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Human Being


Human Being

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Quotations

Friedrich NietzscheWhich? Is man one of God's blunders or is God one of man's blunders?

—  Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, German philosopher

14 likes
Benjamin DisraeliMan is not the creature of circumstances, circumstances are the creatures of men.

—  Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881, British Prime Minister

11 likes
Arthur ClarkeThe difference between machines and human beings is that human beings can be reproduced by unskilled labor.

—  Arthur Clarke, 1917-2008, British Sci-Fi writer

11 likes
Bette DavisSex is God's joke on human beings.

—  Bette Davis, 1908-1989, American actress

10 likes
Fyodor DostoyevskyA beast can never be as cruel as a human being, so artistically, so picturesquely cruel.

—  Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, Russian writer

10 likes
Georg Christoph LichtenbergThat man is the noblest creature may also be inferred from the fact that no other creature has yet contested this claim.

—  Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, 1742-1799, German author of maxims

10 likes
RumiYou are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.

—  Rumi, 1207-1273, Persian mystic & poet

9 likes
Fyodor DostoyevskyThe best definition of man is: a being that goes on two legs and is ungrateful.

—  Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, Russian writer

9 likes
Fyodor DostoyevskyMan is a creature that can get accustomed to anything, and I think that is the best definition of him.

—  Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, Russian writer

8 likes
AristotleMan, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all.

—  Aristotle, 384-322 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

8 likes
Alexandre DumasMan is born without teeth, without hair and without illusions, and so he dies, without hair, without teeth and without illusions.

—  Alexandre Dumas, 1802-1870, French writer

7 likes
José SaramagoMan is a creature that is constantly “under construction”, but also, in a parallel way, always in a state of perpetual destruction.

—  José Saramago, 1922-2010, Portuguese writer [Nobel 1998]

7 likes
Wilhelm ReichIt is sexual energy which governs the structure of human feeling and thinking.

—  Wilhelm Reich, 1897-1957, Austrian psychoanalyst & writer

7 likes
Vladimir NabokovThe cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.

—  Vladimir Nabokov, 1899-1977, Russian-American writer

7 likes
Wallace StevensI am what is around me.

—  Wallace Stevens, 1879-1955, American poet

6 likes
Wolfgang GoetheFor I have been a man, and that means to have been a fighter.

—  Wolfgang Goethe, 1749-1832, German poet & philosopher

6 likes
Kurt VonnegutHuman beings are chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power.

—  Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007, American writer

6 likes
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something.

—  H. Jackson Brown, Jr., 1940-2021, American self-help writer

6 likes
Ralph Waldo EmersonA man is a god in ruins.

—  Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1884, American philosopher

6 likes
Ashleigh BrilliantIt's human to make mistakes and some of us are more human than others.

—  Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist

6 likes
Michel de MontaigneEvery man bears the whole stamp of the human condition.

—  Michel de Montaigne, 1533-1592, French thinker

6 likes
Bill CosbyHuman beings are the only creatures that allow their children to come back home.

—  Bill Cosby, 1937-, American comedian

5 likes
George Bernard ShawWe have no reason to suppose that we are the Creator's last word.

—  George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925

5 likes
Ayn RandMan’s unique reward, however, is that while animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, man survives by adjusting his background to himself

—  Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher

5 likes
Vladimir NabokovAnd then will come the day when the last person who remembers me will die.

—  Vladimir Nabokov, 1899-1977, Russian-American writer

5 likes
Aleister CrowleyEvery man and every woman is a star.

—  Aleister Crowley, 1875-1945, British magician & occultist,

5 likes
Emile M. CioranWhat am I, other than a chance in the infinite probabilities of not having been!

—  Emile M. Cioran, 1911-1995, French-Romanian philosopher

4 likes
H.L. MenckenMan is a beautiful machine that works very badly.

—  H.L. Mencken, 1880-1956, American columnist & cultural critic

4 likes
Jean-Paul SartreMan is a useless passion.

—  Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905-1980, French philosopher

4 likes
Jean-Paul SartreNothingness haunts being.

—  Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905-1980, French philosopher

4 likes
Fred AllenA human being is nothing but a story with skin around it.

—  Fred Allen, 1894-1956, American comedian

4 likes
Anton ChekhovIn nature a repulsive caterpillar turns into a lovely butterfly. But with human beings it is the other way round: a lovely butterfly turns into a repulsive caterpillar.

