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Quotations

George CarlinIf it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.

—  George Carlin, 1936-2008, American comedian

18 likes
George OrwellLooking at the world as a whole, the drift for many decades has been not towards anarchy but towards the reimposition of slavery.

—  George Orwell, 1903-1950, British writer

16 likes
Charles BaudelaireIf the word doesn't exist, invent it; but first be sure it doesn't exist.

—  Charles Baudelaire, 1821-1867, French poet

12 likes
Stanislaw Jerzy LecThe window to the world can be covered by a newspaper.

—  Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, 1906-1966, Polish author of maxims

11 likes
William ShakespeareAll the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.

—  William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, English poet & playwright ‐ As You Like It

9 likes
Terry PratchettSo much universe, and so little time.

—  Terry Pratchett, 1948-2015, British writer

9 likes
Oscar WildeThe world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.

—  Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer

8 likes
Oscar WildeThe world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.

—  Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer

8 likes
Arthur ClarkeWhen you finally understand the universe, it will not only be stranger than you imagine, it will be stranger than you can imagine.

—  Arthur Clarke, 1917-2008, British Sci-Fi writer

8 likes
Arthur ClarkeTwo possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.

—  Arthur Clarke, 1917-2008, British Sci-Fi writer

7 likes
AnonymousOnce you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.

—  Anonymous

     (attributed to various authors but the origin of this saying is unknown)

7 likes
Alfred TennysonIt is unconceivable that the whole Universe was merely created for us who live in this third-rate planet of a third-rate moon.

—  Alfred Tennyson, 1809-1892, English poet

6 likes
Eugene IonescoYou know, the Cathars believed that the world was not created by God but by a demon who had stolen a few technological secrets from Him and made this world — which is why it doesn’t work.

—  Eugene Ionesco, 1912-1994, French-Romanian playwright

6 likes
Ernest HemingwayThe world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.

—  Ernest Hemingway, 1899-1961, American writer, Nobel 1954

6 likes
Arthur ClarkeI'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It's just been too intelligent to come here.

—  Arthur Clarke, 1917-2008, British Sci-Fi writer

6 likes
Carl SaganIf we are alone in the Universe, it sure seems like an awful waste of space.

—  Carl Sagan, 1934-1996, American astronomer

5 likes
Albert EinsteinGod doesn't play dice with the world.

—  Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-Jewish physicist

5 likes
George Bernard ShawIf there was nothing wrong in the world, there wouldn't be anything for us to do.

—  George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925

5 likes
Kurt VonnegutThe universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.

—  Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007, American writer

5 likes
Timothy LearyThe universe is an intelligence test.

—  Timothy Leary, 1920-1996, American psychologist

4 likes
William BlakeDo what you will, this world's a fiction and is made up of contradiction.

—  William Blake, 1757-1827, English poet & painter

4 likes
VoltaireIf this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?

—  Voltaire, 1694-1778, French philosopher & writer

4 likes
Carl SaganThe universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent to the concerns of such puny creatures as we are.

—  Carl Sagan, 1934-1996, American astronomer

4 likes
André MalrauxThe artist is not the transcriber of the world, he is its rival.

—  André Malraux, 1901-1976, French writer & statesman

4 likes
Philip DickIf you think this Universe is bad, you should see some of the others.

—  Philip Dick, 1928-1982, American sci-fi writer

4 likes
Wallace StevensIt is not everyday that the world arranges itself into a poem.

—  Wallace Stevens, 1879-1955, American poet

4 likes
Arthur SchopenhauerThe world is my idea.

—  Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher

3 likes
Victor HugoA writer is a world trapped in a person.

—  Victor Hugo, 1802-1885, French writer

3 likes
Albert EinsteinThe most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.

—  Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-Jewish physicist

3 likes
Samuel JohnsonThe world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before.

—  Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English writer

3 likes
Karl KrausThe world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.

—  Karl Kraus, 1874-1936, Austrian writer

3 likes
E. M. ForsterIf God could tell the story of the Universe, the Universe would become fictitious.

