People quotes

People

100.4K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

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People quotes (page 184 of 5018)

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Niccolo Machiavelli Political Philosopher, Historian
People

"He who desires or attempts to reform the government of a state and wishes to have it accepted, must at least retain the semblance of the old forms; so that it may seem to the people that there has been no change in the institutions, even though in fact they are entirely different from the old ones. For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they were realities."

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Harry Hay Activist
People

"I was accustomed to walking alone. I'd find other people who agreed with me, but they also said, "I wouldn't dare mention it." I was the only one who would say, "We've got to stand." And they said, "Well, yes. And after you make it safe, then I'll stand, too. But you have to make it safe.""

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People

"People can't, unhappily, invent their mooring posts, their lovers and their friends, anymore than they can invent their parents. Life gives these and also takes them away and the great difficulty is to say Yes to life."

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Frank Herbert Science Fiction Writer
People

"It is so shocking to find out how many people do not believe that they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult."

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Maria Montessori Educator, Physician
People

"When we want to infuse new ideas, to modify or better the habits and customs of a people, to breathe new vigor into its national traits, we must use the children as our vehicle; for little can be accomplished with adults."

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Helen Keller Author, Activist
People

"The test of a democracy is not the magnificence of buildings or the speed of automobiles or the efficiency of air transportation, but rather the care given to the welfare of all the people."

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George Harrison Musician, Singer-songwriter
People

"If people would just wake up to what's real, there would be no misery in the world. I guess chanting's a pretty good place to start."

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Marilyn Monroe Actress, Model
People

"Most people in the world are Christ lovers. And then there are Christ haters. But all of them are fixated on Christ, and he perpetuates for ever."

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Franz Kafka Writer
People

"I stand on the end platform of the tram and am completely unsure of my footing in this world, in this town, in my family. Not even casually could I indicate any claims that I might rightly advance in any direction. I have not even any defense to offer for standing on this platform, holding on to this strap, letting myself be carried along by this tram, nor for the people who give way to the tram or walk quietly along or stand gazing into shop windows. Nobody asks me to put up a defense, indeed, but that is irrelevant."

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Nina Simone Singer, Songwriter, Pianist
People

"The allusion was that I was actually naked. I loved that. It always, kind of shocked people enough that they became mine immediately."

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Noam Chomsky Linguist, Philosopher, Activist
People

"When I arrived in Laos and found young Americans living there, out of free choice, I was surprised. After only a week, I began to have a sense of the appeal of the country and its people - along with despair about its future."

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Leonard Cohen Singer-Songwriter
People

"People used to say my music was too difficult or too obscure, and I never set out to be difficult or obscure. I just set out to write what I felt as honestly as I could, and I am delighted when other people feel a part of themselves in the music."

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Frederick Douglass Social Reformer, Writer
People

"The American Constitution is a written instrument full and complete in itself. No Court in America, no Congress, no President, can add a single word thereto, or take a single word threreto. It is a great national enactment done by the people, and can only be altered, amended, or added to by the people."

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