Quote11

Poet, Novelist, Playwright, Natural Philosopher, Diplomat, Civil Servant

Truth is a torch but a tremendous one. That is why we hurry past it, shielding our eyes, indeed, in fear of getting burned.

Fear - Truth

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Carl Sagan

Astronomer, Cosmologist, Astrophysicist, Astrobiologist

In Italy, the Inquisition was condemning people to death until the end of the eighteenth century, and inquisitional torture was not abolished in the Catholic Church until 1816. The last bastion of support for the reality of witchcraft and the necessity of punishment has been the Christian churches.

Atheism - Christianity - End - Italy - People - Punishment - Reality - Religion - Support - Witchcraft

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Ayn Rand

Writer, Philosopher

When you force a man to act against his own choice and judgment, it's his thinking that you want him to suspend.

Actions - Choice - Force - Judging - Man - Novel - People - Philosophy - Thinking - Wants

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Norman Vincent Peale

Clergyman, Author

Once we roared like lions for liberty; now we bleat like sheep for security! The solution for America's problem is not in terms of big government, but it is in big men over whom nobody stands in control but God.

America - God - Government - Liberty - Man - Problem - Security - Solution

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Gautama Buddha

Monk, Sage, Philosopher, Teacher, Religious Leader

Pain in life is inevitable but suffering is not. Pain is what the world does to you, suffering is what you do to yourself [by the way you think about the 'pain' you receive]. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. [You can always be grateful that the pain is not worse in quality, quantity, frequency, duration, etc]

Gratefulness - Pain - Quality - Suffering - Thinking - World

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Alexis de Tocqueville

Diplomat, Political Scientist, Historian

When the reality of power has been surrendered, it's playing a dangerous game to seek to retain the appearance of it; the external aspect of vigor can sometimes support a debilitated body, but most often it manages to deal it the final blow.

Appearance - Danger - Deal - Game - Management - Power - Reality - Sometimes - Support - Vigor

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Salman Rushdie

Politician, Novelist, Novelist

If you give in to the threat of violence, if you give in to bullying, what you know is that there will be more bullying. There will not be less bullying. If you appease the bully, you make sure that he will bully you some more. Not less. It doesn't solve the problem. It makes the problem worse.

Giving - Problem - Solution - Threat - Violence

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Neil Gaiman

Author, Screenwriter

Do the stuff that only you can do. The urge, starting out, is to copy. And that's not a bad thing. Most of us only find our own voices after we've sounded like a lot of other people. But the one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can. The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you're walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That's the moment you may be starting to get it right.

Expose - Feelings - Mindset - People - Playing - Sound - Start - Story - Urgency - Vision - Voice - Writing

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Neil deGrasse Tyson

Novelist, Scientist, Astrophysicist

I don't ever tell people what to do! Even if it seems and feels that way sometimes, I don't think I should tell a person how to spend their money. I try not to tell people what to read.

Feelings - People - Sometimes - Thinking - Trial

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Ludwig von Mises

Composer, Economist, Philosopher

Violent resistance against the power of the state is the last resort of the minority in its effort to break loose from the oppression of the majority. ... The citizen must not be so narrowly circumscribed in his activities that, if he thinks differently from those in power, his only choice is either to perish or to destroy the machinery of state.

Activity - Choice - Citizenry - Democracy - Economy - Effort - Machine - Majority - Oppression - Resistance - State - Thinking - Violence

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Samuel Johnson

Writer, Poet, Lexicographer

It is observed of gold, by an old epigrammatist, that to have it is to be in fear, and to want it is to be in sorrow.

Fear - Wants

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Napoleon Hill

Leader, Writer, Author

Think and grow rich.

Growing - Rich - Thinking

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Louise Hay

Author

Learn to think in positive affirmations. Affirmations are any statements you make. Too often we think in negative affirmations. Negative affirmations only create more of what you say you don't want. Saying, “I hate my job,” will get you nowhere. Declaring, “I now accept a wonderful new job,” will open the channels in your consciousness to create that.

Accept - Consciousness - Hate - Jobs - Negative - Thinking - Wants

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Neil deGrasse Tyson

Novelist, Scientist, Astrophysicist

We live on this speck called Earth - think about what you might do, today or tomorrow - and make the most of it.

Earth - Living - Making - Thinking

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Paulo Coelho

Writer, Novelist, Lyricist

People make a lot of effort not to remember, not to accept their immense magical potential.

Accept - Effort - Inspiration - Life - People - Remembering

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Seneca the Younger

Philosopher, Statesman, Dramatist

The greatest loss of time is delay and expectation, which depend upon the future. We let go the present, which we have in our power, and look forward to that which depends upon chance, and so relinquish a certainty for an uncertainty.

Certainty - Chance - Dependence - Expectation - Future - Loss - Power - Time - Uncertainty

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Isaac Asimov

Writer, Professor

If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.

Creating - Problem - Solution

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Eckhart Tolle

Spiritual Teacher, Author

If you have a strong ego [and] something good happens to an acquaintance of yours, [it] makes you feel bad. It's called envy. ... The ego thinks something has been taken away from you because somebody else has received something good. It's a complete illusion, but that's the madness of the ego.

Ego - Envy - Feelings - Illusion - Madness - Strength - Taking - Thinking

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