I stopped loving my father a long time ago. What remained was the slavery to a pattern.
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist
As fathers commonly go, it is seldom a misfortune to be fatherless; and considering the general run of sons, as seldom a misfortune to be childless.
—Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) English Statesman, Man of Letters
Call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.” “We’re not raising grass,” my dad would reply, “we’re raising boys.”
—Harmon Killebrew (1936–2011) American Baseball Player
An angry father is most cruel towards himself.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.
—Irish Proverb
By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder—infinitely prouder—to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle field but in the home repeating with him our simple daily prayer, “Our Father Who Art in Heaven.”
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) American Military Leader
I could not point to any need in childhood as strong as that for a father’s protection.
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychoanalytic
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
—Theodore Hesburgh (1917–2015) American Catholic Educator, Clergyman
That he delights in the misery of others no man will confess, and yet what other motive can make a father cruel?
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
Sons have always a rebellious wish to be disillusioned by that which charmed their fathers.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
Fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer
An unforgiving eye, and a damned disinheriting countenance!
—Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) Irish-born British Playwright, Poet, Elected Rep
There are fathers who do not love their children, but there is no grandfather who does not adore his grandson.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
Fatherhood is pretending the present you love the most is soap-on-a-rope.
—Bill Cosby (b.1937) American Actor, Comedian, Activist, Producer, Author
One night a father overheard his son pray: Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is. Later that night, the Father prayed, Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be.
—Unknown
My dear father; my dear friend; the best and wisest man I ever knew, who taught me many lessons and showed me many things as we went together along the country by-ways.
—Sarah Orne Jewett (1849–1909) American Children’s Books Writer, Novelist, Short Story Writer
What harsh judges fathers are to all young men!
—Terence (c.195–159 BCE) Roman Comic Dramatist
The American father is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
The thing to remember about fathers is, they’re men. A girl has to keep it in mind: They are dragon-seekers, bent on improbable rescues. Scratch any father, you find someone chock-full of qualms and romantic terrors, believing change is a threat—like your first shoes with heels on, like your first bicycle I it took such months to get.
—Phyllis McGinley (1905–78) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Writer of Children’s Books
A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.
—Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927–2014) Colombian Novelist, Short-Story Writer
A father is a banker provided by nature.
—French Proverb
None of you can ever be proud enough of being the child of SUCH a Father who has not his equal in this world—so great, so good, so faultless. Try, all of you, to follow in his footsteps and don’t be discouraged, for to be really in everything like him none of you, I am sure, will ever be. Try, therefore, to be like him in some points, and you will have acquired a great deal.
—Queen Victoria (1819–1901) British Royal
If the relationship of father to son could really be reduced to biology, the whole earth would blaze with the glory of fathers and sons.
—James Baldwin (1924–87) American Novelist, Social Critic
Men are generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children.
—William Penn (1644–1718) American Entrepreneur, Political leader, Philosopher
The father who does not teach his son his duties is equally guilty with the son who neglects them.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.
—Bill Cosby (b.1937) American Actor, Comedian, Activist, Producer, Author
We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow. Our wiser sons, no doubt will think us so.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
When one has not had a good father, one must create one.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
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