20th century

Explore 4282 quotes from the 20th century

That toil of growing up;
The ignominy of boyhood; the distress
Of boyhood changing into man;
The unfinished man and his pain.

W.B. Yeats

Read A Dialogue of Self and Soul at Poetry Foundation

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Topic

Growing up

Author

W.B. Yeats

Source

A Dialogue of Self and Soul

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1933 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Yeats, William Butler. "A Dialogue of Self and Soul." The Winding Stair and Other Poems. The Macmillan Company, 1933, pt. 2, st. 1.

Current Citation

Yeats, William Butler. "A Dialogue of Self and Soul." W. B. Yeats: The Major Works, edited by Edward Larrissy. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Jealousy is no more than feeling alone against smiling enemies.

Elizabeth Bowen

The House in Paris

More information about this quote

Topic

Jealousy

Author

Elizabeth Bowen

Source

The House in Paris

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1935 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Bowen, Elizabeth. The House in Paris. Gollancz/Knopf, 1935.

Suffering is only intolerable when nobody cares.

Cicely Saunders

More information about this quote

Topic

Suffering

Author

Cicely Saunders

Language

English

Time

1960 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Saunders, Cicely. "The Management of Patients in the Terminal Stage." Cancer. Vol. 6, Butterworth and Company, 1960.

Right now, everything is great, everyone is happy, everyone is in love, and that's wonderful. But you gotta know that sooner or later you're gonna be screaming at each other about who's gonna get this dish. This eight dollar dish will cost you a thousand dollars in phone calls to the legal firm of that's-mine-this-is-yours.

When Harry Met Sally…

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Topic

Broken relationships

Speaker

Harry Burns

Actor

Billy Crystal

Source

When Harry Met Sally…

Medium

Film

Genre

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

Language

English

Time

1989 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

When Harry Met Sally... Directed by Rob Reiner, Nelson Entertainment/Castle Rock Entertainment, 1989.

A relationship, I think, is like a shark, you know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies, and I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.

Annie Hall

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More information about this quote

Topic

Failed relationships Relationships

Speaker

Alvy Singer

Actor

Woody Allen

Source

Annie Hall

Medium

Film

Genre

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

Language

English

Time

1977 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Annie Hall. Directed by Woody Allen, A Jack Rollins and Charles H. Joffe Production, 1977.

You ask if they were happy. This is not a characteristic of a European. To be contented-that's for the cows.

Coco Chanel

More information about this quote

Topic

Happiness Europeans

Speaker

Coco Chanel

Language

English

Time

1990 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Coco Chanel. Quoted in Coco Chanel: A Biography, written by Axel Madsen. Bloomsbury Publishing, 1990, ch. 35.

It happens sometimes. Friends come in and out of your life, like busboys in a restaurant.

Stand By Me

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Topic

Friends

Speaker

The Writer

Actor

Richard Dreyfuss

Source

Stand By Me

Medium

Film

Genre

Coming of age (film) Coming of age

Language

English

Time

1986 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Stand By Me. Directed by Rob Reiner, Act III Productions, 1986.

The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle. It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill. You will become dead marines and then you will be in a world of shit because marines are not allowed to die without permission. Do you maggots understand?

Gunnery Sargent Hartman

Full Metal Jacket

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Topic

Marines The military

Speaker

Gunnery Sargent Hartman

Actor

Ronald Lee Ermey

Source

Full Metal Jacket

Medium

Film

Genre

War (film) War

Language

English

Time

1987 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Full Metal Jacket. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, Natant/Harrier Films, 1987.

I thought love would adapt itself to my needs.
But needs grow too fast.
They come up like weeds.
Through cracks in the conversation.
Through silences in the dark.
Through everything you thought was concrete.

Alice Walker

More information about this quote

Topic

Human needs Love

Author

Alice Walker

Source

Did This Happen to Your Mother? Did Your Sister Throw Up a Lot? Good Night, Willie Lee, I'll See You in the Morning

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1979 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Walker, Alice. "Did This Happen to Your Mother? Did Your Sister Throw Up a Lot?" Good Night, Willie Lee, I'll See You in the Morning. The Dial Press, 1979, I. 24.

