Famous Quotations by Dave Mckay (best short books to read TXT) 📕

anything may be written.

 

Thomas Traherne (1637-1674), English poet and religious writer

 

 

Writing books is the closest men ever come

to having children.

 

Norman Mailer (1923-2007), American writer and film director

 

 

In any place where books will be burned,

in the end people too will be burned.

 

Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), German poet, Almansor (1823)

 

 

Of making books

there is no end.

 

The Bible, Ecclesiastes 12:12

 

 

Everywhere I go,

I find a poet has been there before me.

 

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Austrian founder of psychoanalysis

 

 

I think it's good that we have books,

but they do make me sleepy.

 

Frank Zappa (1940-1993), American composer, singer, film director

 

A good book is the best friend.

 

Martin Tupper (1810-1889), English writer and poet,

Proverbial Philosophy, Series I (1838), ‘Of Reading’

 

 

Choose a writer as you choose a friend.

 

Wentworth Dillon (1630-1685), poet, fourth Earl of Roscommon

 

 

Take up and read!

Take up and read!

 

St Augustine of Hippo (354-430), philosopher and theologian

Confessions (397-398), book 8, chapter 7

 

 

If there's a book you really want to read,

and it hasn't been written yet,

then you must write it.

 

Toni Morrison (1932- ), American novelist, professor and Nobel winner

 

 

I am a bear of very little brain,

and long words upset me.

 

Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne creation)

 

 

Say all you have to say,

in the fewest possible words.

 

John Ruskin (1819-1900), English art critic and philanthropist

 

 

Good things, when short, are twice as good.

 

Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658), Spanish Jesuit writer

 

 

I believe more in the scissors

than I do in the pen.

 

Truman Capote (1924-1984), American author

 

 

 

39. Talking

 

 

Not that the story need be long,

but it will take a long time

to make it short.

 

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), letter to Harrison Blake,

16 November, 1857, in Writings (1906), volume 6, page 320

 

 

If A is success, then A equals X plus Y plus Z,

X is work, Y is play, Z is keep your mouth shut.

 

Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Austrian physicist, Observer, Jan. 15, 1950

 

 

A fool says all that he or she is thinking.

 

The Bible, Proverbs 29:11

 

 

The secret to being boring

is to tell all that you know.

 

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

Discours en vers sur l’homme (1737), ‘De la nature de l’homme’

 

 

Think all that you say,

but do not say all that you think.

 

Author unknown

 

 

Give every man your ear but few your voice.

 

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright

 

 

Because the parrot talks so much,

it is shut up in a cage.

Other birds, who do not speak, fly freely about.

 

Saskia Pandita (1182-1251), Tibetan spiritual leader, Buddhist scholar

 

 

When you have nothing to say, say nothing.

 

Charles Caleb Colton (c. 1780-1832), English cleric, Lacon (1820)

 

 

Understand the subject,

and the words will follow.

 

Cato the Elder (234-149 BC), Roman statesman,

in Caius Julius Victor Ars Rhetorica ‘De inventione’

 

 

Close your lips and open your heart.

 

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), Hindu philosopher

 

 

The less you think,

the more you talk.

 

Montesquieu (1689-1755), French social commentator

 

 

Dogs that are afraid bark loudest.

 

John Webster (c.1580 – c.1634), English dramatist

 

 

Making noise

is a good way of showing opposition.

 

Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945), Nazi Germany's Minister of Propaganda

 

 

Speak for England.

 

Leo Amery (1873-1955), British politician and journalist

 

 

Talk softly, but carry a big stick.

You will go far.

 

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th President of the U.S.,

3 April, 1903, New York Times, 4 April, 1903

 

 

If you can't bite, don't show your teeth.

 

Jewish proverb

 

 

Your words should always be sweet,

with a little touch of salt.

 

The Bible, Colossians 4:6

 

 

Propaganda is a soft weapon:

hold it in your hands too long,

and it will move about like a snake,

and hit out the other way.

 

Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), American playwright

 

 

If you haven’t got anything good to say about

anyone come and sit by me.

 

Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980), controversial daughter of

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

 

 

Where everything is bad

it must be good to know the worst.

