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Currently showing 10,076 quotes

A government of laws, and not of men.

John Adams

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Topic

Rule of law Law

Author

John Adams

Source

To the Inhabitants of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay Boston Gazette

Medium

Essay Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1775 1770s 18th century

Era

American Revolutionary Period

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Original Citation

Adams, John, [published as Novanglus]. "To the Inhabitants of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay." Boston Gazette, 6 Mar. 1775.

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Current Citation

Adams, John. "Novanglus No. VII, March 6, 1775." John Adams: Revolutionary Writings 1755-1775, edited by Gordon S. Wood. Library of America, 2011.

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You have deeply ventured;
But all must do so who would greatly win.

Lord Byron

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Topic

Taking risks Risk vs. reward Risk

Author

Lord Byron

Source

Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play

Language

English

Time

1821 1820s 19th century

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Original Citation

Lord Byron. Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice. London: John Murray, 1821, act 1, sc. 2.

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Current Citation

Lord Byron. Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice. The Collected Poems of Lord Byron. Wordsworth, 1994, act 1, sc. 2.

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He was unheeded, happy and near to the wild heart of life.

James Joyce

The Egoist

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Topic

Happiness Contentment Being carefree

Author

James Joyce

Source

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man The Egoist

Medium

Novel Magazine

Genre

Modernist literature

Language

English

Time

1915 1910s 20th century

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Original Citation

Joyce, James. "A Portrait of the Artists as a Young Man." The Egoist. 2 Feb. 1914 - 1 Sept. 1915. Serial.

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Current Citation

Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, edited by John Paul Riquelme. W. W. Norton & Company, 2007, ch. 4.

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In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essays: First Series (Emerson)

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Topic

Going for it Taking risks

Author

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Source

Prudence Essays: First Series (Emerson)

Medium

Essay

Statement Type

Paradox Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1841 1840s 19th century

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Original Citation

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Prudence." Essays: First Series. Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1841.

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Current Citation

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Prudence." The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, edited by Brooks Atkinson. Modern Library, 2000.

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The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.

Plutarch

Moralia

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Topic

The mind Education Learning

Author

Plutarch

Source

Of Listening Moralia

Medium

Essay

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

Greek

Time

2nd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

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Original Citation

Plutarch. "Περὶ τοῦ ἀκούειν [On Hearing]." Ἠθικά Ethika [Moralia]. c. 100 AD.

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Current Citation

Plutarch. "On Listening." Essays. Penguin Classics, 1993.

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I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Henry David Thoreau

Walden

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Topic

Simple living Introspection Life lessons Purpose of life

Author

Henry David Thoreau

Source

Where I Lived, And What I Lived For Walden

Genre

Autobiography and memoir

Language

English

Time

1854 1850s 19th century

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Original Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. "Where I Lived, And What I Lived For." Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.

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Current Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. "Where I Lived, And What I Lived For." Walden and Civil Disobedience. Signet, 2012.

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When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

The Sound of Music

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Topic

The bright side Gratitude

Speaker

Maria (The Sound of Music)

Actor

Julie Andrews

Source

My Favorite Things The Sound of Music

Medium

Song Film

Genre

Musical (film) Drama (film) Musical Drama

Language

English

Time

1965 1960s 20th century

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Citation

"My Favorite Things." The Sound of Music. Directed by Robert Wise, performed by Julie Andrews, Argyle Enterprises, 1965.

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Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it... he intends only his own security... and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.

Adam Smith

The Wealth of Nations

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Invisible hand Self-interest Unintended consequences

Author

Adam Smith

Source

The Wealth of Nations

Genre

Economic literature

Language

English

Time

1776 1770s 18th century

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Original Citation

Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations. Vol. 2, London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell 1776, bk. 4, ch. 2.

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Current Citation

Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, edited by Edwin Cannan. The Modern Library, 2000, bk. 4, ch. 2.

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If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.

Voltaire

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Topic

Existence of God God

Author

Voltaire

Source

Letter to the Author of The Three Imposters

Medium

Letter

Language

French

Time

1768 1760s 18th century

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Citation

Voltaire. Épître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs [Letter to the author of The Three Impostors]. 10 Nov. 1770.

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The due administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.

George Washington

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Topic

Good government Political theory Politics

Author

George Washington

Source

Letters of George Washington

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1789 1780s 18th century

Era

American Revolutionary Period

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Original Citation

Washington, George. Letter to Edmund Randolph. 28 Sept. 1789.

