Quotes by English Authors | Beyond Motive 235/434

top of page

Quotes by English Authors

"I set myself up to be a bass guitarist and bass players get a lot more work than people like me."

"I set myself up to be a bass guitarist and bass players get a lot more work than people like me."

John Entwistle, English Musician

38

"A simple grateful thought turned heavenwards is the most perfect prayer."

"A simple grateful thought turned heavenwards is the most perfect prayer."

Doris Lessing, English Writer

Thought, Prayer

38

"The fool inherits, but the wise must get."

"The fool inherits, but the wise must get."

William Cartwright, English Dramatist

38

"Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death."

"Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death."

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English Poet

Love, Death, God, Smiles

38

"All roads indeed lead to Rome, but theirs also is a more mystical destination, some bourne of which no traveller knows the name, some city, they all seem to hint, even more eternal."

"All roads indeed lead to Rome, but theirs also is a more mystical destination, some bourne of which no traveller knows the name, some city, they all seem to hint, even more eternal."

Richard Le Gallienne, English Poet

Travel, Name, Rome

38

"If there are Muslims who believe that they've got to kill Christians to make a way for the Islamic faith in the West, not only would they be disappointed, but it will lead to conflict, there's no doubt about that."

"If there are Muslims who believe that they've got to kill Christians to make a way for the Islamic faith in the West, not only would they be disappointed, but it will lead to conflict, there's no doubt about that."

George Carey, English Clergyman

Faith, Conflict, Doubt, Will

38

"There is no real wealth but the labor of man."

"There is no real wealth but the labor of man."

Percy Bysshe Shelley, English Poet

Wealth, Labor, Man

38

"Life is too short not to experiment."

"Life is too short not to experiment."

Jamelia, English Musician

38

"You don't look out there for God, something in the sky, you look in you."

"You don't look out there for God, something in the sky, you look in you."

Alan Watts, English Philosopher

38

"You mustn't take what I say as gospel because no one can second-guess the future."

"You mustn't take what I say as gospel because no one can second-guess the future."

James Lovelock, English Scientist

38

"Nothing can be more obvious than that all animals were created solely and exclusively for the use of man."

"Nothing can be more obvious than that all animals were created solely and exclusively for the use of man."

Thomas Love Peacock, English Author

Animals, Man, Nothing, Obvious

38

"People recognize me, call me Ron, and ask me questions. It's really cool and weird as well."

"People recognize me, call me Ron, and ask me questions. It's really cool and weird as well."

Rupert Grint, English Actor

People, Questions

38

"Plot, rules, nor even poetry, are not half so great beauties in tragedy or comedy as a just imitation of nature, of character, of the passions and their operations in diversified situations."

"Plot, rules, nor even poetry, are not half so great beauties in tragedy or comedy as a just imitation of nature, of character, of the passions and their operations in diversified situations."

Horace Walpole, English Author

Nature, Poetry, Character, Comedy

38

"Though nothing can bring back the hourOf splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower;We will grieve not, rather findStrength in what remains behind;In the primal sympathyWhich having been must ever be..."

"Though nothing can bring back the hourOf splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower;We will grieve not, rather findStrength in what remains behind;In the primal sympathyWhich having been must ever be..."

William Wordsworth, English Poet

Grief, Memory, Strength, Loss

38

"Meditation is the life of the soul: Action, the soul of meditation. and honor the reward of action."

"Meditation is the life of the soul: Action, the soul of meditation. and honor the reward of action."

Francis Quarles, English Poet

Life, Soul, Action, Honor

38

"If you pray enough for things, I am proof that they can happen. I feel like a kid on Christmas day now, every day. It's something I have wanted for a long time and I am as happy as anyone to be here. It is great to be back at my first love."

"If you pray enough for things, I am proof that they can happen. I feel like a kid on Christmas day now, every day. It's something I have wanted for a long time and I am as happy as anyone to be here. It is great to be back at my first love."

Robbie Fowler, English Athlete

Love, Time, Christmas, Day

38

"I generally sell my records online or at the show. You can undersell the distributor and the stores, and people know what they're getting cause they've just seen you live."

"I generally sell my records online or at the show. You can undersell the distributor and the stores, and people know what they're getting cause they've just seen you live."

Roy Ayers, English Musician

38

"Nothing can justify war."

"Nothing can justify war."

Isaac Rosenberg, English Poet

38

"I've never been uncomfortable putting my heart on display, my feelings on display, certainly with an audience."

"I've never been uncomfortable putting my heart on display, my feelings on display, certainly with an audience."

David Coverdale, English Musician

Feelings, Heart

38

"When a noble life has prepared old age, it is not decline that it reveals, but the first days of immortality."

"When a noble life has prepared old age, it is not decline that it reveals, but the first days of immortality."

Muriel Spark, English Novelist

Life, Age, First, Immortality

38

"No, what he didn't like about heroes was that they were usually suicidally gloomy when sober and homicidally insane when drunk."

"No, what he didn't like about heroes was that they were usually suicidally gloomy when sober and homicidally insane when drunk."

Terry Pratchett, English Author

Heroes, Regret, Truth, Power, Life

38

"I'd only read a bit of the first book. And I just knew about all the media furor over it. But I'd not read books 2 or 3. I'd just read a bit of it. And I'd seen the films."

"I'd only read a bit of the first book. And I just knew about all the media furor over it. But I'd not read books 2 or 3. I'd just read a bit of it. And I'd seen the films."

David Thewlis, English Actor

Books, First, Media

38

"Science has fulfilled her function when she has ascertained and enunciated truth."

"Science has fulfilled her function when she has ascertained and enunciated truth."

Thomas Huxley, English Scientist

38

"Good directing is about getting the performance to be just what's right for the movie."

