Literature quotes

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. – Saint Augustine

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals. – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. – Maya Angelou

We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting. – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive. – John Green, Looking for Alaska

There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired. – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not. – André Gide

Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you. – George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only. – Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas A. Edison

People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of. – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will. – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. – Malcolm X

It is never too late to be what you might have been. – George Eliot

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

We accept the love we think we deserve. – Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. – John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul. – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am. – Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat. – Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

Do I dare disturb the universe? – T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. – George Orwell, Animal Farm

I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing. – Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. – Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. – Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close. – Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

Sometimes it’s better to be kind than to be right. We do not need an intelligent mind that speaks, but a patient heart that listens. – Gautama Buddha

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. – Mark Twain

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. – Edmund Burke

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. – Albert Einstein

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. – Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. – Albert Einstein

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. – Mark Twain

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves. – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. – Nelson Mandela

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ – Martin Luther King Jr.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. – Martin Luther King Jr.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. – Steve Jobs

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. – Aristotle Onassis

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky

The best revenge is massive success. – Frank Sinatra

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going. – Sam Levenson