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The safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

C.S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters

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Topic

Hell

Author

C.S. Lewis

Source

The Screwtape Letters

Medium

Novel

Genre

Religious literature

Language

English

Time

1942 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lewis, C.S. The Screwtape Letters. Geoffrey Bles, 1942, letter 12.

If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently.

Calvin

Quoted in Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson

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Topic

Stars Slowing down

Speaker

Calvin

Author

Bill Watterson

Source

Calvin and Hobbes

Medium

Comic strip

Language

English

Time

1992 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Watterson, Bill. Calvin and Hobbes. Comic Strip. 30 June 1992.

How can I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?

Ferris Bueller

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

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Topic

Skipping school School

Speaker

Ferris Bueller

Actor

Matthew Broderick

Source

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Medium

Film

Genre

Teen comedy (film) Teen (film) Teen comedy Teen

Language

English

Time

1986 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Directed by John Hughes. Paramount Pictures, 1986.

You look down, they know you're lying and up, they know you don't know the truth. Don't use seven words when four will do. Don't shift your weight, look always at your mark but don't stare, be specific but not memorable, be funny but don't make him laugh. He's got to like you then forget you the moment you've left his side.

Ocean's Eleven

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Topic

Keeping a low profile

Speaker

Rusty Ryan

Actor

Brad Pitt

Source

Ocean's Eleven

Medium

Film

Genre

Crime comedy (film) Crime (film) Crime comedy Crime

Statement Type

Orders and commands

Language

English

Time

2001 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Ocean's Eleven. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Village Roadshow Pictures/NPV Entertainment/Jerry Weintraub Productions/Section Eight Productions, 2001.

I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.

Tira

I'm No Angel

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Topic

Promiscuity

Speaker

Tira

Actor

Mae West

Source

I'm No Angel

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic comedy (film) Romantic comedy

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1933 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

I'm No Angel. Directed by Wesley Ruggles, Paramount Pictures, 1933.

My God, are we gonna be like our parents?

The Breakfast Club

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Topic

Parents and children Growing up

Speaker

Andrew Clark

Actor

Emilio Estevez

Source

The Breakfast Club

Medium

Film

Genre

Teen (film) Coming of age (film) Teen Coming of age

Language

English

Time

1985 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Breakfast Club. Directed by John Hughes, A&M Films/Channel Productions, 1985.

Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody.

Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Walflower

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Topic

The only constant is change Life

Author

Stephen Chbosky

Source

The Perks of Being a Walflower

Medium

Novel

Genre

Coming of age story

Language

English

Time

1999 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Pocket Books, 1999.

Black as midnight on a moonless night.

Dale Cooper

Twin Peaks

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Topic

The dark

Speaker

Dale Cooper

Actor

Kyle MacLachlan

Source

Twin Peaks

Medium

TV program

Genre

Mystery (TV) Drama (TV) Mystery Drama

Language

English

Time

1990 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

"Traces to Nowhere." Twin Peaks, written by Mark Frost and David Lynch, directed by Duwayne Dunham, season 1, episode 2, Propaganda Films and Spelling Entertainment and Lynch/Frost Productions, 1990.

Never pain to tell thy love
Love that never told can be
For the gentle wind does move
Silently invisibly

William Blake

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Topic

Limits of language Communication Love

Author

William Blake

Source

Never Seek to Tell Thy Love

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1807 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Blake, William. Poem written in his notebook. c. 1792.

Current Citation

Blake, William. "Never Pain to Tell Thy Love." William Blake: Selected Poems, edited by Nicholas Shrimpton. Oxford University Press, 2019.

You don't want the bumpers. Life doesn't give you bumpers.

Boyhood

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Topic

Nature of life Life

Speaker

Mason Sr.

Actor

Ethan Hawke

Source

Boyhood

Medium

Film

Genre

Coming of age (film) Drama (film) Coming of age Drama

Language

English

Time

2014 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Boyhood. Directed by Richard Linklater, Detour Filmproduction and Cinetic Media, 2014.

You know what I am? I'm your worst fuckin' nightmare, man. I'm a nigger with a badge which means I got permission to kick your fuckin' ass whenever I feel like it!

