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I collect quotations. It's my hobby. So I have many favorites. Every day I find another favorite. If you come across one that resonates with you, you might want to list it here.

I know that we each have favorite quotations at our individual profiles, but it might be fun to list some here and then perhaps to talk about them. It might lead to some interesting conversations.

NOTE: Please try to include the attributions, or if the source is unknown, indicate that fact (e.g., "Source unknown" or "Anonymous", etc.).

Today I found this one in my files:

"... the most potent censorship there is, the fear of hurting others."
-p.115, _The Last Time They Met_ (large type), by Anita Shreve, 2001

"What better wisdom is there known to man than kindness?"
-Source unknown

Edited 3/6/12:
A few years after I posted the above quotation, I discovered the following similar words as described below and attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

"... words that Rousseau wrote ... What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?"
[p. 54, [book:Thale's Folly|140527] by Dorothy Gilman
SEE NEXT:
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?��
---Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
FROM: thinkexist.com

"I prefer rationalism to atheism. The question of God and other objects-of-faith are outside reason and play no part in rationalism, thus you don't have to waste your time in either attacking or defending."
�� Isaac Asimov

"The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post “Thou shalt not steal,�� “Thou shalt not commit adultery,�� and “Thou shalt not lie�� in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment."
�� George Carlin

Jim wrote: ""I prefer rationalism to atheism. The question of God and other objects-of-faith are outside reason and play no part in rationalism, thus you don't have to waste your time in either attacking or de..."

Mmmm... something to think about.

Jim wrote: ""The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post “Thou shalt not steal,�� “Thou shalt not commit adultery,�� and “Thou shalt not lie�� in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment." �� George Carlin"

LOL - Good one, Jim.

From my collection:
"The minute you read something you can't understand, you can almost be sure it was drawn up by a lawyer." -William Penn Adair Rogers

Hi Joy -

I have a Little Black Quote Book too, and I could go on and on, but here are five off the top:

"I worry sometimes that we're apt to confuse forgiveness with forgetfulness. The potency of forgiveness comes precisely from the fact that it must be done while being goaded by an unhappy memory." - Patrick Gale

"I still have a hard time telling the difference between denial and what we used to call hope."
- Michael Chabon

"When you're with a man, no one tells you he's a creep; they don't like to; they think, well, that's her choice, perhaps ours isn't up to much either; how will we ever be sure, in this polite world? In other words, as we all know, one woman's creep is another's true love, and just as well." - Faye Weldon

"Not everything in life can be interpreted metaphorically. That's because things fall out on the way." - Edward Gorey

"God made the angels to show him splendor - as he made animals for their innocence and plants for their simplicity. But Man he made to serve him wittily, in the tangle of his mind."
-Robert Bolt, A Man For All Seasons

Hi Joy, here's one of my favorite quotes, which I read in "The Snow Leopard".

No snowflake ever fell in the wrong place.

It always makes me stop and think.

Margaret wrote: "...I have a Little Black Quote Book too, and I could go on and on, but here are five off the top:
'I worry sometimes that we're apt to confuse forgiveness with forgetfulness. The potency of forgiveness comes precisely from the fact that it must be done while being goaded by an unhappy memory.' - Patrick Gale ..."

Hi Margaret - Below are some of my favorites about forgiveness:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"[The:] ability to live with ambivalence -- with both love and hate but with the love predominating -- is perhaps what most distinguishes the forgiving from the unforgiving personality." -Robert Karen, Ph.D, psychologist

"Deception is the one sin in a relationship that people find nearly impossible to forgive." -_Deception on His Mind_ by Elizabeth George, p. 658, 1997, Large Print Edition

"We should forgive our enemies, but only after they have been hanged first." -Heinrich Heine

"You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well." -Lewis B. Smedes

"Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realising you were the prisoner!" -Max Lucado

"The foolish neither forgive nor forget. The naive forgive and forget. The wise forgive but do not forget." -Thomas Szasz, b. 1920

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." -John F. Kennedy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Margaret wrote: " ... 'I still have a hard time telling the difference between denial and what we used to call hope.' - Michael Chabon"

Wow, Margaret, that is a great quote! I had to think about it first.
Below is a good answer to it:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool." -Jane Wagner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Debra wrote: "Hi Joy, here's one of my favorite quotes, which I read in "The Snow Leopard".
No snowflake ever fell in the wrong place.
It always makes me stop and think."

Hmmmm, Debra, that's a difficult one.
I went looking for quotes to answer it. I found the following:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wouldn't it be terrible to discover that life is indeed fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us happen because we really deserve them?" - J. M. Straczynski

"Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental." -Meg Ryan as Annie Reed in Sleepless In Seattle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interesting responses, Joy. To me "No snowflake ever fell in the wrong place" means that everything happens for a reason, and that we're either to gain from it, or learn by it. In other words, no opportunity or experience is wasted.

