In this lesson, you’ll find different types of famous quotes in English.
We’ll start with quotes from politicians, followed by quotes from authors.
You’ll also see quotes from important historical figures, both men and women.
Finally, we’ll include a few fun quotes!
Famous Quotes from Politicians
Barack Obama ( 1961-), President of the United States (2009-2017)
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. (Meaning: We should not wait for others or a perfect moment to make change happen. We are the ones responsible for making the change we want.)
If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress. (Meaning: If you stay on the right path and keep moving forward, you will eventually succeed.)
My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers, once, too. (Meaning: The United States is a country of immigrants, and we all were once newcomers.)
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), President of the United States (1860-1865)
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. (Meaning: Most people can handle hard times, but true character is revealed when someone has power.)
When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion. (Meaning: Doing good makes me feel happy, and doing bad makes me feel unhappy. This guides my actions.)
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. (Meaning: It is wiser to stay quiet and let others guess your intelligence than to speak and confirm you’re foolish.)
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. (Meaning: You can deceive people sometimes, but not everyone will be fooled forever.)
In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. (Meaning: What matters most is not how long you live, but how well you live.)
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), President of South Africa (1994-1999)
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. (Meaning: Education is the strongest tool to make a difference in the world.)
A winner is a dreamer who never gives up. (Meaning: Success comes to those who keep pursuing their dreams.)
It always seems impossible until it’s done. (Meaning: Everything feels difficult until you accomplish it.)
A good head an a good heart is always a good combination. (Meaning: Intelligence and kindness together make a strong team.)
As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest. (Meaning: We cannot be at peace until problems like poverty and injustice are solved.)
I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. (Meaning: Courage is not about having no fear, but about overcoming it.)
Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace. (Meaning: Forgiving others is a brave act for the greater good of peace.)
Without education, your children can never really meet the challenges they will face. So it’s very important to give children education and explain that they should play a role for their country. (Meaning: Education prepares children to face the future.)
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. (Meaning: Cooperation with your enemy can turn them into an ally.)
In my country we go to prison first and then become President. (Meaning: In South Africa, many political leaders, including Mandela, faced imprisonment before leading.)
I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. (Meaning: Mandela’s dream was for a fair and equal society for all.)
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. (Meaning: True success is in getting back up after failure.)
Winston Churchill (1874-1965), Prime Minister of Great Britain (1940-1945)
Success is not final, failure is not fatal : it is the courage to continue that counts. (Meaning: Success and failure are temporary; what matters is the will to keep going.)
Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. (Meaning: A positive attitude can have a huge impact on your life.)
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly. (Meaning: While intoxication is temporary, one’s flaws remain constant.)
You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life. (Meaning: Having enemies shows you’ve defended something important at some point.)
It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see. (Meaning: It’s smart to plan for the future, but predicting too far can be challenging.)
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Writer and Founding Father of the United States
If you would be loved, love and be lovable. (Meaning: To receive love, you must give love and be kind.)
Nothing is certain except for death and taxes. (Meaning: The only two things guaranteed in life are death and taxes.)
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), First Lady of the United States (1933-1945)
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. (Meaning: You control how others affect your self-worth.)
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.(Meaning: Intelligent people talk about ideas, ordinary people talk about events, and small-minded people talk about others.)
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. (Meaning: Believing in your dreams is key to shaping your future.)
Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005), American politician
Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it’s important. (Meaning: Success in politics requires intelligence to grasp the details, but also a certain foolishness to believe in its significance.)
Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979-1990)
If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. (Meaning: Women are often more action-driven than talkers.)
Famous Quotes from English and American Writers:
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English Writer
Love asks me no questions, and gives me endless support. (Meaning: True love provides support without needing explanations.)
The course of true love never did run smooth. (Meaning: Real love often faces challenges and difficulties.)
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. (Meaning: The name of something does not change its essence.)
All that glitters is not gold. (Meaning: Not everything that looks valuable is truly valuable.)
To be or not to be, that is the question. (Meaning: This reflects on existence and life choices.)
To thine own self, be true. (Meaning: Stay true to yourself and your values.)
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) English Writer
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not, and a sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is. (Meaning: Imagination helps people cope with their limitations, and humor helps them accept reality.)
True friends stab you in the front. (Meaning: Real friends are honest and confront issues directly.)
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. (Meaning: You should embrace your uniqueness.)
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. (Meaning: Forgiving your enemies can frustrate them.)
I am not young enough to know everything. (Meaning: With age comes the understanding that one cannot know everything.)
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. (Meaning: The quality of writing matters more than the moral content of a book.)
Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived. (Meaning: What is considered truth in religion is often just the belief that has persisted over time.)
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) American Writer
Courage is grace under pressure. (Meaning: True courage is staying composed in difficult situations.)
I love sleep. My life has a tendancy to fall apart when I’m awake, you know? (Meaning: Sleep is an escape from life’s problems.)
I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen. (Meaning: Listening carefully teaches a lot, but many people fail to do so.)
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools. (Meaning: Smart people may need distractions to tolerate foolish company.)
The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. (Meaning: Trust is only proven through experience.)
Jane Austen (1775-1817) British Writer
Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief. (Meaning: Vanity in a simple mind leads to trouble.)
Think only of the past as its rememberance gives you pleasure. (Meaning: Focus on happy memories from the past.)
Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure. (Meaning: Selfishness is a part of human nature, so we must forgive it.)
Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. (Meaning: Friendship heals the pain of lost love.)
Mark Twain (1835-1910) American Writer
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything. (Meaning: Telling the truth makes life simpler.)
