Quotes by Writer | Beyond Motive 13/386

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Quotes by Writer

"If the world were a logical place, men would ride side-saddle."

"If the world were a logical place, men would ride side-saddle."

Rita Mae Brown, American Writer

Man, Men, World

26

"Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others."

"Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others."

Niccolo Machiavelli, Italian Writer

Man, Men, Ambition, First

26

"Judge: a law student who marks his own examination-papers."

"Judge: a law student who marks his own examination-papers."

H. L. Mencken, American Writer

Education, Examination, Law

26

"All stories interest me, and some haunt me until I end up writing them. Certain themes keep coming up: justice, loyalty, violence, death, political and social issues, freedom."

"All stories interest me, and some haunt me until I end up writing them. Certain themes keep coming up: justice, loyalty, violence, death, political and social issues, freedom."

Isabel Allende, Chilean Writer

Death, End, Freedom, Interest

26

"If you're young and talented, it's like you have wings."

"If you're young and talented, it's like you have wings."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Youth, Talent, Freedom, Energy

26

"Time expands, then contracts, all in tune with the stirrings of the heart."

"Time expands, then contracts, all in tune with the stirrings of the heart."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Emotion, Time, Heart, Flow

26

"Could be. I'm a pretty dangerous dude when I'm cornered."Yeah, said the voice from under the table, "you go to pieces so fast people get hit by the shrapnel."

"Could be. I'm a pretty dangerous dude when I'm cornered."Yeah, said the voice from under the table, "you go to pieces so fast people get hit by the shrapnel."

Douglas Adams, English Writer

Conflict, Danger, Personality, Defense

26

"There's only one law you gotta follow to keep outta trouble. Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doin' it."

"There's only one law you gotta follow to keep outta trouble. Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doin' it."

Ben Hecht, American Writer

Advice, First, Law, Trouble

26

"Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust. If it is not true that a divine being fell, then we can only say that one of the animals went entirely off its head."

"Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust. If it is not true that a divine being fell, then we can only say that one of the animals went entirely off its head."

Gilbert K. Chesterton, English Writer

God, Animals, Being, Disease

26

"How in hell did those bombers get up there every single second of our lives! Why doesn't someone want to talk about it! We've started and won two atomic wars since 2022! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world? Is it because we're so rich and the rest of the world's so poor and we just don't care if they are? I've heard rumors; the world is starving, but we're well fed. Is it true, the world works hard and we play? Is that why we're hated so much? I've heard the rumors about hate too, once in a long while, over the years. Do you know why? I don't, that's sure! Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just might stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes!"

"How in hell did those bombers get up there every single second of our lives! Why doesn't someone want to talk about it! We've started and won two atomic wars since 2022! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world? Is it because we're so rich and the rest of the world's so poor and we just don't care if they are? I've heard rumors; the world is starving, but we're well fed. Is it true, the world works hard and we play? Is that why we're hated so much? I've heard the rumors about hate too, once in a long while, over the years. Do you know why? I don't, that's sure! Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just might stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes!"

Ray Bradbury, American Writer

Awareness, War, Ignorance, Truth, Wealth

26

"Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected from its life's quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result -- eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly -- in you."

"Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected from its life's quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result -- eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly -- in you."

Bill Bryson, American Writer

Ancestry, Survival, Chance, Existence

26

"Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses."

"Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses."

Marilyn vos Savant, American Writer

26

"Rereading, we find a new book."

"Rereading, we find a new book."

Mason Cooley, American Writer

26

"When we are born our eyes open onto the world.When we learn the truth about the world we choose to close our eyes to the world around us.And when we die, we open our eyes for that last time to see that in our ignorance, we could have changed the world for all to see."

"When we are born our eyes open onto the world.When we learn the truth about the world we choose to close our eyes to the world around us.And when we die, we open our eyes for that last time to see that in our ignorance, we could have changed the world for all to see."

Anthony T. Hincks, British Writer

Awareness, Truth, Ignorance, Life, Perception

26

"Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning."

"Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning."

William Arthur Ward, American Writer

Curiosity, Learning

26

"Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside an advertising agency."

"Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside an advertising agency."

Raymond Chandler, American Writer

Intelligence, Advertising, Chess, Waste

26

"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much."

"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much."

Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish Writer

26

"I certainly admire people who do things."

"I certainly admire people who do things."

Raymond Chandler, American Writer

26

"I like a lot of Margaret Atwood, I like much of Alice Munro. Again, if you were to ask me about male writers, there's often a novel I admire, but not all of their works."

"I like a lot of Margaret Atwood, I like much of Alice Munro. Again, if you were to ask me about male writers, there's often a novel I admire, but not all of their works."

Ann Beattie, American Writer

Literature, Writers

26

"The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us."

"The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us."

Ray Bradbury, American Writer

Knowledge, Books, Magic, Universe

26

"Use that fluff of yours you call a brain."

"Use that fluff of yours you call a brain."

Agatha Christie, English Writer

Intelligence, Humor, Self, Thinking

26

"It is with pain that I read of the dire effects of my book upon the minds of young girls."

"It is with pain that I read of the dire effects of my book upon the minds of young girls."

Mary MacLane, Canadian Writer

Education, Girls, Pain

26

"A human life is a schooling for eternity."

"A human life is a schooling for eternity."

Gottfried Keller, Swiss Writer

25

"There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best."