Debra wrote: "Interesting responses, Joy. To me "No snowflake ever fell in the wrong place" means that everything happens for a reason, and that we're either to gain from it, or learn by it. In other words, no opportunity or experience is wasted."

Debra, thanks for explaining your interpretation of the quote. It's always interesting to see how differently other people interpret things.

The closest quote I have, which might be similar to your interpretation, is the following:
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." -Douglas Adams

Another one might be the following one from my category called "Experience":
"Judgment comes from experience and great judgment comes from bad experience."
-Senator Bob Packwood, NY Times, May 1986

Those are great quotes, Joy, thank you!

Debra wrote: "Those are great quotes, Joy, thank you!"

You're welcome, Debra.
Quotes are one of my biggest pleasures.
I guess you might call me an "armchair philosopher". :)

"Quotations help us remember the simple yet profound truths that give life perspective and meaning. When it comes to life's most important lessons, we can all use gentle reminders."
-Chriswell Freeman, Doctor of Clinical Psychology, Nashville, TN

Amy wrote: "I love quotes too!! Some of my favorites are:
Imagination is everything. It's the preview of life's coming attractions.--Albert Einstein
One of the things that will always be inevitable is ch..."

Great quotes, Amy. Food for thought!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.�� -Albert Einstein

"It's a pity one can't imagine what one can't compare to anything. Genius is an African who dreams up snow." -Vladimir Nabokov, The Gift

"Reality can be beaten with enough imagination." -Anon.

"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gaultier
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy wrote: "... One of the things that will always be inevitable is change, full of both vague uncertainty and brilliant promise. --Robert Redford"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken." -Frank Herbert

"My interests change, needs change, confidence ebbs and flows." -p. 59, _Which Lie Did I Tell_, by writer, William Goldman, 2000

“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.�� -Arnold Bennett

"We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing." -R. D. Laing, The Politics of Experience

"We may dig in our heels and dare life never to change, but, all the same, it changes under our feet like sand under the feet of a sea gazer as the tide runs out. Life is forever undermining us. Life is forever washing away our castles, reminding us that they were, after all, only sand and sea water." -Erica Jong: Parachutes and Kisses

"Change is one thing, progress is another.
'Change' is scientific, 'progress' is ethical;
change is indubitable, whereas progress is a matter of controversy." -Bertrand Russell

"Lord, where we are wrong, make us willing to change; where we are right, make us easy to live with." -attributed to Peter Marshall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ON ENTHUSIAM
====================================================
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!' "
-Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) American author and member of the
"Beat Generation." _On The Road_ [1957:], pt. 1, ch. 1
====================================================

"Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right."
�� Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)

Jim wrote: "Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right."
�� Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)"

Hmmm, wonder what he meant by that.

Probably that witch burning isn't cool.

Jim wrote: "Probably that witch burning isn't cool."

Oh! I see now! Thanks, Jim.
Morals are a very subjective thing.
Everyone has different values.

"Laws control the lesser man...Right conduct controls the greater one." -Chinese Proverb

"Moral codes adjust themselves to environmental conditions." -Will Durant

Hmmm, wonder what he meant by that. :)

Morality is based on survival. It's a set of customs that often supersedes law & should work for the survival of the group, whether they dictate what can be safely eaten or how to properly greet a guest.

With the above in mind, possibly Durant meant that something like cannibalism, while normally incorrect, is OK, if the situation warrants it - like sailors in a life boat or those students in Alive The Story of the Andes Survivors.

Robert A. Heinlein was one of my favorite authors of SF/Fantasy. He had a lot of nifty sayings.

"One man's theology is another man's belly laugh"

"Delusions are often functional. A mother's opinions about her children's beauty, intelligence, goodness, et cetera ad nauseam, keep her from drowning them at birth."

"Being right too soon is socially unacceptable"

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."

"Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get."

"Cheops' Law: Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget."

"Belief gets in the way of learning."

"When one teaches, two learn"

Jim wrote: "Morality is based on survival. It's a set of customs that often supersedes law & should work for the survival of the group, whether they dictate what can be safely eaten or how to properly greet a..."

Good explanation of Durant's quote, Jim. Thanks.

Jim wrote: "Robert A. Heinlein was one of my favorite authors of SF/Fantasy. He had a lot of nifty sayings.
"One man's theol..."

Good ones, Jim. That's so true about teaching.