 

F. H. Bradley (1846-1924), English philosopher

 

 

Those who are not here

are always in the wrong.

 

Philippe Nericault Destouches (1680-1754), French dramatist

 

 

In the country of the blind

the one-eyed man is king.

 

Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), Dutch humanist and priest

 

 

The night has a thousand eyes,

and the day but one.

 

F.W. Bourdillon (1852-1921), English poet and translator

 

 

Words once spoken can never be brought back.

 

Wentworth Dillon (1630-1685), English poet

 

 

 

40. Who to Believe

 

 

Anyone who can handle a needle well

can make us see a thread which is not there.

 

E. H. Gombrich (1909-2001), Austrian art historian

 

 

Men are nearly always willing

to believe what they wish.

 

Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC), Roman writer, general, and statesman

 

 

We see what we want to see.

 

Anonymous

 

 

There is something worse than being blind,

and that is seeing something that isn’t there.

 

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), English novellist and poet

 

 

Living is easy with eyes closed,

misunderstanding all you see.

 

John Lennon (1940-1980), English songwriter, Strawberry Fields

 

 

You see, but you do not understand.

 

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), Scottish physician and writer

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892),

 

 

With all of your getting

get understanding.

 

The Bible, Proverbs 4:7

 

 

Keep your brain working to do things;

and keep it open to understand things.

 

Chinese proverb

 

 

Believe nothing of what you hear,

and only half of what you see.

 

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American statesman, scientist,

philosopher, printer, writer and inventor

 

 

A camel never sees its own back.

 

African proverb

 

 

Look out for false prophets!

They come to you in sheep's clothes,

but in their hearts they are dangerous wolves.

 

Jesus, Matthew 7:15

 

 

Do not trust all men, but trust men of worth.

 

Democritus (460-370 BC), Greek philosopher

 

 

If it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck

and it sounds like a duck,

then I say it is a duck.

 

James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916), American poet

 

 

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire

.

Author unknown

 

 

Truth is beautiful, but so are lies.

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American writer and lecturer

 

Those who think it is okay to tell white lies

soon grow colour-blind.

 

Austin O'Malley (1858-1932), American physician and humourist

 

 

I was not lying.

I said things that later seemed to not be true.

 

Richard Nixon (1913-1994), 37th President of the U.S., on Watergate,

 

 

You may be tricked if you trust too much; but

you will live in pain if you do not trust enough.

 

Frank Crane (1868-1921), Presbyterian minister and writer

 

 

No one tests how deep the river is

by using both feet.

 

African proverb

 

 

 

41. Confidence

 

 

Confidence comes not from always being right

but from not fearing to be wrong.

 

Peter T. Mcintyre (1910-1995), New Zealand artist and author

 

 

If you have no confidence in yourself, you lose

twice in the race of life. With confidence, you

have won even before you have started.

 

Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), Jamaican journalist and orator

 

 

Everybody is stupid, only on different subjects.

 

Will Rogers (1879-1935), American cowboy and comedian

 

 

Confidence on the outside

begins by living with integrity on the inside.

 

Brian Tracy (1944- ), self-help author

 

 

They can, because they think they can.

 

Virgil (70-19 BC), Roman poet, Aeneid, book 5

 

 

Always keep your head up, but be careful to

keep your nose at a friendly level.

 

Max L. Forman (1909-1990), Jewish-American writer

 

 

The minute you start talking about

what you’re going to do if you lose,

you have lost.

 

George Shultz (1920- ), American statesman and businessman

 

 

The future belongs to those who believe

in the beauty of their dreams.

 

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), American author, speaker, politician

 

 

How little do we know of what we are.

How much less do we know

of what we could be.

 

George Byron (1788-1824), English poet, Don Juan (1819-1824)

 

 

We know what we are,

but not what we can be.

 

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright,

Hamlet act 4, scene 5

 

 

If you smile at life,

life will smile at you.

 

Author unknown

 

 

 

42. Positive Thinking

 

 

Life is just a bowl of cherries.

 

Bob Fosse (1927-1987), actor, dancer, screenwriter, director

 

 

If life gives you a lemon, make lemonade.

