Top 100 Quotes

"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up." — Vince Lombardi
As quoted in Into the Gauntlet (2010) pg. 181 Add Category or Author

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." — Mario Puzo
The Godfather, Part II Often misattributed to Sun Tzu, it is actually spoken by the character Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Part II. The quote begins, "My father taught me many things here...he taught me in this room. He taught me..." Add Category or Author

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." — Mark Twain
As quoted in I Meet Mark Twain (1938) pg. 66 The authenticity of this quote is dubious, as it was a recollection of a woman from decades before, when she was a little child. However, there is no reason to doubt that Twain himself did say something proactive and encouraging to her. Add Category or Author

"An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind." — Mahatma Gandhi
As quoted in The Nobel Book of Answers, (2003) pg. 151 Originally "An-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye ... ends in making everybody blind," but there is no specific, original source available, though it is attributed to Gandhi and many, including his family, feel it authentic and in-line with his beliefs. Add Category or Author

"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." — Theodore Roosevelt
Letter to Henry L. Sprague (26 January 1900) Roosevelt himself said he was quoting a "West African proverb," but this is the earliest recorded use of this phrase. Add Category or Author

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." — Abraham Lincoln
Reported as an inscription quoting Lincoln in an English college in The Baptist Teacher for Sunday-school Workers : Vol. 36 (1905), pg. 483 Famed for his stance on morality, Lincoln here expounds on his views about being right and standing with those that are right. Add Category or Author

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." — Franklin D. Roosevelt
As quoted in Choosing Simplicity (2010) pg. 59 Presiding over both the end of the Great Depression and most of WWII, FDR spoke a great deal about perseverance, as in the above quote. Add Category or Author

"Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." — John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (1961) The lines preceding the quote read, "In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans..." Add Category or Author

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." — John F. Kennedy
As quoted in Mayor (1984) Add Category or Author

"You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." — William Boetcker
The Ten Cannots (1916) Often misattributed to Lincoln because the leaflet upon which it was published also contained words from Lincoln. Add Category or Author

"Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life, I find." — John F. Kennedy
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"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes." — Winston Churchill
As quoted in Cracking up: American humor in a time of conflict (2006) pg. 79 Add Category or Author

"In heaven all the interesting people are missing." — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
As quoted in The Greatest Quotations of All-Time, (2010) pg. 297 Add Category or Author

"To err is human, to forgive divine." — Alexander Pope
An Essay on Criticism (1711) Part II, Line 325 The title of the work this is contained in carries the word "Essay," it is in fact a poem that represents the literary ideals of Pope's time. It also nearly expressly addresses other writers rather than the standard "reader." Add Category or Author

"The pen is mightier than the sword." — Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Richelieu (1839), Act ii, Scene ii From a play about Cardinal Richelieu, the scene continues, "The arch-enchanters wand! — itself a nothing! — But taking sorcery from the master-hand To paralyse the Cæsars, and to strike The loud earth breathless! — Take away the sword — States can be saved without it!" Here the author shows us that violence is not necessary for radical govermental change. Add Category or Author

"The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket." — Will Rogers
As quoted in Building a knowledge-driven organization (2004) pg. 191 As a comedian who frequently spoke about politics, Rogers also frequently spoke about money and campaign finance. Add Category or Author

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." — Eugene Purcell
According to The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, And When (2006) Often misattributed to Harry Truman, this quote was actually spoken by a colleague of his (Purcell). Truman popularized the saying. Add Category or Author

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." — Vince Lombardi
Civilization's quotations: life's ideal, (2002) pg. 159 Lombardi frequently spoke proactively, and positively, about success at an individual and team level, as the head coach of a champion football team. Add Category or Author

"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future." — John F. Kennedy
As quoted in Congressional Record, V. 152, Pt. 17, (2010) pg. 593 Add Category or Author

"You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." — Zig Ziglar
Secrets of Closing the Sale (1984) Add Category or Author

"Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in." — Will Rogers
The Manly WIsdom of Will Rogers (2001) Add Category or Author