835 – 1910)
Arthur Rubinstein on Life and Love
“I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.” Arthur Rubinstein US (Polish-born) composer & pianist (1886 – 1982)
Marshall McLuhan on Life
“There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening.” Marshall McLuhan Canadian author, educator, & philosopher (1911 – 1980)
Sidney J. Harris on Regret
“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” Sidney J. Harris
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Courage and Persistence
“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
E. B. White on Planning
“I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.” E. B. White US author & humorist (1899 – 1985)
Robertson Davies on Children
“A happy childhood has spoiled many a promising life.” Robertson Davies, “What’s Bred in the Bone”
William Goldman on Life
“Life isn’t fair. It’s just fairer than death, that’s all.” William Goldman, “The Princess Bride”
Serbian Proverb on Humility
“Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.” Serbian proverb
Helen Rowland on Life
“The follies which a man regrets most, in his life, are those which he didn’t commit when he had the opportunity.” Helen Rowland, A Guide to Men, 1922 (1876 – 1950)
Jake Roberts on Experience
“Every moment is an experience.” Jake Roberts
Charles M. Crowe on Easter
“Easter tells us that life is to be interpreted not simply in terms of things but in terms of ideals.” Charles M. Crowe