Civilization is nothing more than the effort to reduce the use of force to the last resort.

Jose Ortega y Gasset

The Revolt of the Masses

More information about this quote

Topic

Monopoly on violence Civilization

Author

Jose Ortega y Gasset

Source

The Revolt of the Masses

Medium

Essay

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

Spanish

Time

1930 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Ortega y Gasset, Jose. La Rebelion de las Masas [The Revolt of the Masses.] El Sol, 1929, serial.

Current Citation

Ortega y Gasset, Jose. The Revolt of the Masses. W. W. Norton & Company, 1994, ch. 8.

To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

More information about this quote

Topic

Standing up for what's right Courage Cowardice Protest Politics

Author

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Source

Poems of Problems

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1914 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler. "Protest." Poems of Problems. W. B. Conkey Company, 1914.

We've never lost an American in space, we're sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option.

Apollo 13

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Topic

Space program

Speaker

Gene Kranz

Actor

Ed Harris

Source

Apollo 13

Medium

Film

Genre

Docudrama (film)

Language

English

Time

1995 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Apollo 13. Directed by Ron Howard. Universal Pictures/Imagine Entertainment, 1995.

Through the machineries of greed, pettiness, and the abuse of power, love occurs.

Thomas Pynchon

Gravity's Rainbow

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Topic

Power of love Love

Author

Thomas Pynchon

Source

Gravity's Rainbow

Medium

Novel

Language

English

Time

1973 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Pynchon, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow. Viking Press, 1973.

A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.

The Wizard of Oz

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More information about this quote

Topic

Loving others Love

Speaker

The Wizard of Oz

Actor

Frank Morgan

Source

The Wizard of Oz

Medium

Film

Genre

Fantasy (film) Musical (film) Fantasy Musical

Language

English

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

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

I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.

2001: A Space Odyssey

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More information about this quote

Topic

Making the most

Speaker

HAL 9000

Actor

Douglas Rain

Source

2001: A Space Odyssey

Medium

Film

Genre

Epic (film) Science fiction (film) Epic Science fiction

Language

English

Time

1968 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

2001: A Space Odyssey. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick Productions, 1968.

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want, and then advise them to do it.

Harry Truman

More information about this quote

Topic

Parents and children Raising kids

Speaker

Harry Truman

Medium

Interview

Language

English

Time

1955 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Truman, Harry S. Interviewed by Margaret Truman. Person to Person, CBS. 27 May 1955.

A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good.

Andy Warhol

The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B & Back Again)

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Topic

Food

Author

Andy Warhol

Source

The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B & Back Again)

Genre

Autobiography and memoir

Language

English

Time

1975 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Warhol, Andy. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B & Back Again). Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975, ch. 6.

Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.

The Big Lebowski

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More information about this quote

Topic

Nihilism Naziism Political ideology

Speaker

Walter Sobchak

Actor

John Goodman

Source

The Big Lebowski

Medium

Film

Genre

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

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.

Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope—some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity. This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.

Lyndon B. Johnson

1964 State of the Union

More information about this quote

Topic

Poverty American politics

Speaker

Lyndon B. Johnson

Source

1964 State of the Union Presidential State of the Union address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1964 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Johnson, Lyndon B. "State of the Union Address." Joint congress meeting. 8 Jan. 1964, US Capital Building, Washington, DC, USA.

This is the Earth, at a time when the dinosaurs roamed a lush and fertile planet. A piece of rock just 6 miles wide changed all that. It hit with the force of 10,000 nuclear weapons. A trillion tons of dirt and rock hurtled into the atmosphere, creating a suffocating blanket of dust the sun was powerless to penetrate for a thousand years. It happened before. It will happen again. It's just a question of when.

Armageddon

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Topic

End of the world The world End times

Source

Armageddon

Medium

Film

Genre

Disaster (film) Science fiction (film) Disaster Science fiction

Language

English

Time

1998 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Armageddon. Directed by Michael Bay, Touchstone Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer Films/Valhalla Motion Pictures, 1998.