Le Corbusier
Architect, Designer, Urban Planner
"Light creates ambience and feel of a place, as well as the expression of a structure."
Expression quotes
Expression
3K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Politician
"We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way. The third is freedom from want. The fourth is freedom from fear."
Queen Elizabeth II
Monarch
"[On being criticized for her serious expression:] I simply ache from smiling. Why are women expected to beam all the time? It's unfair. If a man looks solemn, it's automatically assumed he's a serious person, not a miserable one."
Jean Piaget
Psychologist, Philosopher
"True interest appears when the self identifies itself with ideas or objects, when it finds in them a means of expression and they become a necessary form of fuel for its activity."
Walt Whitman
Poet, Essayist
"Simplicity is the glory of expression."
Explore further
Topics related to Expression
Browse quotes that often appear alongside expression — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Expression quotes (page 1 of 151)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Gender is not something that one is, it is something one does, an act... a "doing" rather than a "being". There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very "expressions" that are said to be its results. If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps this construct called 'sex' is as culturally constructed as gender; indeed, perhaps it was always already gender, with the consequence that the distinction between sex and gender turns out to be no distinction at all."
Read quote
214 likes
"Every word, facial expression, gesture, or action on the part of a parent gives the child some message about self-worth. It is sad that so many parents don't realize what messages they are sending."
Read quote
173 likes
"The Analytical Engine might act upon other things besides number, were objects found whose mutual fundamental relations could be expressed by those of the abstract science of operations, and which should be also susceptible of adaptations to the action of the operating notation and mechanism of the engine… Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent."
Read quote
161 likes
"Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn."
Read quote
135 likes
"Since the only life you can have is the life of the Spirit within you, you need but permit Its radiance to flow through your thought into self-expression. You are surrounded by a dynamic force, a great surge of living power. You are immersed in and saturated with the vital essence of Life. Its presence permeates everything, binding all together in one complete whole."
Read quote
130 likes
"Migration is an expression of the human aspiration for dignity, safety and a better future. It is part of the social fabric, part of our very make-up as a human family"
Read quote
129 likes
"Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are."
Read quote
129 likes
"We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence."
Read quote
120 likes
"Booty is just a ghetto expression, and I'm just a booty star."
Read quote
120 likes
"I feel that the essence of dance is the expression of man--the landscape of his soul. I hope that every dance I do reveals something of myself or some wonderful thing a human can be."
Read quote
107 likes
"Power, after all, is not just military strength. It is the social power that comes from democracy, the cultural power that comes from freedom of expression and research, the personal power that entitles every Arab citizen to feel that he or she is in fact a citizen, and not just a sheep in some great shepherd's flock."
Read quote
103 likes
"The kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power, that is, in works and practice. God loves the 'doers of the word' in faith and love, and not the 'mere hearers,' who, like parrots, have learned to utter certain expressions with readiness."
Read quote
102 likes
"Your body is the ground and metaphor of your life, the expression of your existence. It is your Bible, your encyclopedia, your life story. Everything that happens to you is stored and reflected in your body. In the marriage of flesh and spirit divorce is impossible."
Read quote
95 likes
"For someone like myself in whom the ability to trust others is so cracked and broken that I am wretchedly timid and am forever trying to read the expression on people's faces."
Read quote
94 likes
"For me, what I do is an artistic expression which is channeled through me. Fashion is just the medium."
Read quote
93 likes
"If you can't change everything all at once, then at least work on changing something each day. Become aggressive in your battle with the ego. You probably don't need all the things that it wants. You need hope, discipline, creative expression, love, and serenity-these are the important things. Remember, when you are balanced, one stepping stone will lead you to the next. But you will rarely see the whole journey or all the answers at once."
Read quote
93 likes
"I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way...I can't apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to... We will never have to be other than who we are in order to be successful...We realize that we are as ourselves unlimited and our experiences valid. It is for the rest of the world to recognize this, if they choose."
Read quote
88 likes
"Never get high on your own supply."
Read quote
87 likes
"There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender... identity is performatively constituted by the very 'expressions' that are said to be its results."
Read quote
83 likes
"Weakness is a great thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak and flexible. When he dies, he is hard and insensitive. When a tree is growing, it's tender and pliant. But when it's dry and hard, it dies. Hardness and strength are death's companions. Pliancy and weakness are expressions of the freshness of being. Because what has hardened will never win."
Read quote
79 likes