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Current Citation

Washington, George. "From George Washington to Edmund Randolph, 28 September 1789." George Washington: Writings, edited by John H. Rhodehamel. Library of America, 1997.

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They lived und laughed ant loved end left.

James Joyce

Finnegans Wake

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Topic

Looking back Life

Speaker

Jute

Author

James Joyce

Source

Finnegans Wake

Medium

Novel

Genre

Modernist literature

Statement Type

Epitaph

Language

English

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

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Original Citation

Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake. Faber and Faber, 1939.

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Current Citation

Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake. Wordsworth, 2012.

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In that part of the book of my memory, before which very little is written, there is a heading that reads "Here begins a new life".

Dante Alighieri

La Vita Nuova

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Love at first sight Being in love

Author

Dante Alighieri

Source

La Vita Nuova

Language

Italian

Time

1294 1290s 13th century

Era

Middle Ages

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Original Citation

Dante. La Vita Nuova [The New Life]. 1294, ch. 1.

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Current Citation

Dante. Vita Nuova, translated by Mark Musa. Oxford University, 2008, ch. 1.

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Why seek ye the living among the dead?

Jesus

Luke 24:5

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Jesus's resurrection

Speaker

Jesus

Source

Gospel of Luke The Bible

Medium

Scripture

Genre

Religious literature

Statement Type

Question

Language

Greek

Time

61 60s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

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Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (Luke 24:5).

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Do not speak ill of the dead.

Chilon

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Quoted in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius

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Topic

Speaking ill of the dead

Speaker

Chilon

Author

Diogenes Laërtius

Source

The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

Genre

Historical literature

Language

Greek

Time

400 400s 3rd century

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Original Citation

Chilon. Quoted in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laërtius. c. 240 AD, bk. 1, ch. 3.

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Current Citation

Chilon. Quoted in The Lives of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laërtius, translated by Pamela Mensch, edited by James Miller. Oxford University Press, 2018, bk. 1, ch. 3.

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If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau

Walden

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Being true to oneself Taking a different path Individual vs. the collective

Author

Henry David Thoreau

Source

Conclusion Walden

Genre

Autobiography and memoir

Language

English

Time

1854 1850s 19th century

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Original Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. "Conclusion." Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.

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Current Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. "Conclusion." Walden and Civil Disobedience. Signet, 2012.

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Always do what you are afraid to do.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essays: First Series (Emerson)

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Facing one's fears Fear Taking risks

Author

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Source

Heroism Essays: First Series (Emerson)

Medium

Essay

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1841 1840s 19th century

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Original Citation

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Heroism." Essays: First Series. Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1841.

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Current Citation

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Heroism." The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, edited by Brooks Atkinson. Modern Library, 2000.

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I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!

The Wicked Witch of the West

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The Wizard of Oz

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Speaker

The Wicked Witch of the West

Actor

Margaret Hamilton

Source

The Wizard of Oz

Medium

Film

Genre

Fantasy (film) Musical (film) Fantasy Musical

Statement Type

Threat

Language

English

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

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Citation

The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939.

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Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

Samuel Johnson

Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D, by James Boswell

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Abuses of patriotism Patriotism

Speaker

Samuel Johnson

Author

James Boswell

Source

The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D

Genre

Biography

Language

English

Time

1778 1770s 18th century

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Original Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in journal entry, written by James Boswell. 7 Apr. 1778.

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Current Citation

Johnson, Samuel. Quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson, written by James Boswell, edited by David Womersley. Penguin Classics, 2008.

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Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.

Soren Kierkegaard

The Concept of Anxiety

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Topic

Anxiety Freedom

Author

Soren Kierkegaard

Source

The Concept of Anxiety

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Danish

Time

1844 1840s 19th century

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Original Citation

Kierkegaard, Soren. Begrebet Angest [The Concept of Anxiety]. C. A. Reitzel, 1844.

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Current Citation

Kierkegaard, Soren. The Concept of Anxiety, translated by Jeanette B L Knox. Mercer University Press, 2008.

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And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Jesus

Mark 3:24-25

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Topic

Political division Partisan politics Unity

Speaker

Jesus

Source

Gospel of Mark The Bible

Medium

Scripture

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Greek

Time

60 60s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

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Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (Mark 3:24, 25).

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