"There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best."

Doris Lessing, English Writer

25

"Never was anything great achieved without danger."

"Never was anything great achieved without danger."

Niccolo Machiavelli, Italian Writer

25

"The breadth of the potential readership is also a factor."

"The breadth of the potential readership is also a factor."

Mark Millar, Scottish Writer

Publishing, Potential

25

"The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain."

"The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain."

Colin Wilson, English Writer

Disaster, Disasters, Man, Rain

25

"A cat's rage is beautiful, burning with pure cat flame, all its hair standing up and crackling blue sparks, eyes blazing and sputtering."

"A cat's rage is beautiful, burning with pure cat flame, all its hair standing up and crackling blue sparks, eyes blazing and sputtering."

William S. Burroughs, American Writer

Identity, Eyes, Hair

25

"What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?"

"What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?"

Henry James, American Writer

Character, Determination

25

"The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man."

"The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man."

Madame de Stael, French Writer

Desire, Man, Woman

25

"Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

"Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

Douglas Adams, English Writer

Flying, Learning

25

"Only great minds can afford a simple style."

"Only great minds can afford a simple style."

Stendhal, French Writer

25

"I don't mind you thinking I'm stupid, but don't talk to me like I'm stupid."

"I don't mind you thinking I'm stupid, but don't talk to me like I'm stupid."

Harlan Ellison, American Writer

Mind, Talk, Thinking

25

"The person is always happy who is in the presence of something they cannot know in full. A person as advanced far in the study of morals who has mastered the difference between pride and vanity."

"The person is always happy who is in the presence of something they cannot know in full. A person as advanced far in the study of morals who has mastered the difference between pride and vanity."

Nicolas de Chamfort, French Writer

Difference, Morals, Pride, Study

25

"A small silence came between us, as precise as a picture hanging on the wall."

"A small silence came between us, as precise as a picture hanging on the wall."

Jean Stafford, American Writer

25

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."

Arthur Conan Doyle, British Writer

Fact, Nothing, Obvious

25

"I get up early in the morning, 4 o'clock, and I sit at my desk and what I do is just dream. After three or four hours, that's enough. In the afternoon, I run."

"I get up early in the morning, 4 o'clock, and I sit at my desk and what I do is just dream. After three or four hours, that's enough. In the afternoon, I run."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Routine, Dream, Discipline

25

"Sometimes paranoia's just having all the facts."

"Sometimes paranoia's just having all the facts."

William S. Burroughs, American Writer

Fact, Facts, Paranoia

25

"No man ever achieved worth-while success who did not, at one time or other, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure."

"No man ever achieved worth-while success who did not, at one time or other, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure."

Napoleon Hill, American Writer

Motivational, Success, Time, Failure, Man

25

"Trade isn't about goods. Trade is about information. Goods sit in the warehouse until information moves them."

"Trade isn't about goods. Trade is about information. Goods sit in the warehouse until information moves them."

C. J. Cherryh, American Writer

Information, Trade

25

"Always judge a man by the coloring of his heart and only his heart. Truth can be found in his record of actions, not intentions."

"Always judge a man by the coloring of his heart and only his heart. Truth can be found in his record of actions, not intentions."

Suzy Kassem, American Writer

Character, Judgment, Heart, Truth, Action

25

"The writer of originality, unless dead, is always shocking, scandalous; novelty disturbs and repels."

"The writer of originality, unless dead, is always shocking, scandalous; novelty disturbs and repels."

Simone de Beauvoir, French Writer

Originality, Novelty

25

"You oughtn't to yield to temptation. Well, somebody must, or the thing becomes absurd."

"You oughtn't to yield to temptation. Well, somebody must, or the thing becomes absurd."

Anthony Hope, British Writer

Temptation, Yield

25

"Getting emotional about things is a peacetime luxury. In wartime, it's much too painful."

"Getting emotional about things is a peacetime luxury. In wartime, it's much too painful."

Edmund H. North, American Writer

Priority, Luxury

25

"Some things in life are too complicated to explain in any language."

"Some things in life are too complicated to explain in any language."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Complexity, Life, Language, Understanding

25

"Thank Heaven, the sun has gone in, and I don't have to go out and enjoy it."

"Thank Heaven, the sun has gone in, and I don't have to go out and enjoy it."

Logan P. Smith, American Writer

25

"Definition of a victim: a person to whom life happens."

"Definition of a victim: a person to whom life happens."

Peter McWilliams, American Writer

25

"Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment."

"Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment."

Dale Carnegie, American Writer

Health, Work, Fatigue, Frustration, Resentment

25

"Women have seldom sufficient employment to silence their feelings; a round of little cares, or vain pursuits frittering away all strength of mind and organs, they become naturally only objects of sense."

"Women have seldom sufficient employment to silence their feelings; a round of little cares, or vain pursuits frittering away all strength of mind and organs, they become naturally only objects of sense."

Mary Wollstonecraft, British Writer

Strength, Women, Feelings, Mind

25

"Severities should be dealt out all at once, so that their suddenness may give less offense; benefits ought to be handed ought drop by drop, so that they may be relished the more."

"Severities should be dealt out all at once, so that their suddenness may give less offense; benefits ought to be handed ought drop by drop, so that they may be relished the more."

Niccolo Machiavelli, Italian Writer

Benefit, Benefits, May

25

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