Famous Quotes & Sayings

Charles Dickens

If her eyes had no expression, it was probably because they had nothing to express. If she had few wrinkles, it was because her mind had never traced its name or any other inscription on her face.

Charles Dickens

"My comfort is," said Susan, looking back at Mr. Dombey, "that I have told a piece of truth this day which ought to have been told long before and can't be told too often or too plain..."

Charles Dickens

"You are a boy," said Mr. Dombey, suddenly and almost fiercely; "and what you think of, or affect to think of, is of little consequence. You have done well, Sir. Don't undo it."

Charles Caleb Colton

Living authors, therefore, are usually, bad companions. If they have not gained character, they seek to do so by methods often ridiculous, always disgusting; and if they have established a character, they are silent for fear of losing by their tongue what they have acquired by their pen--for many authors converse much more foolishly than Goldsmith, who have never written half so well.

Charles Caleb Colton

When certain persons abuse us, let us ask ourselves what description of characters it is that they admire; we shall often find this a very consolatory question.

Charles Caleb Colton

We should not be too niggardly in our praise, for men will do more to support a character than to raise one.

Charles Caleb Colton

Very great personages are not likely to form very just estimates either of others or of themselves; their knowledge of themselves is obscured by the flattery of others; their knowledge of others is equally clouded by circumstances peculiar to themselves. For in the presence of the great, the modest are sure to suffer from too much diffidence, and the confident from too much display.

Charles Caleb Colton

Words are in this respect like water, that they often take their taste, flavour, and character, from the mouth out of which they proceed, as the water from the channel through which it flows.

Charles Caleb Colton

Short as life is, some find it long enough to outlive their characters, their constitutions and their estates.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I always felt that I was a writer, that was what I had to do.

Lisa Gansky

I've felt a little culpable that we entrepreneurs often invent businesses just to drive people to buy more things.

M. Night Shyamalan

'The Exorcist' is the scariest movie ever made. It just felt dead-on real, like you were watching the existence of the devil.

Ledawn Gibson

We started off kind of sluggish. I felt like we could've come out better to play, but after we made some adjustments we were able to get things going.

Barnett Newman

From the very beginning I felt that I would do a series,

Matt Hasselbeck

We actually felt we had the momentum after that. It was good for our offense.

Stan Clark

We always felt we did the proper thing.

Shirley Manson

We always felt like we've never specifically fitted in with anyone; there's never been a movement surrounding what we're doing.

Petr Sykora

We have to finish the season on a good note. It doesn't matter what the outcome of the game is, but we have to feel good about ourselves. I don't think we felt like that tonight. We have a lot of guys who are injured so we need to get healthy and ready.

Alan Paton

One thing is about to be finished, but here is something that is only begun. And while I live it will continue

Derek Jeter

We've won it before, and anything short of that is failure. You don't work the whole off-season, spring training and six months of games to finish second or third. If you don't win, you should feel it's a failure.

Corby Maurer

We've already talked about that and they're OK with that. I want them to hear that from me and let them know I'm going to finish what I started. Hopefully that'll mean we're running track into May.

Carlos Rodriguez

We started together, and we are going to finish together.

Jeff Tageant

We started out kind of slow but we finished strong.

David Duchovny

Actually, I have an interest in finishing my Ph.D., but I just know I never will.

Chester Brown

I'm planning on finishing the Gospels at some point.

Nia Long

Well, the studios don't really want to take those risks right off the bat. They'll take the risk after they've seen the finished product and say oh yeah we want that. This is a great film but they are hesitant to take the risk when you just see it on paper.

Sandy Julian

When I was in office, as a trustee and mayor, there were projects that were not finished. I just feel like I didn't finish what I started.

Charles Caleb Colton

Great men, like comets, are eccentric in their courses, and formed to do extensive good by modes unintelligible to vulgar minds.

Charles Caleb Colton

Great minds had rather deserve contemporaneous applause without obtaining it, than obtain without deserving it. If it follow them it is well, but they will not deviate to follow it.

Charles Caleb Colton

In life we shall find many men that are great, and some that are good, but very few men that are both great and good.

Charles Caleb Colton

Speaking generally, no man appears great to his contemporaries, for the same reason that no man is great to his servants--both know too much of him.

Charles Dickens

The secret was such an old one now, had so grown into me and become a part of myself, that I could not tear it away.

Charles Dickens

So new to him," she muttered, "so old to me; so strange to him, so familiar to me; so melancholy to both of us!...

Charles Dickens

But, in this separation I associate you only with the good and I will faithfully hold you to that always, for you have done far more good than harm, let me feel now what sharp distress I may.

