Fire Quotes | Beyond Motive

top of page

Fire Quotes

"There may be a great fire in our hearts, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke."

"There may be a great fire in our hearts, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke."

Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch Artist

45

"How could I stand by and watch my house on fire?"

"How could I stand by and watch my house on fire?"

Kamisese Mara, Fijian Statesman

24

"Washington has thrown their soldiers on the fire."

"Washington has thrown their soldiers on the fire."

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Public Servant

Fire, Soldiers, Washington

18

"When one burns one's bridges, what a very nice fire it makes."

"When one burns one's bridges, what a very nice fire it makes."

Dylan Thomas, Welsh Poet

18

"Whenever our neighbour's house is on fire, it cannot be amiss for the engines to play a little on our own."

"Whenever our neighbour's house is on fire, it cannot be amiss for the engines to play a little on our own."

Edmund Burke, Irish Statesman

17

"Noah came before the flood. I have come before the fire."

"Noah came before the flood. I have come before the fire."

Joseph Smith, Jr., American Clergyman

Fire, Joseph Smith, Jr.

14

"We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it."

"We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it."

Tennessee Williams, American Dramatist

13

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire."

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire."

Pamela Hansford Johnson, English Critic

Fire, Sky, Sunset, Water

12

"Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant."

"Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant."

Mitchell Kapor, American Businessman

Fire, Information, Internet

10

"I was the first woman to burn my bra - it took the fire department four days to put it out."

"I was the first woman to burn my bra - it took the fire department four days to put it out."

Dolly Parton, American Musician

Fire, First, Woman

9

"O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention."

"O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention."

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Fire, Heaven, Invention

9

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled."

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled."

Plutarch, Greek Philosopher

9

"When I heard Little Richard, I mean, it just set my world on fire."

"When I heard Little Richard, I mean, it just set my world on fire."

David Bowie, English Musician

9

"Fire has impacted every part of our lives - without fire, there would be no shopping, right? - that's how the Internet will intrude on our lives, particularly our kids' lives."

"Fire has impacted every part of our lives - without fire, there would be no shopping, right? - that's how the Internet will intrude on our lives, particularly our kids' lives."

Jay Chiat, American Businessman

Fire, Internet, Kids, Right

9

"It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake."

"It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake."

Frederick Douglass, American Author

8

"It was a night when London was ringed and stabbed with fire."

"It was a night when London was ringed and stabbed with fire."

Ernie Pyle, American Journalist

Fire, London, Night

8

"I took all my wax studies and threw them in the fire... that's the way it is when something unpleasant happens to me. I take my hammer and I squash a figure."

"I took all my wax studies and threw them in the fire... that's the way it is when something unpleasant happens to me. I take my hammer and I squash a figure."

Camille Claudel, French Sculptor

7

"Personality is born out of pain. It is the fire shut up in the flint."

"Personality is born out of pain. It is the fire shut up in the flint."

J. B. Yeats, Irish Artist

Fire, Pain, Personality

7

"What medicines do not heal, the lance will; what the lance does not heal, fire will."

"What medicines do not heal, the lance will; what the lance does not heal, fire will."

Hippocrates, Greek Scientist

7

"I've seen public opinion shift like the wind and put out the very fire it lighted."

"I've seen public opinion shift like the wind and put out the very fire it lighted."

Rachel Field, American Novelist

Fire, Opinion, Public, Publicopinion

7

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire."

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire."

Tertullian, Roman Author

7

"We feel free when we escape - even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire."

"We feel free when we escape - even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire."

Eric Hoffer, American Writer

6

"No. Better research needed. Fire your research person. No fishnet stockings. Never. Not in this band."

"No. Better research needed. Fire your research person. No fishnet stockings. Never. Not in this band."

Gene Simmons, American Musician

6

"Fire has always been and, seemingly, will always remain, the most terrible of the elements."

"Fire has always been and, seemingly, will always remain, the most terrible of the elements."

Harry Houdini, Hungarian Entertainer

6

"Small miseries, like small debts, hit us in so many places, and meet us at so many turns and corners, that what they want in weight, they make up in number, and render it less hazardous to stand the fire of one cannon ball, than a volley composed of such a shower of bullets."

"Small miseries, like small debts, hit us in so many places, and meet us at so many turns and corners, that what they want in weight, they make up in number, and render it less hazardous to stand the fire of one cannon ball, than a volley composed of such a shower of bullets."

Rudyard Kipling, English Writer

Fire, Want, Weight

6

"Must all of them and their families be physically abolished? Of course not? They must be 'liquidated' or melted in the hot fire of exile and labor into the proletarian masses."

"Must all of them and their families be physically abolished? Of course not? They must be 'liquidated' or melted in the hot fire of exile and labor into the proletarian masses."

