An angry father is most cruel towards himself.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
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
Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.
—Margaret Mead (1901–78) American Anthropologist, Social Psychologist
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
It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.
—Pope John XXIII (1881–1963) Italian Catholic Religious Leader, Pope
When one has not had a good father, one must create one.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
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
That is the thankless position of the father in the family—the provider for all, and the enemy of all.
—August Strindberg (1849–1912) Swedish Playwright, Novelist, Essayist
It is not flesh and blood but the heart, which makes us fathers and sons.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
All fathers are invisible in daytime; daytime is ruled by mothers and fathers come out at night. Darkness brings home fathers, with their real, unspeakable power. There is more to fathers than meets the eye
—Margaret Atwood (b.1939) Canadian Writer, Poet, Critic
The fundamental defect with fathers is that they want their children to be a credit to them.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
One father is enough to govern one hundred sons, but not a hundred sons one father.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
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
It is a wise father that knows his own child.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Noble fathers have noble children.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Nobody ever asks a father how he manages to combine marriage and a career
—Sam Ewing (b.1949) American Sportsperson
Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer
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 father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be.
—Unknown
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
It is impossible to please all the world and one’s father.
—Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95) French Poet, Short Story Writer
My father must have had some elementary education for he could read and write and keep accounts inaccurately
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
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
You don’t have to deserve your mother’s love. You have to deserve your father’s. He’s more particular. The father is always a Republican towards his son, and his mother’s always a Democrat.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
Those who have never had a father can at any rate never know the sweets of losing one. To most men the death of his father is a new lease of life.
—Samuel Butler
For rarely are sons similar to their fathers: most are worse, and a few are better than their fathers.
—Homer (751–651 BCE) Ancient Greek Poet
To a father waxing old nothing is dearer than a daughter.—Sons have spirits of higher pitch, but less inclined to sweet, endearing fondness.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
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
It no longer bothers me that I may be constantly searching for father figures; by this time, I have found several and dearly enjoyed knowing them all.
—Alice Walker (b.1944) American Novelist, Activist
The worst misfortune that can happen to an ordinary man is to have an extraordinary father.
—Austin O’Malley (1858–1932) American Aphorist, Ophthalmologist
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