—  E. M. Forster, 1879-1970, British writer

3 likes
E. M. ForsterOf course he despised the world as a whole; every thoughtful man should; it is almost a test of refinement.

—  E. M. Forster, 1879-1970, British writer

3 likes
Henry MillerWhy change the world? Change worlds!

—  Henry Miller, 1891-1980, American writer

3 likes
Ludwig WittgensteinThe world is the totality of facts, not things.

—  Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951, Austrian philosopher

3 likes
Karl MarxThe philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.

—  Karl Marx, 1818-1883, German philosopher

2 likes
Arthur SchopenhauerFor where did Dante get the material for his Hell, if not from this actual world of ours?

—  Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher

2 likes
William ShakespeareWhy, then the world 's mine oyster.

—  William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, English poet & playwright ‐ Merry Wives of Windsor

2 likes
Antonio PorchiaNight is a world lit by itself.

—  Antonio Porchia, 1885-1968, Italian-Argentinian poet

2 likes
Jean-Luc GodardThe world isn't a sad place, it's just big.

—  Jean-Luc Godard, 1930-2022, French film director

2 likes
George SantayanaA man's feet must be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.

—  George Santayana, 1863-1952, Spanish-American philosopher

2 likes
Karl KrausThe closer the look one takes at a word, the greater the distance from which it looks back.

—  Karl Kraus, 1874-1936, Austrian writer

2 likes
Arthur ClarkeI sometimes think that the universe is a machine designed for the perpetual astonishment of astronomers.

—  Arthur Clarke, 1917-2008, British Sci-Fi writer

2 likes
RumiWhy, when God’s world is so big, did you fall asleep in a prison, of all places?

—  Rumi, 1207-1273, Persian mystic & poet

2 likes
Gottfried LeibnitzThis is the best of all possible worlds.

—  Gottfried Leibnitz, 1646-1716, German philosopher & mathematician

2 likes
Francis Scott FitzgeraldThe world only exists in your eyes. You can make it as big or as small as you want.

—  Francis Scott Fitzgerald, 1896-1940, American writer

2 likes
Thomas CarlyleIt is a mathematical fact that the casting of this pebble from my hand alters the center of gravity of the universe.

—  Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881, English writer

Giordano BrunoAll things are in the Universe, and the universe is in all things: we in it, and it in us; in this way everything concurs in a perfect unity.

—  Giordano Bruno, 1548-1600, Italian monk & philosopher

Bertrand RussellThere is no reason to suppose that the world had a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is really due to the poverty of our thoughts.

—  Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, British philosopher

Ludwig WittgensteinThe mystical is not how the world is, but that it is.

—  Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951, Austrian philosopher

Simone De BeauvoirThe whole world was nothing but an exile with no hope of a return.

—  Simone De Beauvoir, 1908-1986, French writer

Rudyard KiplingThe world is very lovely, and it's very horrible–and it doesn't care about your life or mine or anything else.

—  Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936, English writer, Nobel 1907

Graham GreeneThe world is not black and white. More like black and grey.

—  Graham Greene, 1904-1991, British writer

André MalrauxMan knows that the world is not made on a human scale; and he wishes that it were.

—  André Malraux, 1901-1976, French writer & statesman

Terry PratchettThe entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks.

—  Terry Pratchett, 1948-2015, British writer

Martin HeideggerThere is no such thing as an empty word, only one that is worn out yet remains full.

—  Martin Heidegger, 1889-1976, German philosopher

Jorge Luis BorgesThere's no need to build a labyrinth when the entire universe is one.

—  Jorge Luis Borges, 1899-1986, Argentine writer

Henry MillerWhat holds the world together, as I have learned from bitter experience, is sexual intercourse.

—  Henry Miller, 1891-1980, American writer

Ashleigh BrilliantThe whole world is our dining room, but be careful: it is also our garbage can.

—  Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist

Douglas AdamsThere is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

—  Douglas Adams, 1952-2001, British Sci-Fi writer

Robert M. PirsigThe world comes to us in an endless stream of puzzle pieces that we would like to think all fit together somehow, but that in fact never do.