I searched my quotes collection for some of Heinlein's. I found the following:

"No woman ever ages beyond eighteen in her heart." -Robert A. Heinlein

"Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other 'sins' are invented nonsense." -Robert A. Heinlein

“A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.�� -Robert A. Heinlein

"Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something." -Robert Heinlein, _Time Enough For Love_

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another is essential to your own." -Robert A. Heinlein

"This sad little lizard told me that he was a brontosaurus on his mother's side. I did not laugh; people who boast of ancestry often have little else to sustain them. Humoring them costs nothing and adds to happiness in a world in which happiness is always in short supply."
-Lazarus Long, fictional character in Heinlein's SF novels

Most of your quotes are from Time Enough for Love, Joy. It's the last book he wrote that I enjoyed & even then he was getting preachy. He got much worse over the next dozen years or so, IMO. His earlier books were wonderful, though.

If you ever get a chance, read The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. It's basically the American Revolution all over again, except that the colony is on the moon. It would be a wonderful introduction to SF for you. You'll love Manny, Mike & the Professor.

Robert A. Heinlein wrote a fair amount about politics. His nonfiction essay, "Take back your government" is wonderful. I think it's free online & a fairly quick read, but he really shines in that arena with "A Bathroom of Her Own", a short story about the housing shortage after WWII. Not SF, just regular fiction.

Thanks for the recommendations, Jim.
I've put _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ on my To-Read Shelf.

I also found the following links for "Take back your government":



I will definitely read the short story, "A Bathroom of Her Own".

At my newsgroup, alt.quotation, they often post quotes by Heinlein. I've always wondered about his writing, but was never drawn to SF, partly because there are so many stange names to digest. For some reason, strange names put me in a fog.

I don't like strange names either, Joy. Especially long ones that I can't easily pronounce. It's even worse when there's a bunch of those & they start with or have similar letters. Everyone & thing gets all mixed up.

Don't worry about that with Heinlein. Even his science isn't techy. He wrote a lot of juvenile books (YA) that often included scouts. Farmer in the Sky had scouts on Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter. Have Space Suit-Will Travel had a scout traveling to the moon, Pluto & beyond. All aimed at young boys, the science is very well explained.

Jim wrote: "Don't worry about that with Heinlein. Even his science isn't techy. He wrote a lot of juvenile books (YA) that often included scouts. Farmer in the Sky had scouts on Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter. Have Space Suit-Will Travel had a scout traveling to the moon, Pluto & beyond. "

Thanks for the recommendations, Jim. They sounded so good that I've just ordered those two Heinlein books for my 14 year old grandson.

Which 2 books did you order & how old is he? I loved The Star Beast. Lummox is so much fun.

Jim wrote: "Which 2 books did you order & how old is he? I loved The Star Beast. Lummox is so much..."

I ordered the following two books by Heinlein, which you recommended.

Have Space Suit-WillTravel *** Farmer in the Sky

(I also read the ŷ������ reviews after you recommended the books.
Of course, the reviews were very favorable.)

I want my 14 year old grandson to be aware of Heinlein as an author.

BTW, if you have time, read Noel's short review of _The Star Beast_ at: ====>
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
(Her review is about the 4th one down.)
I wonder why she said that. (lol)

What were some good young adult books by Asimov?

You got him a couple of good books, Joy! I still occasionally read both. Heinlein was one of my inspirations for wanting to learn math & science. These two books were big reasons. Tunnel in the Sky is another good one.

Isaac Asimov did write some YA books, but I'm afraid the ones that come to mind, his Lucky Starr series, are pretty dated. Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroidsis one, but there are quite a few others.

Most of his short stories are well within most kids reading range, though. In particular,
I, Robot - the real book of short stories, not the horrible novelization of the movie - is excellent. (Why would they title two such different books so identically? They even have the same author listed. A publisher deserves a public whipping!) The Rest of the Robots are more short stories that continue on. Some are funny, others touching, all good. They contain & teach a lot of logic. I think I may have learned about Boolean logic there, which is the basis of computer science (And, Or, XOr, Not). Great stuff.

I read Noel's review, as you suggested. I don't know if it holds completely true, but most of the women I know who are secure in their womanhood don't seem to have a problem with Heinlein's women. He actually idolizes them a bit too much for me. Many say he was under Virginia's (his 2d wife) thumb. Aren't we all?

;-)

Seriously, Heinlein doesn't write the best women characters, but he was giving them equality before it was cool. His leading women often read like his leading men.

Jim wrote: "You got him a couple of good books, Joy! I still occasionally read both. Heinlein was one of my inspirations for wanting to learn math & science. These two books were big reasons."

Thanks Jim. I made note of the other books you mentioned:
_Tunnel in the Sky_
_Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids_
_The Rest of the Robots_

I've already borrowed (at your recommendation) _I,Robot_ from the library and have read the introduction. I also went to Wiki and read about the background of _I, Robot_ at:


It says: "I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov...".

