Giving quotes
21.9K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside giving — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Any fool can try to defend his or her mistakes- and most fools do- but it raises one above the herd and gives one a feeling of nobility and exultation to admit one's mistakes."
"If we can manage to refrain from harming others in our everyday actions and words, we can start to give more serious attention to actively doing good, and this can be a source of great joy and inner confidence. We can benefit others through our actions by being warm and generous toward them, by being charitable, and by helping those in need."
"When you encounter some problems, if you point your finger at yourself and not at others, this gives you control over yourself and calmness in a situation, where otherwise self-control becomes problematic."
"We 'have all we want' is a terrible saying when 'all' does not include God. We find God an interruption. As St. Augustine says somewhere, 'God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full - there's nowhere for Him to put it.'"
"When He [God] talks of their losing their selves, He means only abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boasts (I am afraid, sincerely) that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever."
"The devil loves 'curing' a small fault by giving you a great one."
"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them."
"You have the nicest window, you know? None of the others can even compete. It´s not flashy like the others, or bleary – your window gives of this nice, quiet light."
"You don't have to give people fish everyday but instead you must give them the pole to learn how to fish themselves."
"Death is our constant companion, and it is death that gives each person's life its true meaning."
"After you've had Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna as team-mates you don't give a **** who the next bloke is"
"I'll work to maintain my work ethic out on the road, playing my shows, giving 110%, keeping God first, my family second, and treating my fans like royalty."
"One didn't really believe till one saw it demonstrated that giving oneself up completely to art, to emotion, to enjoyment, without planning for the future or counting the cost, produced dreadful disabilities and bankruptcies later."
"And if the computer gives you any back talk, pour some well-sugared office coffee into its evil little silicon brain."
"Thinking should be like musical meditation. Has any philosopher pursued a thought to its limits the way Bach or Beethoven develop and exhaust a musical theme? Even after having read the most profound thinkers, one still feels the need to begin anew. Only music gives definitive answers."
"I just loved performing. It just made me feel alive. It's scary, but that's part of it. I think it's important to have that extra adrenaline. It gives you that extra zing."
". . . but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute - look at it and really see it - live it - and never give it back."
"If you feel that you're not ready to die, never fear; nature will give you complete and adequate assistance when the time comes."
"Everyone can afford to give away a smile."
"Advice is one of those things it is far more blessed to give than to receive."