—  Robert M. Pirsig, 1928-2017, American writer

Robert M. PirsigWe take a handful of sand from the endless landscape of awareness around us and call that handful of sand the world.

—  Robert M. Pirsig, 1928-2017, American writer

Philip DickMaybe each human being lives in a unique world, a private world different from those inhabited and experienced by all other humans.

—  Philip Dick, 1928-1982, American sci-fi writer

Robert HeinleinThis Universe never did make sense; I suspect that it was built on government contract.

—  Robert Heinlein, 1907-1988, American sci-fi writer

Gottfried LeibnitzThere is nothing waste, nothing sterile, nothing dead in the universe; no chaos, no confusions, save in appearance.

—  Gottfried Leibnitz, 1646-1716, German philosopher & mathematician

Latin Quotes

VirgilHard work conquers all.

Labor omnia vincit.

—  Virgil, 70-19 BC, Roman poet

99 likes
Old TestamentLet there be light.

Fiat Lux.

—  Old Testament ‐ Genesis 1:3

     (from the Vulgate)

98 likes

Quotes in Verse

T. S. EliotThis is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

—  T. S. Eliot, 1888-1965, British poet, Nobel 1948

8 likes
Robert FrostSome say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.

—  Robert Frost, 1874-1963, American poet

5 likes
Wallace StevensThe way through the world
Is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.

—  Wallace Stevens, 1879-1955, American poet

4 likes
Robert FrostThe world has room to make a bear feel free;
The universe seems cramped to you and me.

—  Robert Frost, 1874-1963, American poet

3 likes
Alfred TennysonGleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.

—  Alfred Tennyson, 1809-1892, English poet

2 likes
Emily DickinsonA word is dead when it is said, some say.
I say it just begins to live that day.

—  Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886, American poet

Funny Quotes

AnonymousThe astronomers must have been very clever to have found out the names of all the stars.

—  Anonymous

     (from the book “The Physics Teacher”, Volume 8, 1970)

6 likes
AnonymousIt's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.

—  Anonymous

5 likes
Woody AllenCan we actually know the universe? My God, it's hard enough finding your way around in Chinatown.

—  Woody Allen, 1935-, American actor & film director

4 likes

Ancient Greek

DemocritusWorld is decay, life is perception.

Ο κόσμος αλλοίωσις, ο βίος υπόληψις.

—  Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

     (quoted by Marcus Aurelius in “Τα εις εαυτόν”)

76 likes
EuripidesOne word brings another.

Εκ λόγου άλλος εκβαίνει λόγος.

—  Euripides, 480-406 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Trojan Women

60 likes
Thales of MiletusThe world is wonderful, because it is a creation of God.

Κάλλιστον κόσμος, ποίημα γαρ θεού.

—  Thales of Miletus, 643-548 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

51 likes
HeraclitusThis world, which is the same for all, has not been made by any god or man, but it always has been, is, and will be an ever-living fire.

Κόσμον τονδε, τον αυτόν απάντων, ούτε τις θεών ούτε ανθρώπων εποίησεν, αλλ' ην αεί και έστιν και έστε πύρ αείζωον.

—  Heraclitus, 544-484 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

44 likes
SocratesWhen asked if the shape of the world is a sphere, Socrates replied: “I didn’t bend so much.”

Ερωτηθείς εί σφαιροειδής εστιν ο κόσμος, έφη: «ουχ υπερέκυψα».

—  Socrates, 469-399 BC, Ancient Geek Philosopher

36 likes
Thales of MiletusPlace is the greatest thing, as it contains all things.

Μέγιστον τόπος. Άπαντα γαρ χωρεί.

—  Thales of Miletus, 643-548 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

20 likes
DemocritusThere are countless worlds both born and perishable.

Απείρους τε είναι κόσμους και γενητούς και φθαρτούς.

—  Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

17 likes

Special Quotes

Live in Your World, Play in Ours.

—  Slogan of Sony PlayStation

8 likes
Nicolaus Copernicus of Toruń, who moved the Earth, held the Sun and the heavens.

—  Inscription on the monument of Copernicus in his hometown Toruń, Poland

2 likes



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