20th century

Explore 4282 quotes from the 20th century

When the rich wage war it's the poor who die.

Jean-Paul Sartre

More information about this quote

Topic

War Rich vs. poor

Speaker

Nasti

Author

Jean-Paul Sartre

Source

The Devil and the Good Lord

Medium

Play

Statement Type

Irony

Language

French

Time

1951 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Sartre, Jean-Paul. Le Diable et le be Dieu [The Devil and the Good Lord]. Directed by Louis Jouvet. 7 June 1951, Théâtre Antoine, Paris, France.

Current Citation

Sartre, Jean-Paul. "The Devil & the Good Lord." The Devil & the Good Lord and Two Other Plays, translated by Kitty Black. Vintage, 1962.

Refuse to be an accomplice.

Simone Weil

More information about this quote

Topic

Political courage Standing up for what's right Courage Politics

Author

Simone Weil

Source

Journals of Simone Weil

Medium

Personal journal

Statement Type

Orders and commands

Language

French

Time

1933 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Weil, Simone. Personal notebook entry. c 1933.

I'm stupid. You're smart. I was wrong. You were right. You're the best. I'm the worst. You're very good-looking. I'm not attractive.

Happy Gilmore

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Topic

Admitting you're wrong

Speaker

Happy Gilmore

Actor

Adam Sandler

Source

Happy Gilmore

Medium

Film

Genre

Sports comedy (film) Comedy (film) Sports comedy Comedy

Language

English

Time

1996 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Happy Gilmore. Directed by Dennis Dugan, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment/Robert Simonds Productions, 1996.

A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against its government.

JFK

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Topic

Patriotism

Speaker

Jim Garrison

Actor

Kevin Costner

Source

JFK

Medium

Film

Genre

Political (film) Thriller (film) Political Thriller

Language

English

Time

1991 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

JFK. Directed by Oliver Stone, Le Studio Canal+/Regency Enterprises/Alcor Films/Ixtlan Corporation, 1991.

I'm a virgin. I'm just not very good at it.

Hot Shots

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More information about this quote

Topic

Virginity

Speaker

Ramada Thompson

Actor

Valeria Golino

Source

Hot Shots

Medium

Film

Genre

Comedy (film) Comedy

Language

English

Time

1991 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Hot Shots. Directed by Jim Abrahams, 20th Century Fox, 1991.

The Italian proletariat needs a blood bath for its force to be renewed.

Benito Mussolini

More information about this quote

Topic

Fascism

Author

Benito Mussolini

Language

Italian

Time

1920 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Mussolini, Benito. Editorial. Il Popolo d'Italia, 1920.

When one watches some tired hack on the platform mechanically repeating the familiar phrases—bestial atrocities, iron heel, bloodstained tyranny, free peoples of the world, stand shoulder to shoulder—one often has a curious feeling that one is not watching a live human being but some kind of dummy... The appropriate noises are coming out of his larynx, but his brain is not involved.

George Orwell

Politics and the English Language

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Topic

Political hacks Hackery Politicians

Author

George Orwell

Source

Politics and the English Language

Medium

Essay

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1946 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Orwell, George. "Politics and the English Language." Horizon, Apr. 1946, vol. 13, issue 76, pp. 252-265.

Current Citation

Orwell, George. "Politics and the English Language." The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, vol. 4: In Front of Your Nose 1945-1950, edited by Sonia Orwell and Ian Angus. David R. Godine, 1999, no. 38.

There's always one who loves and one who lets himself be loved.

W. Somerset Maugham

Of Human Bondage

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Topic

Love Relationships

Speaker

Philip Carey

Author

W. Somerset Maugham

Source

Of Human Bondage

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1915 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Maugham, William Somerset. Of Human Bondage. George H. Doran Company, 1915, ch. 71.

Current Citation

Maugham, William Somerset. Of Human Bondage. Signet, 2007, ch. 71.

The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.

Dashiell Hammett

Black Mask

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Topic

Talking too much

Speaker

Sam Spade

Author

Dashiell Hammett

Source

The Maltese Falcon Black Mask

Medium

Novel Magazine

Genre

Detective fiction

Language

English

Time

1930 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Hammett, Dashiell. "The Maltese Falcon." Black Mask, Sept. 1929 - Jan. 1930.