Walter Duranty, American Journalist

6

"Managers tend to treat organizations as if they are infinitely plastic. They hire and fire, merge, downsize, terminate programs, add capacities. But there are limits to the shifts that organizations can absorb."

"Managers tend to treat organizations as if they are infinitely plastic. They hire and fire, merge, downsize, terminate programs, add capacities. But there are limits to the shifts that organizations can absorb."

Kevin Kelly, American Editor

Fire, Limits, Managers

6

"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark."

"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark."

Victor Hugo, French Author

5

"We set the town on fire and burned down every house as a warning to other small towns along the river."

"We set the town on fire and burned down every house as a warning to other small towns along the river."

Knute Nelson, American Politician

5

"I never could stand losing. Second place didn't interest me. I had a fire in my belly."

"I never could stand losing. Second place didn't interest me. I had a fire in my belly."

Ty Cobb, American Athlete

Fire, Interest, Losing

5

"I did mostly good things, except light things on fire."

"I did mostly good things, except light things on fire."

Mark Hoppus, American Musician

5

"I remember when I did the pilot, and I though no network is going to want to do this. How could that happen? A half Chinese guy walking the old west that doesn't fire one gun and never gets on a horse?"

"I remember when I did the pilot, and I though no network is going to want to do this. How could that happen? A half Chinese guy walking the old west that doesn't fire one gun and never gets on a horse?"

David Carradine, American Actor

Fire, Network, Old, Walking

5

"I'm cautious about using fire. It can become theatrical. I am interested in the heat, not the flames."

"I'm cautious about using fire. It can become theatrical. I am interested in the heat, not the flames."

Andy Goldsworthy, British Artist

5

"Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?"

"Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?"

Stephen Hawking, English Physicist

Fire, Rules, Theory, Universe

5

"I haven't much opinion of words. They're apt to set fire to a dry tongue, that's what I say."

"I haven't much opinion of words. They're apt to set fire to a dry tongue, that's what I say."

Ellen Glasgow, American Novelist

Fire, Opinion, Tongue, Words

5

"Storytelling is what lights my fire."

"Storytelling is what lights my fire."

Hope Davis, American Actress

5

"But clearly, this is what this is about. It's about pushing the security bubble out. It's about rooting out every last guy, so that there's not even somebody who can fire a single, solitary RPG round from some little qalat out here."

"But clearly, this is what this is about. It's about pushing the security bubble out. It's about rooting out every last guy, so that there's not even somebody who can fire a single, solitary RPG round from some little qalat out here."

David Petraeus, American Soldier

5

"Man's mind is not a container to be filled but rather a fire to be kindled."

"Man's mind is not a container to be filled but rather a fire to be kindled."

Dorthea Brande, American Writer

Fire, Man, Mind

5

"The best training is to play by ear: trial by fire."

"The best training is to play by ear: trial by fire."

John Legend, American Musician

Fire, Play, Training

4

"There is nothing Federal about local volunteer fire departments."

"There is nothing Federal about local volunteer fire departments."

Bobby Scott, American Politician

4

"Jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire."

"Jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire."

Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Spanish Poet

4

"I always wanted to fire rays out of my fingertips."

"I always wanted to fire rays out of my fingertips."

Len Wein, American Cartoonist

4

"One does not set fire to a world which is already lost."

"One does not set fire to a world which is already lost."

Friedrich Durrenmatt, Swiss Author

4

"I'm healed up and I feel great. After going through the fire, it's great to be out performing again."

"I'm healed up and I feel great. After going through the fire, it's great to be out performing again."

Chris LeDoux, American Musician

4

"I've had tons of odd jobs, but I think that I would probably be a fireman because you get to see the results of your job. You get there and there is a house on fire. You leave and there's not a fire anymore."

"I've had tons of odd jobs, but I think that I would probably be a fireman because you get to see the results of your job. You get there and there is a house on fire. You leave and there's not a fire anymore."

Luke Perry, American Actor

Fire, Job, Jobs, Results

4

"You are ice and fire the touch of you burns my hands like snow."

"You are ice and fire the touch of you burns my hands like snow."

Amy Lowell, American Poet

4

"You wait until the forest fire is on your front step before you step up."

"You wait until the forest fire is on your front step before you step up."

Peter Dawson, Australian Musician

4

"If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience."

"If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience."

Robert Fulghum, American Author

4

"We can no longer tolerate losing one more innocent child or putting one more firefighter at risk in a fire that could have been prevented at the cost of pennies by making a couple simple changes to the construction of a cigarette."

"We can no longer tolerate losing one more innocent child or putting one more firefighter at risk in a fire that could have been prevented at the cost of pennies by making a couple simple changes to the construction of a cigarette."

Ed Markey, American Politician

Fire, Losing, Risk

4

"Malice can always find a mark to shoot at, and a pretence to fire."

"Malice can always find a mark to shoot at, and a pretence to fire."

Charles Simmons, American Author

4

bottom of page