A Quotes
Browse famous quotes beginning with A. This page is a child index of the full Popular Quotes A-Z directory.
“At the side of Enjolras, who represented the logic of revolution, was Combeferre, representing its philosophy. The difference between logic and philosophy is that one can decide upon war, whereas the other can only be fulfilled by peace.”
“At the side of every living city, town, or hamlet, there is always a dead city or town, as the shadow is always beside the body. Geography, therefore, is always double, although you speak only of that which appears most agreeable. To make a map of all the cemeteries upon earth would suffice to explain the political geography of thy world.”
Source: The Strange Friend of Tito Gil
“At the sight and realisation that I was sleeping next to a naked Liam Nightingale, I’m not embarrassed to admit, I think I had a mini-orgasm”
Source: Rock Chick
“At the sight of a single bone, of a single piece of bone, I recognize and reconstruct the portion of the whole from which it would have been taken. The whole being to which this fragment belonged appears in my mind's eye.”
“At the sight of blackbirds Flying in a green light, Even the bawds of euphony Would cry out sharply.”
Source: Wallace Stevens
“At the sight of Day, her whole face lit up.
"Mikhail! You came! Barbara said you would, but that we might have to wait for hell to freeze over first. Did it?”
Source: Dangerously Charming
“At the sight of his quizzical, kindly face - so sweet, so agreeable, so glad to see me - something wrenched deep in my chest.
'Richard' he said again, as if there were no one on earth he could possibly be so delighted to see. 'How are you?'
'Fine.'
'I'm just going over to North Hampden. Will you walk with me?'
I looked at the innocent, happy face and thought: If only he knew. It would kill him.
'Julian, I'd love to, thanks,' I said. 'But I have to be getting home.'
He looked at me closely. The concern in his eyes made me nearly sick with self-loathing.
'I see so little of you these days, Richard,' he said. 'I feel that you're becoming just a shadow in my life.'
The benevolence, the spiritual calm, that radiated from him seemed so clear and true that, for a dizzying moment, I felt the darkness lift almost palpably from my heart. The relief was such that I almost broke down sobbing; but then, looking at him again, I felt the whole poisonous weight come crashing back down, full force.
'Are you sure you're all right?'
He can never know. We can never tell him.
'Oh. Sure I am,' I said. 'I'm fine.”
Source: The Secret History
“At the sight of Queen Obadia, the air was driven from Nicholas’s lungs. It was as if Hercules himself had punched him in the gut.
She’s beautiful!
Nicholas fought for breath as he took in every feature of the royal figurehead who was now standing only a few paces from him. He knew there wasn’t a more exquisite creature on the face of the planet. Others around him were equally impressed.”
Source: New Zealand
“At the sight of Ruth, singing and crying in the moonlight, they say Jacob Wyld crouched wordlessly and planted seeds at her feet, in the earth between the roots of the gum tree. What grew from that night, where Ruth's tears fell to the earth, was a heath of wild vanilla lilies, and an equally heady love affair between Ruth and Jacob.
They met at the river whenever Ruth could get away. He brought her flower seeds and she brought him whatever meager food scraps she could sneak from the house.
Soon Ruth had enough seeds to till a small, shaded corner of dirt near the house, where a nearly dead, lone wattle tree stood. The dirt was so dry it took her a month to soften it with whatever water she could carry from the river. Eventually, the wattle tree exploded into flower, a winter blaze of sweet yellow. Ruth fell to her knees at the sight. The scent floated all the way into town. Bees droned around the tree, drunk on its nectar. Beneath the wattle were circles of green shoots. Ruth sketched each one in her small notebook. As they bloomed, so different to the foxgloves and snowdrops of her mother's songs, Ruth noted down what they meant to her, adapting the Victorian language of flowers. The strange and beautiful native flowers, able to flourish in the harshest conditions, enchanted Ruth; none more so than the deep scarlet flowers with red centres the color of the darkest blood. Meaning, Ruth wrote in her notebook, have courage, take heart.”
Source: The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
“At the sight of the dozen assorted cupcakes, as bright and optimistic as party hats, Louise's eyes lit up.
"How wonderful!" she said, clapping her hands together again.
I handed her one of the red velvet cupcakes that I'd made in the old-fashioned style, using beets instead of food coloring. I'd had to scrub my fingers raw for twenty minutes to get the crimson beet stain off them, but the result was worth it: a rich chocolate cake cut with a lighter, nearly unidentifiable, earthy sweetness, and topped with cream cheese icing and a feathery cap of coconut shavings. For Ogden, I selected a Moroccan vanilla bean and pumpkin spice cupcake that I'd been developing with Halloween in mind. It was not for the faint of heart, and I saw the exact moment in Ogden's eyes that the dash of heat- courtesy of a healthy pinch of cayenne- hit his tongue, and the moment a split-second later that the sugary vanilla swept away the heat, like salve on a wound.
"Oh," he said, after swallowing. He looked at me, and I could see it was his turn to be at a loss for words.
I smiled.
Louise, on the other hand, was half giggling, half moaning her way through a second cupcake, this time a lemonade pound cake with a layer of hot pink Swiss meringue buttercream icing curling into countless tiny waves as festive and feminine as a little girl's birthday tiara.
"Exquisite!" she said, mouth full. And then, shrugging in her son's direction, her eyes twinkling. "What? I didn't eat lunch.”