Charles Dickens

Let me feel now what sharp distress I may.

Charles Simmons

True greatness consists in being great in little things.

David McCullough

History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.

David McCullough

No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read.

C. Wright Mills

History is the shank of the social sciences.

Cesare Pavese

For women, history does not exist. Murasaki, Sappho, and Madame Lafayette might be their own contemporaries.

Cary Grant

Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant.

E. Hicks

When you think about it, history is made to be broken. That's the way we look at it.

Kurt Vonnegut

History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.

Kurt Vonnegut

History! Read it and weep!

Edward Gibbon

But the power of instruction is seldom of much efficacy, except in those happy dispositions where it is almost superfluous.

Sam Bodman

We are prepared to do what is necessary with respect to strategic reserves,

Samuel Bodman

We are prepared to do what is necessary with regards to the strategic reserves,

Natasha Trethewey

From the catbird seat, I've found poetry to be the necessary utterance it has always been in America.

Sharon Stone

I feel like war should occur only for the most vital and necessary reasons, and only then.

Carl Elliott

We are going to make the necessary adjustments to him not being around.

Tim Jones

When this occurs we have to start investigating and if necessary start a search.

Francis Lockier

The one book necessary to be understood by a divine, is the Bible; any others are to be read, chiefly, in order to understand that.

James Sensenbrenner

We're doing this to stop the next terrorists and to take necessary steps to protect the American people,

John Dryden

Plots, true or false, are necessary things, to raise up commonwealths, and ruin kings.

Chris Carter

There's always the pressure to make the movie good.

Chris Bosh

Sometimes you surprise yourself with what you do under pressure.

Ben Broussard

We've already got a ton of pressure going out there. We can't start worrying about that we have to win this and we have to win that. We just had to go out there and try to get a run.

Greg Hill

We started putting pressure on them and rotating the ball.

Richard Hastings

Where there is pressure there is change, universally.

David Remnick

Journalism, some huge percentage of it, should be devoted to putting pressure on power, on nonsense, on chicanery of all kinds and if that's going to invite a lawsuit, well, bring it on.

Benicio Del Toro

To be honest with you, I'd rather not be working. When you work, there are all sorts of deadlines and pressures. I like to do one thing and take my time to do the other one.

Derek Hough

Pressure doesn't exist. We create it for ourselves.

Ari Graynor

Twitter's a lot of work! That's the first thing I would say. There's so much pressure to be funny.

Bryan Ferry

Why should I spoil my mood by wearing an ugly suit?

Aisha Tyler

Comedy is ugly. It's honest, it's raw.

Diablo Cody

You know, I did not like being famous. It was a stressful and ugly time, and I'm glad it's over.

Deb Caletti

... But then again, a person could turn ugly. Their actual look could change when their actions were repulsive.

Dennis Lehane

There's something ugly about the flawless.

Benjamin Franklin

Vice knows [its] ugly, so [it] puts on [a] mask.

Benjamin Franklin

Vice knows she is ugly, so puts on her mask.

Brigitte Bardot

I tried to make myself as pretty as possible and even then I thought I was ugly. I found it madly difficult to go out, to show myself.

Jane Gardam

The complexion of a novelist is seldom rosy (Paul Bailey once announced to a heavy-hearted audience of novelists at PEN that we have always been an ugly tribe). We are engaged in indoor activity, haemorrhoidal, prone to chillblains, poor of circulation.

Charles Dickens

Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.

Charles Caleb Colton

Cheerfulness ought to be the viaticum vitae of their life to the old; age without cheerfulness is a Lapland winter without a sun.

Charles Caleb Colton

If we look backwards to antiquity it should be as those that are winning a race.

Charles Caleb Colton

In order to try whether a vessel be leaky, we first prove it with water before we trust it with wine.

Charles Caleb Colton

All the poets are indebted more or less to those who have gone before them; even Homer's originality has been questioned, and Virgil owes almost as much to Theocritus, in his Pastorals, as to Homer, in his Heroics; and if our own countryman, Milton, has soared above both Homer and Virgil, it is because he has stolen some feathers from their wings.

Charles Caleb Colton

Commerce flourishes by circumstances, precarious, transitory, contingent, almost as the winds and waves that bring it to our shores.

Charles Dickens

Then tell Wind and Fire where to stop," returned madame; "but don't tell me.

Charles Dickens

Ride on! Ride on over all obstacles and win the race.

Charles Dickens

Along the Paris streets, the death-carts rumble, hollow and harsh. Six tumbrils carry the day's wine to La Guillotine.