The webpage also talks about _I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay_ by Harlan Ellison, who collaborated with Asimov. The screenplay was never filmed.

The webpage also says: "The film I, Robot, starring Will Smith, was released by Twentieth Century Fox on July 16, 2004 in the United States. Its plot is different from that of Asimov's collection, but it incorporates elements of the stories Little Lost Robot and The Evitable Conflict, and also contains the characters Dr. Susan Calvin and Dr. Alfred Lanning, and some of Asimov's ideas about robots, such as the Three Laws of Robotics."

Jim, it's interesting for me, at this late date, to learn all about this stuff.

Jim wrote: "I read Noel's review, as you suggested. I don't know if it holds completely true, but most of the women I know who are secure in their womanhood don't seem to have a problem with Heinlein's women...."

When I finally get around to reading Heinlein, I'll have to pay special attention to how he treats women. :)

As far as men being under the women's thumbs, as you say, I wouldn't know about what's under any thumbs. I only know that sometimes women have to put their foot down... especially when men get underfoot. :)

There's a reason I call Marg, "The Boss" & my daughter, "The Little Boss". I've been well trained...

Jim wrote: "There's a reason I call Marg, "The Boss" & my daughter, "The Little Boss". I've been well trained...""

I just found the following quotation among my collection of "Quotable Quotes" from the Reader's Digest. This was a great one:

"Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away."
-Ben Hecht,
in the book: _Charlie: The Improbable Life and Times of Charles MacArthur_ (1957)
aka Charlie

A quote about winter:

"There are winter mornings when the cold without only adds to the warmth within, and the more it snows and the harder it blows, brighter the fires blaze."
-from the letters of Emily Dickinson
[originally found by me on a box of tea !] -Joy

Why don't we find this quote at more places on the Internet?
It's such a beautiful quote.
I searched and finally found it at:

and

(The above link takes you to:
"Full text of 'Letters of Emily Dickinson'"

In Message #3 above I posted the following quotation:
"What better wisdom is there known to man than kindness?" -Source unknown

Since then I have discovered the following similar words as described below and attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

"... words that Rousseau wrote ... What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?"
[p. 54, [book:Thale's Folly|140527] by Dorothy Gilman
SEE NEXT:
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?��
---Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
FROM: thinkexist.com

There are so many good quotes here! If I responded to them all, I'd be here all day. As it is, I've got some quotes to add to my favorites, thank you all!

Recently I read Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and chose this as my favorite quote of the book:
"There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk."

Jackie wrote: "... Recently I read Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and chose this as my favorite quote of the book: "There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk." ..."

MISTAKES:

There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.
-Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.
-Jack Penn

Anyone who doesn't make mistakes isn't trying hard enough.
-Wess Roberts

MISTAKES (continued)

If you don't make mistakes, you're not working on hard enough problems. And that is a big mistake.
-Frank Wilczek, particle physicist

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
-Albert Einstein

The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.
-William Connor Magee, sermon (1868)

Only those who do nothing . . . make no mistakes.
-Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), _An Outcast of the Islands_ [1896], Chapter 3

I like this one:
Anyone who doesn't make mistakes isn't trying hard enough.
-Wess Roberts

MISTAKES (continued again)
(Jackie, you've hit on one of my favorite categories! LOL)

Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.
-G.K. Chesterton
[heard while listening to audiobook of _The Narnian : the life and imagination of C.S. Lewis_ by Alan Jacobs (first published in 2005)

The British have a saying that encourages people to show their skills while mocking the universal fear of failure: Do your worst.
-From a NY Times article about the downside of perfectionism, by Benedict Carey, 12/4/07


[The words "Do your worst" are magic words to me. They free me to at least TRY.] -Joy

Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.
-Robert H. Schuller

The maxim 'Nothing but perfection' may be spelled 'Paralysis'.
-Winston Churchill

The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you can.
-Liz Smith (journalist)

Striving for perfection is the greatest stopper there is. It's your excuse to yourself for not doing anything. Instead, strive for excellence. Strive for doing your best.
-Sir Laurence Olivier

People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it.
-Edith Schaeffer (1772-1801) German poet

Certainly, set goals and strive toward excellence, but to live a life full of joy, you'll need to embrace whatever you enjoy regardless of your skill level. Don't be afraid of failure.
-Cami Ostman
FROM:

Jackie wrote: "I like this one:
Anyone who doesn't make mistakes isn't trying hard enough. -Wess Roberts"

YES! That one is so funny... and so true! I love it.

I love truth in comedy.

Jackie wrote: "I love truth in comedy."

Me too, Jackie.

"Humor is the same as truth, only faster." -Anon.

I heard that on radio or TV years ago, probably in the '90s.
It sums up so much about humor. There's a lot of "punch" in a punch line.