 

Author unknown

 

 

Keep your face to the sunlight

and you cannot see the shadows.

 

Helen Keller (1880-1968), deaf-blind American author and lecturer

 

 

Count your blessings, and not your troubles.

 

Author unknown

 

 

The jungle is dark but full of diamonds.

 

Arthur Miller (1915-2005), American writer, Death of a Salesman

 

 

Before you put on a sad look,

make sure there are no smiles available.

 

Jim Beggs (1926-), sixth administrator of NASA

 

 

Shoot for the moon.

Even if you miss, you’ll end up with the stars.

 

Les Brown, African-American motivational speaker

 

 

One cannot get through life without pain...

What we can do is choose how to use the pain

that life gives to us.

 

Bernie Siegel, American doctor and lecturer

 

 

Hate drinks the greater part of her own poison,

and destroys herself.

 

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), French essayist

 

 

A positive attitude may not fix all your problems,

but it will upset enough people

to make it worth the work.

 

Herm Albright (1876-1944), German painter and lithographer

 

 

The more you teach positive ideas to others,

the better you learn them yourself.

 

Brian Tracy (1944- ), Canadian self-help author

 

 

The only thing that stands between a man and

what he wants from life is often just the will to

try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.

 

Richard Devos (1926- ), American billionaire & co-founder of Amway

 

 

Write your sad times in sand,

and your good times in stone.

 

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Irish playwright

 

 

You have no control

over what the other guy does.

You only have control over what you do.

 

A. J. Kitt (1968- ), American alpine ski champion

 

 

It is not a lucky word, this name “impossible”.

No good comes of those who have it

so often in their mouths.

 

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), Scottish writer, historian, and teacher

 

 

It’s no use carrying an umbrella

if your shoes have holes in them.

 

Irish proverb

 

 

It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.

 

Walt Disney (1901-1966), American animator, film producer,

entrepreneur, screen writer, voice actor, and philanthropist,

 

 

The most rewarding things you do in life

are often the ones

that look like they cannot be done.

 

Arnold Palmer (1929- ), American professional golfer

 

 

One man's meat is another man's poison.

 

Lucretius (c. 99-55 BC), Roman poet and philosopher

 

 

All things work together for good

to them that love God.

 

The Bible, Romans 8:28

 

 

Two men look out through the same bars.

One sees the mud and one the stars.

 

Frederick Langbridge (1849-1923), English poet and religious writer

 

 

She was happier to light a candle

than to curse the darkness.

Her light has warmed the earth.

 

Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965), American politician, on hearing that

Eleanor Roosevelt had died, New York Times, 8 November, 1962

 

 

I love living.

I have some problems with my life,

but living is the best thing

they’ve come up with so far.

 

Neil Simon (1927), American playwright and screenwriter

 

 

 

43. A Reason to Live

 

 

Those who have a ‘why’ to live

can put up with almost any ‘how’.

 

Victor Franki (1905-1997), Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist

 

 

A vision keeps the wealthy soul

looking at the path and not at the rocks.

 

Michael Norwood, Canadian doctor and author

 

 

Having a vision for your life lets you

live out of hope, rather than out of your fears.

 

Stedman Graham (1951- ), American educator, author, and speaker,

better known as a friend and close companion of Oprah Winfrey

 

 

If you do not know

where you are sailing,

no wind is good.

 

Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-65 AD), Epistulae Morales number 71

 

 

There is nothing without a reason.

 

Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716), German philosopher and mathematician

 

Fear God and do what he tells you.

This is the whole reason for us being here.

 

The Bible, Ecclesiastes 12:13

 

 

When we find a reason to live,

the way to do it will follow.

 

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), pacifist & ideological leader of India

 

 

If we stand for nothing,

we will fall for anything.

 

Alex Hamilton (1936- ), ‘Born Old’ in Listener, 9 November, 1978

 

 

In all that you do, think about

what it is leading to in the end.

Gesta Romanorum number 103, circa 1300 AD

 

 

The night comes when no man can work.

 

Jesus Christ, John 9:4

 

 

If you are not part of the answer,

you are part of the problem.

 

Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998), writer and Black Panther leader

 

 

It is the reason for dying,

and not the death,

that makes the martyr.

