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A Quotes

Browse famous quotes beginning with A. This page is a child index of the full Popular Quotes A-Z directory.

All A Quotes

“A first-rate college library with a comfortable campus around it is a fine milieu for a writer. There is, of course, the problem of educating the young. I remember how once, between terms, not at Cornell, a student brought a transistor set with him into the reading room. He managed to state that one, he was playing “classical” music; that two, he was doing it “softly”; and that three, “there were not many readers around in summer.” I was there, a one-man multitude.”

“A first recorded instance of “presentation anxiety” occurred around 1300BC when God commissioned Moses to urge Pharaoh to free the Hebrew slaves. “Please send someone else!” pleaded Moses to God. “I'm a nobody. I'm not eloquent. I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Perhaps he stuttered. Poor Moses. As well as having to argue with God and Pharaoh – and convince the Hebrews they should follow him to the Promised Land – he had to overcome his insecurity as a speaker. Moses’ story reveals an important truth – the more we speak in public, the less our fears intrude and the more we grow in confidence. If Moses, the self-confessed “nobody”, could surmount his fears, so too can we.”

“A fish is free as long as it stays in the water. If it suddenly declares that it wants its freedom to fly in the air like a bird, disaster occurs. A train is free as long as it stays on the track. However, if it demands freedom to take off down a major highway, the result is destruction and devastation. We too can only experience true freedom in its fullest if we remain within the framework of freedom. Often this requires accepting responsibility and practicing discipline.”

“A fish is smarter than you in water. A bird is cleverer than you in air. A lion is nimbler than you on land. An owl is wiser than you at night. A fox is shrewder than you in the day. A rooster is savvier than you in the morning. A worm is wylier than you in soil. A snake is subtler than you in grass. A monkey is slicker than you in trees. A bat is sharper than you at dusk. A hyena is craftier than you at dawn. A dove is keener than you at midday. A seed is adepter than you in earth. A wolf is slyer than you in forests. A tiger is deadlier than you in jungles.”

“A fish swims in the ocean, and no matter how far it swims there is no end to the water. A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it flies there is no end to the air. However the fish and the bird have never left their elements. Thus each of them totally covers its full range, and each of them totally experiences its realm... Know that water is life and air is life. The bird is life and the fish is life. Life must be the bird and life must be the fish... practice, enlightenment and people are like this.”

“A fish-trap is for catching fish; once you've caught the fish, you can forget about the trap. A rabbit-snare is for catching rabbits; once you've caught the rabbit, you can forget about the snare. Words are for catching ideas; once you've caught the idea, you can forget about the words. Where can I find a person who knows how to forget about words so that I can have a few words with them?”

“A fish, which you can't see, deep down in the water, is a kind of symbol of peace on earth, good will to yourself. Fishing gives a man ... some time to collect his thoughts and reaarange them kind of neatly, in an orderly fashion. Once the bait is on the hook and the boat is anchored, there's nothing to interfere with thinking except an occasional bite”