In the morning of life, work; in the mid day give council; in the evening, pray.
—German Proverb
I don’t want to live. I want to love first, and live incidentally.
—Zelda Fitzgerald (1899–1948) American Writer, Artist
May you live as long as you wish and love as long as you live.
—Robert A. Heinlein (1907–88) American Science Fiction Writer
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (b.1940) American Self-Help Author
People need to be made more aware of the need to work at learning how to live because life is so quick and sometimes it goes away too quickly.
—Andy Warhol (1928–87) American Painter, Printmaker, Film Personality
“Only fools have no doubts;” “Are you sure?”; “I have no doubts!”
—Luciano De Crescenzo (b.1928) Italian Writer, Film Actor, Director, Engineer
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colors of life in all their purity.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of the nonessentials.
—Lin Yutang (1895–1976) Chinese Author, Philologist
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
Most of us spend our lives as if we had another one in the bank.
—Unknown
A man lives not only his personal life as an individual but also, consciously or unconsciously, the life of his epoch and his contemporaries.
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955) German Novelist, Short Story Writer, Social Critic, Philanthropist, Essayist
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon—instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
Everybody ought to do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
This miserable state is borne by the wretched souls of those who lived without disgrace and without praise.
—Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) Italian Poet, Philosopher
Deep down, no one really believes they have a right to live. But this death sentence generally stays tucked away, hidden beneath the difficulty of living. If that difficulty is removed from time to time, death is suddenly there, unintelligibly.
—Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) French Sociologist, Philosopher
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
—Jack London (1876–1916) American Novelist
The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration.
—Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) American Novelist, Human Rights Activist
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
The world offers itself to your imagination,
Calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—
Over and over announcing your place
In the family of things.
—Mary Oliver (1935–2019) American Poet
Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing the things historians usually record, while on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks. Historians are pessimists because they ignore the banks for the river.
—William C. Durant (1861–1947) American Industrialist
I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.
—Walter Cronkite (1916–2009) American Journalist, Television
Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Four Lessons on Life 1. Never take down a fence until you know why it was put up. 2. If you get too far ahead of the army, your soldiers may mistake you for the enemy. 3. Don’t complain about the bottom rungs of the ladder; they helped to get you higher. 4. If you want to enjoy the rainbow, be prepared to endure the storm.
—Warren W. Wiersbe (1929–2019) American Pastor, Biblical Scholar
This is a world of action, and not for moping and droning in.
—Charles Dickens (1812–70) English Novelist
The drama of life begins with a wail and ends with a sigh.
—Minna Antrim (1861–1950) American Writer, Epigrammist
We only live once, but once is enough if we do it right. Live your life with class, dignity, and style so that an exclamation, rather than a question mark signifies it!
—Gary Ryan Blair
They that have lived a single day have lived an age.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
Every perfect life is a parable invented by God.
—Simone Weil (1909–1943) French Philosopher, Political Activist
Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort.
—Humphry Davy (1778–1829) British Chemist, Inventor
The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.
—Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) American Architect