23 Thought-Provoking Quotes by History’s Favorite Writers
by twistedsifter
Throughout history writers have put our thoughts, fears and insights into words we can cherish, remember and live by.
Below is a collection of thought-provoking quotes by some of the most celebrated and revered writers in history.
If you enjoy these quote compilations, be sure to check out our previous posts here.
1. Dr. Seuss
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss
2. Maya Angelou
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
3. Oscar Wilde
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
4. Mark Twain
“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain
5. Neil Gaiman
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” – Neil Gaiman
6. George Bernard Shaw
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
7. J.K. Rowling
“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” – J.K. Rowling
8. Ernest Hemingway
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” – Ernest Hemingway
9. Aristotle
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle
10. C.S. Lewis
“Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .’” – C.S. Lewis
11. Friedrich Nietzsche
“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
12. William Shakespeare
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” – William Shakespeare
13. Virginia Woolf
“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” – Virginia Woolf
14. Ralph Waldo Emerson
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
15. E.E. Cummings
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings
16. Benjamin Franklin
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin
17. Leo Tolstoy
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
18. Victor Hugo
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” – Victor Hugo
19. Alfred Tennyson
“Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” – Alfred Tennyson
20. George Eliot
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
21. Roald Dahl
“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl
22. Bill Watterson
“It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.” – Bill Watterson
23. J.R.R. Tolkien
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien