RICHARD: And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determinèd to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Richard III, Act 1, sc. 1, l. 28ff (1.1.28-31) (1592)
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Quotations about:
self-understanding
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Thou never wast so good as thou shouldest be; if thou does not strive to be better. And thou never wilt be better, if thou doest not fear to grow worse.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2092 (1727)
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To know one’s own limitations is the hallmark of competence.
Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957) English author, translator
Thrones, Dominations, ch. 5 (1998) [with Jill Paton Walsh]
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Walsh completed the novel left unfinished at Sayers' death.
A man can’t help his feelings sometime. He don’t even understand his damn self half the time and there the trouble starts.
My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination? These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) English novelist
Frankenstein, ch. 14 (1818)
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Narrated by the Monster.
We pick our friends not only because they are kind and enjoyable company, but also, perhaps more importantly, because they understand us for who we think we are.
Alain de Botton (b. 1969) Swiss-British author
The Consolations of Philosophy, ch. 4 “Consolation for Inadequacy” (2000)
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Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
Carl Jung (1875-1961) Swiss psychologist
Memories, Dreams, Reflections [Erinnerungen, Träume, Gedanken], ch. 9 “Travels,” sec. 2 (1961; 1973 ed.) [with Aniela Jaffé] [tr. Winton/Winton (1963)]
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How little do we know that which we are!
How less what we may be!
To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 151 (1955)
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I have found that the greatest help in meeting any problem with decency and self-respect and whatever courage is demanded, is to know where you yourself stand. That is, to have in words what you believe and are acting from.
William Faulkner (1897-1962) American novelist
Letter to David Kirk, Oxford, Miss. (8 Mar 1956)
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