AUSTRIA: For courage mounteth with occasion.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
King John, Act 2, sc. 1, l. 82 (2.1.82) (1596)
(Source)
ANGELO: ‘Tis one thing to be tempted, Escalus,
Another thing to fall.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Measure for Measure, Act 2, sc. 1, l. 18ff (2.1.18-19) (1604)
(Source)
POLONIUS: This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Hamlet, Act 1, sc. 3, l. 84ff (1.3.84-86) (c. 1600)
(Source)
VOLUMNIA: Action is eloquence.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Coriolanus, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 95 (3.2.95) (c. 1608)
(Source)
I was going to buy a copy of The Power of Positive Thinking, and then I thought: What the hell good would that do?
Ronnie Shakes (1947-1987) American comedian [Ronald Michael Sakele]
(Attributed)
One of the tragedies of modern times is that people have come to believe that something said by someone in the past, perhaps for illustrative or provocation purposes, actually represents that person’s beliefs at the time.
Idries Shah (1924-1996) Indian- British writer, Sufi teacher
(Attributed)
Truth is the most powerful thing in the world, since even fiction itself must be governed by it, and can only please by its resemblance.
Anthony Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713) English politician and philosopher
Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, Vol. 1 “A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm” (1711)
Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don’t have the balls to live in the real world.
Mary Shafer (contemp.) American aeronautics engineer
(Attributed)
There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham.
Anna Sewell (1820-1878) English novelist
Black Beauty, Part 1, ch. 13 “The Devil’s Trade-Mark” (1877)
(Source)
If you never did, you should.
These things are fun, and fun is good.Dr. Seuss (1904-1991) American author, illustrator [pseud. of Theodor Geisel]
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1960)
It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper.
Rod Serling (1924-1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
(Attributed)
Unsourced. An alternate (parallel?) quote from the documentary Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval: "How can you put out a meaningful drama when every fifteen minutes proceedings are interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper? No dramatic art form should be dictated and controlled by men whose training and instincts are cut of an entirely different cloth. The fact remains that these gentlemen sell consumer goods, not an art form."
True happiness is founded upon virtue.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Essays, “On the Happy Life” [De Vita Beata]“, 16.1 [tr. Basore (1932)]
If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium]
Sometimes attributed to Seneca the Elder (Marcus Annaeus Seneca), his father.
Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
(Attributed)
Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], letter 71, sec. 3 “On the Supreme Good” [tr. Grummere (1918)]
(Source)
Alt trans.: "If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable."
Life’s like a play; it’s not the length but the excellence of the acting that matters.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], letter 77
Alt trans. by R. Gummere: "It is with life as it is with a play, - it matters not how long the action is spun out, but how good the acting is." Full text.
The willing, Destiny guides them; the unwilling, Destiny drags them.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], “On Obedience to the Universal Will”
Conversation has a kind of charm about it, an insinuating and insidious something that elicits secrets from us just like love or liquor.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium]
It is equally faulty to trust everyone and to trust no one.
[Utrumque enim vitium est et omnibus credere et nulli.]
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], letter 3 “On True and False Friendship” [tr. Gummere]
(Source)
Alt. trans.: "For it is both a vice to believe everyone and no-one."
It is dangerous for a man too suddenly, or too easily, to believe himself. Wherefore let us examine, watch, observe, and inspect our own hearts; for we are ourselves our own greatest flatterers: we should every night call ourselves to account, “What infirmity have I mastered to-day? what passion opposed? what temptation resisted? what virtue acquired?” Our vices will abate of themselves, if they be brought every day to the shrift.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Essays, “On the Happy Life” [De Vita Beata]” [tr. L’Estrange (1834)]
(Source)
Sometimes incorrectly quoted as "Our vices will abort of themselves ...."
The poor one is not the man who has little, but the man who craves more.
[Non qui parum habet, sed qui plus cupit, pauper est.]
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
Moral Letters to Lucilius [Epistulae morales ad Lucilium], letter 2 “On Discursiveness in Reading,” sec. 6
Alt trans. (Gummere (1918)): "It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
(Attributed)
Often either unattributed or sometimes attributed to Seneca the Elder.
As the soil, however rich it may be, cannot be productive without cultivation, so the mind without culture can never produce good fruit.
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC-AD 65) Roman statesman, philosopher, playwright [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
(Attributed)
BATMAN: Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.
Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (1922-2014) American screenwriter
Batman (the movie) (1966)
As Batman runs around the pier trying to dispose of a large bomb, repeatedly running into drunks, the Salvation Army, nuns, a baby stroller, lovers in a boat, and ducklings in the water.
Wrong? What could be wrong with our child, Robert?
David Seltzer (b. 1940) American screenwriter, director, producer
The Omen (1976)
Ignorance of the law excuses no man; not that all men know the law, but because it is an excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to confute him.
John Selden (1584-1654) English jurist, antiquary, politician, Orientalist
Table Talk, “Law” (1686)
While you are upon the earth, enjoy the good things that are here (to the end that they were given), and be not melancholy, and wish yourself in Heaven.
John Selden (1584-1654) English jurist, antiquary, politician, Orientalist
Table Talk, “Pleasure” (1686)
‘Twas an unhappy division that has been made betwixt faith and works; though in my intellect I may divide them just as in the candle, I know there is both heat and light; but yet put out the candle, and they are both gone: one remains not without the other.
