The Times Great Quotations

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We must consult our means rather than our wishes.

George Washington, 1st president of the US (1732–1799)

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One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.

GK Chesterton, English writer (1874–1936)

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Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work.

Gustave Flaubert, French writer (1821–1880)

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This is the precept by which I have lived: prepare for the worst; expect the best; and take what comes.

Hannah Arendt, American-German philosopher (1906–1975)

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Up with your damned nonsense will I put twice, or perhaps once, but sometimes always, by God, never.

Hans Richter, Hungarian-born conductor and painter (1888–1976)

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Live all you can: it’s a mistake not to. It doesn’t matter what you do in particular, so long as you have had your life. If you haven’t had that, what have you had?

Henry James, American writer (1843–1916)

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Never trust the man who tells you all his troubles but keeps from you all his joys.

Jewish proverb

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Meetings are a great trap … However, they are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.

Ambassador’s Journal (1969)

JK Galbraith, Canadian economist (1908–2006)

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Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and statesman (1749–1832)

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Praising all alike is praising none.

A Letter To A Lady

John Gay, English poet (1685–1732)

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Nor love thy life, nor hate; but what thou liv’st live well, how long or short permit to heaven.

Paradise Lost (1667)

John Milton, English poet (1608–1674)

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Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.

John Wesley, English cleric (1703–1791)

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Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.

Jonathan Swift, Irish poet and satirist (1667–1745)

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A thick skin is a gift from God.

Konrad Adenauer, chancellor of Germany (1876–1967)

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Civility costs nothing and buys everything.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (1689–1762)

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The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.

Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer (1828–1910)

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If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.

Lewis Carroll, English writer (1832–1898)

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A proverb is one man’s wit and all men’s wisdom.

Lord John Russell, prime minister of the UK (1792–1878)

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Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

Maori proverb

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The heart that gives, gathers.

Marianne Moore, American poet (1887–1972)

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You will find it a very good practice always to verify your references, sir!

Martin Joseph Routh, English classical scholar (1755–1854)

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The sense of being well-dressed gives a feeling of inward tranquillity which religion is powerless to bestow.

Emerson, Social Aims (1876)

Miss CF Forbes, English writer (1817–1911)

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Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist and poet (1854–1900)

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I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.

An Ideal Husband (1895)

Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist and poet (1854–1900)

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Education is what you get when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t.

Pete Seeger, American folk singer (1919–2014)

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When the bee comes to your house, let her have beer; you may want to visit the bee’s house some day.

Proverb from the Republic of Congo

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There was no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn’t get any worse.

The Naked Civil Servant (1968)

Quentin Crisp, English writer, raconteur and actor (1908–1999)

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There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.

Robert Burns, Scottish poet (1759–1796)

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If you live among wolves you have to howl like a wolf.

Russian proverb

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He who is blind, dumb and deaf will live a peaceful life of a hundred years.

Sicilian proverb

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You’ve got to have two out of death, sex and jewels.

[In The Sunday Times , 1994, on his principles for a successful museum show]

Sir Roy Strong, English art historian (1935–)

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Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue — to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak.

Socrates, Greek philosopher (470–399 BC)

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There are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.

Either/Or (1843)

Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (1813–1855)

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Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence.

Spanish proverb

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The shrimp that falls asleep is carried away by the current.

Spanish proverb

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Straightforwardness without civility is like a surgeon’s knife, effective but unpleasant. Candour with courtesy is helpful and admirable.

Sri Yukteswar Giri, Indian guru (1855–1936)

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Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.

Swedish proverb

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Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love.

Turkish proverb

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Your head is not only for putting a hat on.

Ukrainian proverb

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Think like a wise man but express yourself like the common people.

WB Yeats, Irish poet (1865–1939)

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Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet ’em on your way down.

Wilson Mizner, American playwright (1876–1933)

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Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.

Sir Winston Churchill, prime minister of the UK, historian and Nobel Prize winner (1874–1965)

Time for a little something.

Winnie the Pooh (1926)

AA Milne, English writer (1882–1956)

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In the spring a livelier iris changes on the burnished dove; In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.

Locksley Hall (1842)

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, English poet (1809–1892)

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My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

Errol Flynn, Australian-born actor (1909–1959)

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There is no love sincerer than the love of food.

Man and Superman (1903)

George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856–1950)

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People say I wasted my money. I say 90 per cent went on women, fast cars and booze. The rest I wasted.

George Best, Northern Irish professional footballer (1946–2005)