—  Anton Chekhov, 1860-1904, Russian writer

4 likes
Carl SaganYou are worth about 3 dollars worth in chemicals.

—  Carl Sagan, 1934-1996, American astronomer

4 likes
Charles DarwinMan is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits.

—  Charles Darwin, 1809-1882, British scientist

4 likes
Eugene O’NeillMan is born broken. He lives by mending. The Grace of God is glue.

—  Eugene O’Neill, 1888-1953, American playwright, Nobel 1936

4 likes
Friedrich von SchlegelThink of something finite molded into the infinite, and you think of man.

—  Friedrich von Schlegel, 1772-1829, German writer

4 likes
Arthur KoestlerMen cannot be treated as units in operations of political arithmetic because they behave like the symbols for zero and the infinite, which dislocate all mathematical operations.

—  Arthur Koestler, 1905-1983, Hungarian-British writer

4 likes
José SaramagoThis is the stuff we're made of, half indifference and half malice.

—  José Saramago, 1922-2010, Portuguese writer [Nobel 1998]

4 likes
Benjamin FranklinMan is a tool-making animal.

—  Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790, American politician & writer

3 likes
Emile M. CioranOur place is somewhere between being and nonbeing - between two fictions.

—  Emile M. Cioran, 1911-1995, French-Romanian philosopher

3 likes
Nelson AlgrenIt is strange how fragile this man-creature is.....in one second he's just garbage. Garbage, that's all.

—  Nelson Algren, 1909-1981, American writer

3 likes
Alphonse de LamartinLimited in his nature, infinite in his wishes, Man is a fallen god who remembers the heavens.

—  Alphonse de Lamartin, 1790-1869, French poet

1 likes
André MalrauxCulture is what makes man more than an accident of the universe.

—  André Malraux, 1901-1976, French writer & statesman

Thomas CarlyleThe purpose of man is in action not thought.

—  Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881, English writer

Bertrand RussellRemember your humanity, and forget the rest.

—  Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, British philosopher

Bertrand RussellIt has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.

—  Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, British philosopher

Nikos KazantzakisOur body is a ship sailing over deep blue waters. What is our destination? To be shipwrecked!

—  Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883-1957, Greek writer

Nikos KazantzakisWhat a terrible ascent from the ape to man, from man to God.

—  Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883-1957, Greek writer

Nikos KazantzakisStone, iron, steel will not endure. Man endures.

—  Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883-1957, Greek writer

Antoine RivarolMen are born naked and live clothed, as they are born independent and live under laws.

—  Antoine Rivarol, 1753-1801, French author of maxims

Joseph JoubertBelow the head, shoulders and chest begins the animal, or that part of the body where the soul should not please.

—  Joseph Joubert, 1754-1824, French author of maxims

John SteinbeckMuscles aching to work, minds aching to create – this is man.

—  John Steinbeck, 1902-1968, American writer, Nobel 1962

John SteinbeckNo man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself.

—  John Steinbeck, 1902-1968, American writer, Nobel 1962

Gustave FlaubertLie during the day and dream at night, there is the man.

—  Gustave Flaubert, 1821-1880, French writer

Bertolt BrechtWhat keeps a man alive?
He feeds on others.

—  Bertolt Brecht, 1898-1956, German writer

André MalrauxMen are the vermin of the earth.

—  André Malraux, 1901-1976, French writer & statesman

André MalrauxMan knows that the world is not made on a human scale; and he wishes that it were.

—  André Malraux, 1901-1976, French writer & statesman

André MalrauxWhat is Man? A miserable little pile of secrets.

—  André Malraux, 1901-1976, French writer & statesman

William Hazlitt Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be.

—  William Hazlitt , 1778-1830, English essayist & critic

William Hazlitt Man is a make-believe animal — he is never so truly himself as when he is acting a part.

—  William Hazlitt , 1778-1830, English essayist & critic

Anatole FranceIt is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.

—  Anatole France, 1844-1924, French writer, Nobel 1921

Martin HeideggerWe are too late for the gods and too early for Being.

—  Martin Heidegger, 1889-1976, German philosopher

Martin HeideggerEveryone is the other and no one is himself.

—  Martin Heidegger, 1889-1976, German philosopher

Martin HeideggerThe human being is not the lord of beings, but the shepherd of Being.

—  Martin Heidegger, 1889-1976, German philosopher

Sri AurobindoEvolution is not finished; reason is not the last word nor the reasoning animal the supreme figure of Nature. As man emerged out of the animal, so out of man the superman emerges.