Current Citation

Hammett, Dashiell. "The Maltese Falcon." The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, Red Harvest. Everyman's Library, 2000, ch. 12.

And son, don't never ever trust whitey.

The Jerk

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Topic

Race relations

Speaker

Father

Actor

Richard Ward

Source

The Jerk

Medium

Film

Genre

Comedy (film) Comedy

Language

English

Time

1979 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Jerk. Directed by Carl Reiner, Aspen Film Society, 1979.

Just think, next time I shoot someone, I could be arrested.

Lt. Frank Drebin

Naked Gun

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Topic

Shooting people

Speaker

Lt. Frank Drebin

Actor

Leslie Nielsen

Source

Naked Gun

Medium

Film

Genre

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

Language

English

Time

1988 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad. Directed by David Zucker, Paramount Pictures, 1988.

I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,
I saw guns and sharp swords, in the hands of young children…
It's a hard rain's a gonna fall.

Bob Dylan

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

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More information about this quote

Topic

Hard times Visions

Speaker

Bob Dylan

Source

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Medium

Song

Genre

Folk music

Statement Type

Prophecies and predictions

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Dylan, Bob. "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall." The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Columbia Records, 1963.

I'm a connoisseur of roads. I've been tasting roads my whole life. This road will never end.

My Own Private Idaho

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Topic

The open road

Speaker

Mike Waters

Actor

River Phoenix

Source

My Own Private Idaho

Medium

Film

Genre

Adventure (film) Drama (film) Adventure Drama

Language

English

Time

1991 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

My Own Private Idaho. Directed by Gus Van Sant, New Line Cinema, 1991.

The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.

The Shawshank Redemption

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More information about this quote

Topic

Modern life

Speaker

Brooks Hatlen

Actor

James Whitmore

Source

The Shawshank Redemption

Medium

Film

Genre

Prison drama (film) Drama (film) Prison drama Drama

Language

English

Time

1994 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Shawshank Redemption. Directed by Frank Darabont, Castle Rock Entertainment, 1994.

That rug really tied the room together, did it not?

The Big Lebowski

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More information about this quote

Topic

Interior design

Speaker

Walter Sobchak

Actor

John Goodman

Source

The Big Lebowski

Medium

Film

Genre

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

Statement Type

Question

Language

English

Time

1998 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Big Lebowski. Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Working Title Films, 1998.

The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided man.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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More information about this quote

Topic

Technological progress Moral progress Progress

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

The Man Who Was a Fool

Medium

Sermon

Language

English

Time

1961 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "The Man Who Was a Fool." Detroit Council of Churches' Noon Lenten Services. 6 Mar. 1961, Detroit, MI, USA.

I got no fight with any man who does what he's told, but when he don't, the machine breaks down. And when the machine breaks down, we break down.

Platoon

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Topic

Chain of command The military

Speaker

Sgt. Barnes

Actor

Tom Berenger

Source

Platoon

Medium

Film

Genre

War (film) War

Language

English

Time

1986 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Platoon. Directed by Oliver Stone, Hemdale Film Corporation, 1986.

Does the imagination dwell the most
Upon a woman won or woman lost?

W.B. Yeats

More information about this quote

Topic

Lost love Love

Author

W.B. Yeats

Source

The Tower

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Question

Language

English

Time

1928 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Yeats, William Butler. "The Tower." The Tower. Macmillan & Company, 1928.

Current Citation

Yeats, William Butler. "The Tower." W. B. Yeats: The Major Works, edited by Edward Larrissy. Oxford University Press, 2008.

If I had one day when I didn't have to be all confused and I didn't have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace.

Rebel Without a Cause

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More information about this quote

Topic

Alienation Belonging

Speaker

Jim Stark

Actor

James Dean

Source

Rebel Without a Cause

Medium

Film

Genre

Drama (film) Drama

Language

English

Time

1955 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Rebel Without a Cause. Directed by Nicholas Ray, Warner Bros. Pictures, 1955.

One does not sell the earth upon which the people walk.

Crazy Horse

Quoted in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown

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More information about this quote

Topic

Property rights

Speaker

Crazy Horse

Author

Dee Brown

Source

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Language

English

Time

1970 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Witko, Tashunka. Quoted in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, written by Dee Brown. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970, ch. 12.