"Good directing is about getting the performance to be just what's right for the movie."

Roland Joffe, English Director

Performance, Right

38

"We are tomorrow's past."

"We are tomorrow's past."

Mary Webb, English Novelist

38

"Music history has flowed under the bridges for many years."

"Music history has flowed under the bridges for many years."

Gavin Bryars, English Composer

History, Music, Years

38

"To make films is as boring as watching paint dry - you usually have to do little tiny bits here and there. You go off waiting for lighting, you come back - the energy dies. You hope you can find someone who can keep it going."

"To make films is as boring as watching paint dry - you usually have to do little tiny bits here and there. You go off waiting for lighting, you come back - the energy dies. You hope you can find someone who can keep it going."

Jenny Agutter, English Actress

Hope, Energy, Waiting

38

"Of Manners gentle, of Affections mild; In Wit a man; Simplicity, a child."

"Of Manners gentle, of Affections mild; In Wit a man; Simplicity, a child."

Alexander Pope, English Poet

Character, Man, Manners, Simplicity, Wit

38

"Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm."

"Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm."

Penelope Lively, English Author

38

"What indeed is life, unless so far as it is enjoyed? It does not merit the name."

"What indeed is life, unless so far as it is enjoyed? It does not merit the name."

William Godwin, English Writer

Life, Merit, Name

38

"Oh for a life of sensations rather than of thoughts."

"Oh for a life of sensations rather than of thoughts."

John Keats, English Poet

Experience, Sensation, Life, Emotion

38

"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Tragedy, Truth, Wisdom, Life

38

"But I do like to have peace and quiet for a good hour."

"But I do like to have peace and quiet for a good hour."

Bryan Ferry, English Musician

38

"God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

"God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling."

Izaak Walton, English Writer

God, Quiet, Recreation

38

"It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency."

"It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of choice and contingency."

Penelope Lively, English Author

38

"If everybody knows where everything is kept you can avoid wasting time looking for things."

"If everybody knows where everything is kept you can avoid wasting time looking for things."

Anthea Turner, English Entertainer

38

"Happiness, that grand mistress of the ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and meanderings, but leads none of us by the same route."

"Happiness, that grand mistress of the ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and meanderings, but leads none of us by the same route."

Charles Caleb Colton, English Writer

Happiness, Life, Dance

38

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."

William Wordsworth, English Poet

38

"Retiring for good wasn't difficult. I knew at the time it was right. I was no longer capable of achieving the standards I'd set myself and there was no light at the end of the tunnel."

"Retiring for good wasn't difficult. I knew at the time it was right. I was no longer capable of achieving the standards I'd set myself and there was no light at the end of the tunnel."

Ian Botham, English Athlete

Time, End, Light, Right

38

"Love is all you need."

"Love is all you need."

Paul McCartney, English Musician

38

"Fortunes made in no time are like shirts made in no time; it's ten to one if they hang long together."

"Fortunes made in no time are like shirts made in no time; it's ten to one if they hang long together."

Douglas William Jerrold, English Dramatist

38

"Oh! blame not the bard."

"Oh! blame not the bard."

Thomas More, English Author

38

"Nor in truth, can Forreign Trade subsist without the Home Trade, both being connected together."

"Nor in truth, can Forreign Trade subsist without the Home Trade, both being connected together."

Dudley North, English Economist

Home, Truth, Being, Trade

38

"The praise of ancient authors proceeds not from the reverence of the dead, but from the competition and mutual envy of the living."

"The praise of ancient authors proceeds not from the reverence of the dead, but from the competition and mutual envy of the living."

Thomas Hobbes, English Philosopher

Competition, Envy, Living, Praise

38

"Let your Medicine be somthing of the Nature of the Sign ascending."

"Let your Medicine be somthing of the Nature of the Sign ascending."

Nicholas Culpeper, English Scientist

Nature, Medicine

38

"I think that black Africa is extremely terrifying. Black Africa can become a maelstrom of warring tribes without the outside world needing to feel the need to do anything about it."

"I think that black Africa is extremely terrifying. Black Africa can become a maelstrom of warring tribes without the outside world needing to feel the need to do anything about it."

John Keegan, English Historian

38

"It was the early days of Rock 'n' Roll in this country. We were all struggling to learn music, it might be Country, Jazz, Classical, Blues or even Rock 'n' Roll."

"It was the early days of Rock 'n' Roll in this country. We were all struggling to learn music, it might be Country, Jazz, Classical, Blues or even Rock 'n' Roll."

Jim Sullivan, English Musician

Music, Country, Jazz

38

"At one time they've been the most important thing to me. So I can't hear our records on the radio, I can't stand it, because they sound so out of what everyone else is doing."

"At one time they've been the most important thing to me. So I can't hear our records on the radio, I can't stand it, because they sound so out of what everyone else is doing."

Ray Davies, English Musician

38

"Age shouldn't affect you. It's just like the size of your shoes - they don't determine how you live your life! You're either marvellous or you're boring, regardless of your age."

"Age shouldn't affect you. It's just like the size of your shoes - they don't determine how you live your life! You're either marvellous or you're boring, regardless of your age."

Steven Morrissey, English Musician

38

"I heard a thousand blended notesWhile in a grove I sate reclined,In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughtsBring sad thoughts to the mind.To her fair works did Nature linkThe human soul that through me ran;And much it grieved my heart to thinkWhat man has made of man."

"I heard a thousand blended notesWhile in a grove I sate reclined,In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughtsBring sad thoughts to the mind.To her fair works did Nature linkThe human soul that through me ran;And much it grieved my heart to thinkWhat man has made of man."

William Wordsworth, English Poet

Humanity, Nature, Sadness, Reflection

38

1......434

......

1......434

......

bottom of page