 

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), French revolutionary military hero

 

 

 

44. Life and Death

 

 

I die because I do not die.

 

John of the Cross (1542-91), Spanish priest, mystic, and writer

 

 

In my end is my beginning.

 

Mary Stuart (1542-1587), Queen of Scotland 1542-1567,

executed for plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I

 

 

If I die, I die.

 

The Bible, Esther 4:16, when going to ask the king to help her people.

 

 

If my heart is right,

it makes no difference

which way my head is turned.

 

Walter Raleigh (c. 1552-1618), English writer, soldier, and explorer,

before being killed with an axe by the French.

 

 

You can destroy the container if you will;

but the smell of the flowers will not go away.

 

Thomas Moore (1779-1852), Irish poet and singer, Irish Melodies, 1807

 

 

The more you cut us down

the more we grow in number.

The blood of Christians

is the seed of the Church.

 

Tertullian (c. 160-c. 225), Roman Christian author, Apologeticus ch. 50

 

 

And how can one die better,

than facing serious danger

for the good of his fathers

and the temples of his gods?

 

T. B. Macaulay (1800-1859), English poet, historian, and politician,

Lays of Ancient Rome (1842), ‘Horatius’

 

 

I know that the one who saves me is alive,

and that he will stand at the last day

on the earth.

 

The Bible, Job 19:25, after the devil destroyed all that Job owned.

 

 

What good does it do a man to win

the whole world,

and then lose his own soul?

 

Jesus, Mark 8:36

 

 

Death breaks into the cabins of the poor

as into the castles of kings.

 

Horace (65-8 BC), Roman lyric poet

 

 

When the chess game is over,

the King and the pawn

go back into the same box.

 

Italian proverb

 

 

The few little years we spend on earth

are only the first scene

in a play that projects into eternity.

 

Edwin Markham (1852-1940), American poet

 

 

All the earth is a stage,

and we are the actors on it.

 

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), As You Like It act 2, scene 7

 

 

They say such nice things about you at funerals,

that it makes me sad to think

I’m going to miss mine by just a few days.

 

Garrison Keillor (1942- ), American author, humourist, and radio star

 

 

The sole equality on earth is death.

 

Philip James Bailey (1816-1902), English poet and author

 

 

A man’s dying

is more the survivors' business than his own.

 

Thomas Mann (1875-1955), German writer and philanthropist

 

 

Saying goodbye doesn’t mean anything.

It’s the time we were together that matters,

not how we left it.

 

Trey Parker & Matt Stone, South Park creators, Tweek vs. Craig, 1999

 

 

The living need love more than the dead.

 

George Arnold (1834-1865), The Jolly Old Pedagogue (1866),

 

 

All people are like grass.

The best we can do is no better than the

flowers in the grass.

The grass dies and the flowers fall away

when the Spirit of God touches them.

 

The Bible, Isaiah 40:6

 

 

God loved the world enough

to give us his Son.

Now anyone who believes him need not die;

they can live forever.

 

The Bible, John 3:16

 

 

Life is short but sweet.

 

Sophocles (495-406 BC), Greek playwright, Alcestis

 

 

Learning comes slowly,

and life flies quickly.

 

John Davies (1569-1626), English poet and lawyer, Nosce Teipsum

 

 

All that a man has

will he give for his life.

 

The Bible, Job 2:4

 

 

Let the dead bury the dead.

 

Jesus, Matthew 8:22

 

 

I am not afraid to die,

but I do not want to be there when it happens.

 

Woody Allen (1935- ), actor, author, jazz musician, Death (1975)

 

 

Death is one of the few things that can be done

just as easily lying down.

 

Woody Allen (1935- ), actor, author, jazz musician

 

 

Life does not stop being funny when people die

any more than it stops being serious

when people laugh.

 

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Irish playwright

 

 

 

45. Health

 

 

Serious sicknesses

are fixed with serious medicines,

or they will not be fixed at all.

 

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet act 4, scene 2

 

 

One should eat to live,

and not live to eat.

 

Molière (1622-1673), French playwright, L’Avare (1669)

 

 

There is a thin man inside every fat