Never put off until tomorrow, what you can put off until the day after tomorrow. (Meaning: Procrastination can always be extended.)
To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did; I ought to know because I’ve done it a thousand times. (Meaning: Quitting a bad habit is easier said than done.)
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. (Meaning: Arguing with foolish people makes both look foolish.)
The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. (Meaning: Using the perfect word is crucial in communication.)
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. (Meaning: Lies spread quickly, while truth takes time to emerge.)
It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them. (Meaning: Although we have rights, we often don’t fully use them.)
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect. (Meaning: When you agree with the crowd, it’s important to reconsider your stance.)
Harper Lee (1926-2016) American Novelist
The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. (Meaning: Personal conscience is independent of popular opinion.)
You see, more than a simple matter of putting down words, writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer. (Meaning: Being a writer requires discipline, not just words.)
People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for. (Meaning: People perceive things based on their expectations.)
Famous Quotes from Great Men/Women:
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian Political Leader and Spiritual Guide
God has no religion. (Meaning: God is beyond human-made religions.)
An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. (Meaning: Seeking revenge harms everyone.)
The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would solve most the worlds problems. (Meaning: If we acted to our full potential, many global issues could be resolved.)
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. (Meaning: Change starts with individual actions.)
You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results. (Meaning: Even if outcomes are uncertain, inaction guarantees failure.)
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. (Meaning: Forgiving others shows strength, not weakness.)
Steve Jobs (1955-2011) American Inventor and Entrepreneur, Founder of Apple
When you’re young, you look at television and think, There’s a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That’s a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! (Meaning: As you mature, you realize the media simply caters to public demand, which is more concerning than a conspiracy.)
Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world? (Meaning: Choose a meaningful life over a trivial one.)
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. (Meaning: Leaders create, while followers imitate.)
Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me. (Meaning: Making a positive impact is more important than wealth.)
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart… Stay hungry. Stay foolish. (Meaning: Realizing life is short helps you focus on what truly matters. Don’t be afraid to take risks and follow your passion.)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German and later American Theoretical Physicist
When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, you think it’s only a minute. But when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it’s two hours. That’s relativity. (Meaning: Time feels different depending on the situation.)
It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. (Meaning: Persistence is key to problem-solving.)
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. (Meaning: To progress in life, you must keep going.)
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. (Meaning: True education is the lasting knowledge and skills you retain.)
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. (Meaning: Repeating the same actions but expecting change is irrational.)
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. (Meaning: Imagination is more powerful than mere logical thinking.)
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. (Meaning: Not all valuable things are measurable, and not all measurable things are valuable.)
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. (Meaning: Imagination has no boundaries, unlike knowledge, which is finite.)
The person who reads too much and uses his brain too little will fall into lazy habits of thinking. (Meaning: Overconsumption of information without reflection can lead to passive thinking.)
Martin Luther King (1929-1968) American Civil Rights Activist
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. (Meaning: True character is shown in difficult times.)
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. (Meaning: A vision of equality where character, not race, defines a person.)
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. (Meaning: Ignoring injustice erodes our purpose and humanity.)
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) British Writer
An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex. (Meaning: Intellectuals find deeper interests beyond physical pleasures.)
Woody Allen (1935-) American Director and Actor
Eighty percent of success is showing up. (Meaning: Being present and committed is most of the battle in achieving success.)
Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American Writer and Speaker on Personal Development
Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. (Meaning: Success is achieving your desires; happiness is appreciating what you have.)
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. (Meaning: Perseverance in the face of adversity leads to achievement.)
Anthony Robbins (1960-) American Life Coach and Author
The best way to get a better answer is to start asking a better question. (Meaning: Thought-provoking questions lead to valuable insights.)
Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) American Astronaut
That’s one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind. (Meaning: Personal progress can have a huge impact on humanity.)
Helen Keller (1880-1968) American Lecturer and Activist, Blind and Deaf
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. (Meaning: The most important things in life are emotional, not material.)
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. (Meaning: Lacking foresight or ambition is worse than physical blindness.)
Famous quotes for fun
Groucho Marx (1890-1977) American Comedian, Member of the Marx Brothers
Those are my principles. If you don’t like them I have others. (Meaning: A humorous take on flexibility or lack of firm beliefs.)
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. (Meaning: A playful wordplay on how time passes and the behavior of fruit flies.)
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made. (Meaning: A joke on how appearances can be deceptive.)
Mickey Mouse Fictional Disney Character
Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your shoes. (Meaning: A funny simplification of basic math skills.)
James Dean (1931-1955) American Actor
Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today. =(Meaning: Dream big, but live life to its fullest each day.)
David Frost (1939-2013) British Journalist and TV Presenter
Television enables you to be entertained in your home by people you wouldn’t have in your home. (Meaning: A humorous reflection on how TV brings people into our lives who we might not welcome in reality.)
Elvis Presley (1935-1977) American Singer and Actor, The King
I don’t know anything about music. In my line you don’t have to. (Meaning: A self-deprecating joke about fame and talent.)
George Orwell (1903-1950) British Writer and Journalist
All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. (Meaning: A satirical commentary on inequality and hypocrisy, from Animal Farm.)
Jerry Seinfeld (1954-) American Comedian and Author
Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason. (Meaning: Not every unorthodox choice is necessarily better.)
George Burns (1896-1996) American Comedian
You know you’re getting old when you stop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you’re down there. (Meaning: A humorous observation on aging.)
Ted Turner (1938-) American Media Mogul
If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect. (Meaning: A humorous contradiction, boasting while claiming humility.)
Forrest Gump Fictional Character from Forrest Gump (1994)
Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. (Meaning: Life is full of surprises and unpredictability.)