John Selden (1584-1654) English jurist, antiquary, politician, Orientalist
Table Talk, ch. 42 “Faith and Works” (1686)
Where lipstick is concerned, the important thing is not color, but to accept God’s final word on where your lips end.
Jerry Seinfeld (b. 1954) American comedian
(Attributed)
Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.
Jerry Seinfeld (b. 1954) American comedian
(Attributed)
There’s very little advice in men’s magazines, because men don’t think there’s a lot they don’t know. Women do. Women want to learn. Men think, “I know what I’m doing, just show me somebody naked.”
Jerry Seinfeld (b. 1954) American comedian
(Attributed)
What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.
John Sedgwick (1813-1864) American army officer
Report by General Martin T. McMahon
(Nearly) last words by General Sedgwick to his troops during the Battle of Spotsylvania, shortly before being shot and killed by a sniper. Source. Some paraphrases have the last word cut off.
Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.
David Searls (b. 1947) American journalist, columnist, blogger
(Attributed)
Who o’er the herd would wish to reign,
Fantastic, fickle, fierce, and vain!
Vain as the leaf upon the stream,
And fickle as a changeful dream;
Fantastic as a woman’s mood,
And fierce as Frenzy’s fever’d blood.
Thou many-headed monster thing,
Oh who would wish to be thy king!Walter Scott (1771-1832) Scottish writer, historian, biographer
Lady of the Lake, Canto 5, XXX (1810)
The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character.
Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can’t go hand in hand, I don’t want to go.
Hazel Scott (1920-1981) Trinidad-American pianist, singer, writer
Ms., “Great (Hazel) Scott!,” by Margo Jefferson (Nov. 1974)
I have always respected everyone’s religion. As I say, there is only one God and a lot of confused people.
Hazel Scott (1920-1981) Trinidad-American pianist, singer, writer
Interview with Arthur Taylor, Notes and Tones (1977)
Original interview Dec 1972.
I’ve always known I was gifted, which is not the easiest thing in the world for a person to know, because you’re not responsible for your gift, only for what you do with it.
Hazel Scott (1920-1981) Trinidad-American pianist, singer, writer
Interview with Arthur Taylor, Notes and Tones (1977)
Original interview Dec 1972.
Knowing all truth is less than doing a little bit of good.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) Alsatian philosopher, physician, philanthropist, polymath
The Thoughts of Albert Schweitzer
I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) Alsatian philosopher, physician, philanthropist, polymath
(Attributed)
Not one of us knows what effect his life produces, and what he gives to others; that is hidden from us and must remain so, though we are often allowed to see some little fraction of it, so that we may not lose courage. The way in which power works is a mystery.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) Alsatian philosopher, physician, philanthropist, polymath
The Spiritual Life: Selected Writings of Albert Schweitzer (1947)
As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more mysterious.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) Alsatian philosopher, physician, philanthropist, polymath
(Attributed)
A man can only do what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) Alsatian philosopher, physician, philanthropist, polymath
(Attributed)
Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of their way, but must accept their lot calmly, even if people roll a few stones upon it.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) Alsatian philosopher, physician, philanthropist, polymath
The Spiritual Life: Selected Writings of Albert Schweitzer (1947)
I believe forgiving them is God’s function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting.
Norman Schwarzkopf (1934-2012) American military leader
(Attributed)
On the 9/11 terrorists. Repeated (regarding Osama bin-Ladin) on Meet the Press (8 Feb 2003). There's some question, though, as to whether he uttered the original.
I admire men of character, and I judge character not by how men deal with their superiors, but mostly how they deal with their subordinates, and that, to me, is where you find out what the character of a man is.
Norman Schwarzkopf (1934-2012) American military leader
Journal-World (27 March 1991)
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Of course, you could do even better with a dead squirrel.
Fred Schwartz (contemp.)
(Attributed)
CHARLIE BROWN: Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, “Where have I gone wrong?” Then a voice says to me, “This is going to take more than one night.”
Charles Schulz (1922-2000) American cartoonist
Peanuts
LINUS: There’s no heavier burden than a great potential.
Charles Schulz (1922-2000) American cartoonist
Peanuts (1963)
Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.
Charles Schulz (1922-2000) American cartoonist
Peanuts (13 Jun 1980)
CHARLIE BROWN: I have a new philosophy. I’m only going to dread one day at a time.
Charles Schulz (1922-2000) American cartoonist
Peanuts
KEATING: We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.
If the code and the comments disagree, then both are probably wrong.
Norm Schryer (1933-2016) American computer scientist, mathematician
(Attributed)
When we say the Pledge of Allegiance, we say, “…with liberty and justice for all.” Well what part of “all” don’t people understand?
Patricia Schroeder (b. 1940) American politician
Speech at Gay and Lesbian March, Washington (25 Apr. 1993)
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.
[Jeder hält das Ende seines Gesichtskreises für das der Welt.]
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German philosopher
Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. 2, ch. 26 “Psychological Observations [Psychologische Bemerkungen],” § 338 (1851) [tr. Saunders (1890)]
(Source)
(Source (German)). Alternate translation:
Everyone regards the limits of his field of vision as those of the world.
[tr. Payne (1974)]
