The future is a great land.
—Unknown
How happy the station which every moment furnishes opportunities of doing good to thousands!—How dangerous that which every moment exposes to the injuring of millions.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
—Corrie Ten Boom (1892–1983) Dutch Jewish Humanist
The future destiny of the child is always the work of the mother.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.
—Louis L’Amour (1908–88) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
By and by never comes.
—Augustine of Hippo (354–430) Roman-African Christian Philosopher
The future is called “perhaps,” which is the only possible thing to call the future. And the only important thing is not to allow that to scare you.
—Tennessee Williams (1911–83) American Playwright
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
By the streets of “by and by,” one arrives at the house of “never.”
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
You can never plan the future by the past.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
The cradle of the future is the grave of the past.
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872) Austrian Dramatist, Playwright
Power is not a means; it is an end….
Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating? It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself….
The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy – everything…. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. But in the future there will be no wives and no friends….
We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science…. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always – do not forget this, Winston – always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless….
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.
—George Orwell (1903–50) English Novelist, Journalist
The child is not to be educated for the present, but for the remote future, and often is opposition to the immediate future.
—Jean Paul (1763–1825) German Novelist, Humorist
Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
—Chinese Proverb
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
He that fears not the future may enjoy the present.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
We have inherited the past; we can create the future.
—Unknown
The young sailor at sea was ordered to climb a mast to adjust a sail during a violent storm. He got halfway up, looked down, got dizzy and sick. An old sailor on deck shouted up to him Look up, son, look up. Young sailor looked up, regained his composure, and completed his mission. Moral: Look ahead, not back.
—Indian Proverb
Every man, through fear, mugs his aspirations a dozen times a day.
—Brendan Behan (1923–64) Irish Poet, Novelist, Playwright
We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Only man clogs his happiness with care, destroying what is with thoughts of what may be.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Pop artists deal with the lowly trivia of possessions and equipment that the present generation is lugging along with it on its safari into the future.
—J. G. Ballard (1930–2009) English Novelist, Short Story Writer
To-morrow, every fault is to be amended; but that To-morrow never comes.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
The possibilities for tomorrow are usually beyond our expectations.
—Unknown
The future is much like the present, only longer.
—Dan Quisenberry (1953–98) American Baseball Player
Strike when thou wilt, the hour of rest, but let my last days be my best.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
I have been nothing … but there is tomorrow.
—Louis L’Amour (1908–88) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
The future influences the present just as much as the past.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.
—George Burns (1896–1996) American Comedian
I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.
—D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Essayist, Literary Critic