Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That’s where the fun is.
—Donald Trump (b.1946) American Businessperson, Head of State
The trouble with the future is that is usually arrives before we’re ready for it.
—Arnold Glasow (1905–98) American Businessman
The past is for God, the future for the Tsars.
—Russian Proverb
Isn’t it amazing the way the future succeeds in creating an appropriate past?
—John Loengard (1934–2020) American Photographer
I don’t ever look back. I look forward.
—Steffi Graf (b.1969) German Tennis Player, Philanthropist
All futurity seems teeming with endless destruction never to be repelled; Desperate remorse swallows the present in a quenchless rage.
—William Blake (1757–1827) English Poet, Painter, Printmaker
Every future is not far away.
—Arabic Proverb
Some new machinery with adequate powers must be created now if our fine phrases and noble sentiments are to have substance and meaning for our children.
—J. William Fulbright (1905–95) American Politician
We all need to take great interest in the future because we will spend the rest of our life there.
—Unknown
Never before has the future so rapidly become the past.
—Arnold Glasow (1905–98) American Businessman
Anxiety about the future never profits; we feel no evil until it comes, and when we feel it, no counsel helps; wisdom is either too early or too late.
—Friedrich Ruckert (1788–1866) German Poet, Translator
I don’t think the human mind can comprehend the past and the future. They are both just illusions that can manipulate you into thinking there’s some kind of change.
—Bob Dylan (b.1941) American Singer-songwriter
This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
The future is made of the same stuff as the present.
—Simone Weil (1909–1943) French Philosopher, Political Activist
Unlikely accomplishments are borne out of single-minded purposefulness. Future superstars don’t get there by keeping part of their heart in reserve.
—John Eliot (b.1971) American Psychologist, Academic
We already have the statistics for the future: the growth percentages of pollution, overpopulation, desertification. The future is already in place.
—Gunter Grass (1927–2015) German Novelist, Poet
All the past died yesterday; the future is born today.
—Chinese Proverb
The wave of the future is coming and there is no fighting it.
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001) American Aviator, Author
In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
There are many methods for predicting the future. For example, you can read horoscopes, tea leaves, tarot cards, or crystal balls. Collectively, these methods are known as “nutty methods.” Or you can put well-researched facts into sophisticated computer models, more commonly referred to as “a complete waste of time.”
—Scott Adams (b.1957) American Cartoonist
As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
The only certain thing about the future is that it will surprise even those who have seen furthest into it.
—Eric Hobsbawm (1917–2012) British Historian
The fact that there is a general belief in a future life is no evidence of its truth.
—Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American Civil Liberties Lawyer
People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.
—F. Matthias Alexander (1869–1955) Australian Actor, Educationalist
At every crossroad on the way that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the past.
—Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) Belgian Poet, Playwright, Essayist
For I dipped into the future, far as human eye could see, Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
I believe the future is only the past again, entered through another gate.
—Arthur Wing Pinero (1855–1934) English Playwright, Actor
Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
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