Tag Archives: interesting quotes from the past

‘Being a personality is not the same as having a personality.’ Alan Coren. 1938-2007 English writer.

‘It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.’ Woody Allen. 1935- American film producer.

‘Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.’ Stephen King. 1947- American writer.

‘I must say that I’m interested in leisure in the same way as a poor man is interested in money.’ Prince Phillip. 1921- Duke of Edinburgh.

‘Work is much more fun than fun.’ Sir Noel Coward. 1899-1973 English entertainer.

‘When a man opens the car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.’ Prince Phillip. 1921- Duke of Edinburgh.

I think computer viruses should count as life. Maybe it says something about human nature, that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. Stephen Hawking 1942- English theoretical physicist.

The Internet is an elite organisation; most of the population of the world has never even made a phone call. Noam Chomsky 1928- American linguist.

The symbol of the atomic age, which tended to centralise power, was a nucleus with electrons held in tight orbit; the symbol of the digital age is the web, with countless centres of power all equally networked. Walter Isaacson 1952- American writer.

The email of the species is deadlier than the mail. Stephen Fry 1957- English comedian.

There is no man so friendless but what he can find a friend sincere enough to tell him disagreeable truths. Edward Bulwer-Lytton. 1803-73 British novelist.

Predictions can be very difficult – especially about the future. Niels Bohr 1885-1962 Danish physicist.

A garden is a lovesome thing. God wot! T.E. Brown. 1830-97 Manx schoolmaster.

Lord! we know what we are, but know not what we may be. William Shakespeare. 1564-1616 English dramatist.

A man enjoys the happiness he feels, a woman the happiness she gives. Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. 1741-1803 French soldier.

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Nelson Mandela. 1918- South African statesman.

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio, Lord Nelson 1758-1805 British admiral.

I am I plus my surroundings and if I do not preserve the latter, I do not preserve myself. Jose Ortega y Gasset 1883-1955 Spanish writer.

The Parks are the lungs of London. William Pitt 1708-78 British statesman.

Every man is surrounded by a neighbourhood of voluntary spies. Jane Austen 1775-1817 English novelist.

There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. Oscar Wilde 1854-1900 Irish dramatist.

The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all. G.K. Chesterton 1874-1936 English writer.

We all know that Art is not truth. Art is like a lie that makes us realize truth. Pablo Picasso 1881-1973 Spanish painter.

I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about. Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1712-78 French philosopher.

One would remember the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions. He had money as well. Margaret Thatcher 1925- British stateswoman.

Charm… it’s a sort of bloom on a woman. If you have it, you don’t need to have anything else; and if you don’t have it, it doesn’t matter what else you have. J.M. Barrie 1860-1937 Scottish writer.

The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting. Fran Lebowitz 1946- American writer.

This is the Night Mail crossing the border, bringing the cheque and the postal order, letters for the rich, letters for the poor. The shop at the corner, the girl next door. W.H. Auden 1907-73 English poet.

My idea of Heaven is, eating pate’ de foie gras to the sound of trumpets. Sydney Smith 1771-1845 English essayist.

Every hero becomes a bore at last. Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882 American writer.

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. William Morris 1834-1896 English artist.

Does anyone mind if I don’t live in a house that is quaint? Because, for one thing, quaint house are generally houses where plumbing ain’t. Ogden Nash 1902-1971 American humorist.

‘I hate discussions about feminism that end up with who does the dishes,’ she said. So do I. But at the end, there are always the damned dishes. Marilyn French 1929- American writer.

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. William Shakespeare 1564-1616 English dramatist.

Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage. Richard Lovelace 1618-58 English poet.

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. George Bernard Shaw 1856-1959 Irish dramatist.

We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. John F. Kennedy 1917-63 American statesman.

There is nothing in the world which does not have its decisive moment, and the masterpiece of good management is to recognize and grasp this moment. Cardinal de Retz 1613-79 French cardinal.

A problem left to itself dries up or goes rotton. But fertilize a problem with a solution – you’ll hatch out dozens. N. F. Simpson 1919- English dramatist.

There is always a well-known solution to every problem – neat, plausible, and wrong. H. L. Mencken 1880-1956 American journalist.

If it ain’t broke , don’t fix it. Bert Lance 1931- American government official.

It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him. George Bernard Shaw. 

England and America are two countries divided by a common language. George Bernard Shaw.

A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it is written on. Sam Goldwyn 1882-1974 American film producer.

Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Susan Ertz 1894-1985 American writer.

Everyone is a bore to someone. That is unimportant. The thing to avoid is being a bore to oneself. Gerald Brenan 1894-1987 British writer.

Death and taxes and childbirth. There’s never any convenient time for any of them. Margaret Mitchell 1900-49 American novelist.

A diplomat is a man that always remembers a woman’s birthday but never her age. Robert Frost 1874-1963 American poet.

A well written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one. Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881 Scottish historian.

An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing. Quentin Crisp 1908-99 English writer.

We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth. Pablo Picasso 1881-1973 Spanish painter.

Art is meant to disturb, science reassures. George Braque 1882-1963 French painter.