—  Sri Aurobindo, 1872-1950, Indian nationalist, yogi & philosopher

Arthur KoestlerThe definition of the individual was: a multitude of one million divided by one million.

—  Arthur Koestler, 1905-1983, Hungarian-British writer

Arthur KoestlerSpace-ships and time machines are no escape from the human condition.

—  Arthur Koestler, 1905-1983, Hungarian-British writer

Henry MillerMan has demonstrated that he is master of everything – except his own nature.

—  Henry Miller, 1891-1980, American writer

Philip RothYou put too much stock in human intelligence, it doesn’t annihilate human nature.

—  Philip Roth, 1933-2018, American writer

Marty RubinHuman nature is water, not stone.

—  Marty Rubin, 1930-1994, Canadian gay activist, author & journalist

Ray BradburyWe are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.

—  Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012, American sci-fi writer

Nicolas Gomez DavilaIt is impossible to convince the fool that there are pleasures superior to those we share with the rest of the animals.

—  Nicolas Gomez Davila, 1913-1994, Colombian writer

Baltasar GracianAt twenty a man is a peacock, at thirty a lion, at forty a camel, at fifty a serpent, at sixty a dog, at seventy an ape, at eighty a nothing at all.

—  Baltasar Gracian, 1601-1658, Spanish writer

Latin Quotes

HoraceWe are but dust and shadow.

Pulvis et umbra sumus.

—  Horace, 65-8 BC, Roman poet

132 likes
TerentiusI am human: Nothing human is alien to me.

Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto.

—  Terentius, c. 185-159 BC, Roman comic playwright

66 likes

Quotes in Verse

John DrydenAll human things are subject to decay,
And, when fate summons, monarchs must obey.

—  John Dryden, 1631-1700, English poet

4 likes

Ancient Greek

EuripidesAs mortals we should behave as mortals.

Όντας δε θνητούς θνητά και φρονείν χρεών.

—  Euripides, 480-406 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Alcestis

73 likes
ProtagorasMan is the measure of all things.

Πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον έστιν άνθρωπος.

—  Protagoras, 487-412 BC, Ancient Greek sophist

49 likes
PindarMan is the dream of a shadow.

Σκιάς όναρ άνθρωπος.

—  Pindar, 522-438 BC, Ancient Greek lyric poet

47 likes
SophoclesThere are many evils and there is no worse evil than man.

Πολλά τα δεινά κουδέν ανθρώπου δεινότερον πέλει.

—  Sophocles, 496-406 BC, Ancient tragic poet ‐ Antigone

45 likes
PlatoMan: one who thinks of what he sees.

Άνθρωπος: ο αναθρών ά όπωπε.

—  Plato, 427-347 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

41 likes
HippocratesIt is not possible to know medicine without knowing what a human is.

Ουκ ένι ιατρικήν είδέναι, όστις μη οίδεν ό τι εστίν άνθρωπος.

—  Hippocrates, 460-370 BC, Ancient Greek physician, the “Father of Medicine”

40 likes
MenanderWhat a wonderful being is the man if he is a man.

Ως χαρίεν εστ’ άνθρωπος αν άνθρωπος ή.

—  Menander, 4th cent. BC, Ancient Greek dramatist (New Comedy)

33 likes
AristophanesMan is naturally deceitful ever, in every way!

Δολερόν μεν αεί κατά πάντα δη τρόπον πέφυκεν άνθρωπος.

—  Aristophanes, 445-386 BC, Ancient Greek comic playwright ‐ Birds

28 likes
EpicurusWe became men once and one cannot become twice.

Άπαξ άνθρωποι γεγόναμεν, δις δε ουκ έστι γενέσθαι.

—  Epicurus, 341-270 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

26 likes
DemocritusMan is a microcosm.

Τω ανθρώπω μικρώ κόσμω όντι.

—  Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher

22 likes



Similar categories & topics of Quotations






Similar Topics

Mankind

Identity

Meaning of Life

Conscience

Blood

Body

Society

Heart

Age

Destiny

Contrary Topics

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Plants

 Popular Topics
1 Friendship
2 Victory & Defeat
3 Solitude
4 Seduction
5 Self-reliance
6 Ego
7 Drinking
8 Cunning
9 Eroticism
10 Nudity
11 Vanity
12 Self-deprecation
13 Incompetence
14 Sex
15 Religion
16 Meaning of Life
17 Life
18 Death
19 Corruption
20 Democracy
 

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