This week, I’m taking a little detour from writing-related topics to list some of my favorite lines from book, movie, and song. Some are profound; some inspirational; and some may be just a little bit silly. Anyway, here they are:
1) “It is well that war is so terrible: We should grow too fond of it.”–R. E. Lee, (Dec. 13, 1862)
2) “You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.”–D. Henley/G. Frey, “The Last Resort”, (1976)
3) “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”–W. Shakespeare, Act II Scene III, Romeo and Juliet (1595?)
4) “Who says that I am dead knows nought at all.”–B. Jacques, Redwall (1986)
5) “Dreams see us through to forever.”–J. Horner, “If We Hold on Together” (1988)
6) “Everyone knows how the puzzle was laid, but can anyone recall the solution?”–M. Brewer/T. Shipley, “Tarkio Road” (1970)
7) “What you get is not quite what you choose.”–J. D. Souther, “How Long” (1972)
8) “There’s always a bigger fish.”–G. Lucas, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
9) “To look for the impossible is folly.”–M. Aurelius, Book V, Meditations
10) “It takes all sorts to make a world.”–L. Bricusse, “It Takes All Sorts” (1996)
11) “One for all and all for one, for that is our motto, is it not?”–A. Dumas, The Three Musketeers (1844)
12) “There’s a lesson to be learned from what we did before.”–P. Young/I. Kewley, “Between Two Fires” (1986)
13) “Death solves all problems–No man; no problem.”–J. Dzhugashvili “Stalin”
14) “I will not end here, taken like an old badger in a trap.”–J. R. R. Tolkien, Book III, The Lord of the Rings (1954)
15) “You’ve got the time; just go!”–J. Wetton/G. Downes, “Go” (1985)
16) “It’s a certain kind of fool that likes to hear the sound of his own name.”–R. Meisner/D. Henley/G. Frey, “Certain Kind of Fool” (1973)
17) “People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people.”–A. & L. Wachowski, V for Vendetta (2004)
18) “I never advocated war, except as a means of peace.”–U. “S.” Grant, Memoirs (1885)
19) “Therefore let him who desires peace prepare for war.”–Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De Re Militari (4th cen., B.C.)
20) “The sky is the limit now.”–C. McVie/E. Quintela, “Skies the Limit” (1990)
21) “A day will come when there is no refuge for lost causes.”–J. S. Allen, Ragnarr (20?)
22) “How can the light that burned so brightly suddenly burn so pale?”–M. Batt, “Bright Eyes” (1978)
23) “Only he is lost who gives himself up for lost.”–Anonymous (adopted motto of H. U. Rudel)
24) “But first they must catch you…”–R. Adams, Watership Down (1972)
25) “Be good to yourself when nobody else will.”–S. Perry/N. Schon/J. Cain, “Be Good to Yourself” (1986)
There are plenty more out there, of course, and I may at some point share them. Until then…
One thought on “25 Memorable Quotations”