48 Hrs

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Topic

Police

Speaker

Reggie Hammond

Actor

Eddie Murphy

Source

48 Hrs

Medium

Film

Genre

Buddy movie Action comedy (film) Action comedy

Statement Type

Question

Language

English

Time

1982 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

48 Hrs. Directed by Walter Hill, Lawrence Gordon Productions, 1982.

All events are linked together in the best of possible worlds; for, after all, if you had not been driven from a fine castle by being kicked in the backside for love of Miss Cunégonde, if you hadn’t been sent before the Inquisition, if you hadn’t traveled across America on foot, if you hadn’t given a good sword thrust to the baron, if you hadn’t lost all your sheep from the good land of Eldorado, you wouldn’t be sitting here eating candied citron and pistachios.

Voltaire

Candide

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Topic

Interconnectedness of all things

Speaker

Pangloss

Author

Voltaire

Source

Candide

Medium

Novel

Genre

Satire

Language

French

Time

1759 1750s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Voltaire. Candide, ou l'Optimisme [Candide: or, All for the Best]. Geneva: Gabriel Cramer, 1759, ch. 30.

Current Citation

Voltaire. Candide, edited by Nicholas Cronk. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016, ch. 30.

To crush, to annihilate a man utterly, to inflict on him the most terrible punishment so that the most ferocious murderer would shudder at it beforehand, one need only give him work of an absolutely, completely useless and irrational character.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

House of the Dead

More information about this quote

Topic

Alienating work Alienation Absurdity Shitty jobs Work

Author

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Source

House of the Dead

Medium

Novel

Language

Russian

Time

1862 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. "Записки из Мёртвого дома [The House of the Dead]." Vremya, 1860-1862.

Current Citation

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The House of the Dead, translated by David McDuff. Penguin Classics, 1986.

She's my friend because we both know what it's like for people to be jealous of us.

Clueless

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Topic

Haters gonna hate High school

Speaker

Cher

Actor

Alicia Silverstone

Source

Clueless

Medium

Film

Genre

Coming of age (film) Teen (film) Coming of age Teen

Language

English

Time

1995 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Clueless. Directed by Amy Heckerling, Paramount Pictures, 1995.

When you read, don't just consider what the author thinks, consider what you think.

Dead Poets Society

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Topic

Thinking for oneself

Speaker

John Keating

Actor

Robin Williams

Source

Dead Poets Society

Medium

Film

Genre

Teen (film) Drama (film) Teen Drama

Language

English

Time

1989 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dead Poets Society. Directed by Peter Weir, Touchstone Pictures/Silver Screen Partners IV, 1989.

Cudgel thy brains no more about it.

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

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Topic

Letting go

Speaker

Gravedigger

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Hamlet

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 5, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 5, sc. 1.

You gotta pay attention to the signs. When life reaches out a moment like this, it's a sin if you don't reach back. I'm telling you its a sin if you don't reach back! It'll haunt you for the rest of your days like a curse.

Silver Linings Playbook

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Topic

Inflection points Special moments Taking risks Regrets

Speaker

Pat Sr.

Actor

Robert De Niro

Source

Silver Linings Playbook

Medium

Film

Genre

Romantic comedy (film) Comedy drama (film) Romantic comedy Comedy drama

Language

English

Time

2012 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Silver Linings Playbook. Directed by David O. Russell, The Weinstein Company, 2012.

Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else.

David Foster Wallace

Infinite Jest

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More information about this quote

Topic

Uniqueness of each person

Author

David Foster Wallace

Source

Infinite Jest

Medium

Novel

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1996 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Wallace, David Foster. Infinite Jest. Little, Brown and Company, 1996.

Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!

Jesus

John 2:16

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Topic

God and mammon

Speaker

Jesus

Source

Gospel of John The Bible

Medium

Scripture

Genre

Religious literature

Statement Type

Orders and commands

Language

Greek

Time

90 90s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (John 2:16).

What is our policy?... To wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.

Winston Churchill

More information about this quote

Topic

World War II

Speaker

Winston Churchill

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1940 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Churchill, Winston. "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat." House of Commons meeting. 13 May 1940, The Palace of Westminster, London, England, UK. Address.

Current Citation

Churchill, Winston. "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat." Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: The Great Speeches, edited by David Cannadine. Penguin Classics, 2007.