Source: How to Eat a Cupcake
“At the sight of what goes on in the world, the most misanthropic of men must end by being amused, and Heraclitus must die laughing.”
“At the simplest level, only people who know they do not know everything will be curious enough to find things out.”
Source: The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise,
“At the simplicity of the gesture, he felt a pang: the raw nerve of his loneliness exposed.”
Source: Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It
“At the Slavemarket:
“How is her disposition?”
“Meek as meek can be; we tried training her in the care of sheep, but they bullied her, and drove her to tears.”
Iayd turned to Fudail’s henchman Falih. Falih was a bald, fat man charged with keeping the slaves in line. His face bore scars that seemed to indicate that he had just recently tried to rob an eagle nest whilst the eagle mother was still at home. His legs stood knock-kneed and he held his groin as if something serious was amiss with the heirlooms entrusted him.
“I swear to you, she is an angel sent to earth to spread kindness,” Falih said, his voice somewhat out of pitch.
Something must be wrong, thought Iayd.”
Source: Fate, as Water
“At the slightest opportunity, Gora wanted to forcefully cast aside all constraints and prejudices, to come down to the level the general public, and declare with all his heart: ‘I am yours, and you are mine!”
Source: Gora
“At the small table, sitting very upright, was one of the ugliest old ladies he had ever seen. It was an ugliness of distinction - it fascinated rather than repelled.”
Source: Five complete Hercule Poirot novels
“At the snowy summit of all these things, however, is the fact that you simply cannot go about locking your siblings in towers when they misbehave. It is unseemly and betrays a sad lack of creativity.”
“At the solemn moment of death, every man, even when death is sudden, sees the whole of his past life marshalled before him, in its minutest details. For one short instant the personal becomes one with the individual and all-knowing ego. But this instant is enough to show to him the whole chain of causes which have been at work during his life.”
Source: Death and After?
“At the soul level, we get precisely what we need in our lives for our spiritual growth. How we judge what we get determines whether we experience life as painful or joyful.”
Source: Radical Self-Forgiveness: The Direct Path to True Self-Acceptance (Large Print 16pt)
“At the sound of her name, Lucia’s blue eyes honed in on me. She cocked her head to the side as if puzzled. “Why me?” she wondered.
“Lucia, you exploded with power after Ehno was killed.” I shot Ehno an apologetic look. “I felt your sorrow before I even knew something was wrong. It hit me like a freight train of boulders. You made the sky rain fireballs with red lightning. Need I say more?”
Source: Fallen Legion
“At the sound of my name, those two worlds on either side of me collide, and my lips meet his. Time ceases to exist, and so, apparently does any logic that my mind is hanging on to. Logic would say that this is insane; every other fibre of my being says it's right.”
Source: 'Til Death Do Us Part: An Adult Retelling of The Little Mermaid
“At the sound of the first droning of the shells we rush back, in one part of our being, a thousand years. By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness. One cannot explain it. A man is walking along without thought or heed; - suddenly he throws himself down on the ground and a storm of fragments fly harmlessly over him; - yet he cannot remember either to have heard the shell coming or to have thought of flinging himself down. But had he not abandoned himself to the impulse he would now be a heap of mangled flesh. It is this other, this second sight in us, that has thrown us to the ground and saved us, without our knowledge how. If it were not so, there would not be one man alive . . .”
Source: All quiet on the western front
“At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer, you will find at least two human errors, one of which is the error of blaming it on the computer.”
“At the south, a gentleman can have a shoal of colored children without any disgrace, but if he is known to purchase them, with the view of setting them free, the example is thought to be dangerous to their "peculiar institution," and he becomes unpopular.”
Source: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
“At the southern tip of the continent, a rich reward is in the making, an invaluable gift is in the preparation, for those who suffered in the name of all humanity when they sacrificed everything - for liberty, peace, human dignity and human fulfillment.
The value of our shared reward will and must be measured by the joyful peace which will triumph, because of the common humanity that bonds both black and white into one human race, will have said to each one of us that we shall all live like the children of paradise.”
“At the speed of light, the mass unites every particle (Everything) in a unified “vibration.” At the speed of light, the “kinetic” force would be equivalent to the force of infinite mass. It is not that the mass becomes infinite, but the force of “mass,” “gravitational” pull, as a consequence of speed (motion), becomes as strong as if it were infinite. The source of gravitation is not mass but motion and speed (kinetic property of mass and matter). This “point” is the door between our world, as we experience it, and the primordial world. This “point” is the gateway between noumenon and appearance, between the noumenon and phenomenon.”
Source: ABSOLUTE
“At the stair-foot Hephaistion was waiting. He happened to be there, as he happened to have a ball handy if Alexander wanted a game, or water if he was thirsty; not by calculation, but in a constant awareness by which no smallest trifle was missed. Now, when he came down the stairs with a shut mouth and blue lines under his eyes, Hephaistion received some mute signal he understood, and fell into step beside him.”
“At the start of 2005 the idea of downloading a song to a mobile phone was an idea, by the end of the year it was a reality.”
“At the start of any program, asking questions is the most important part of the process. If you get [the customer's] requirements wrong, then you don't have a successful product.”
“At the start of each new day, remind yourself: I am talented. I am creative. I am greatly favored by God. I am equipped. I am well able. I will see my dreams come to pass.”
Source: It's Your Time and Become a Better You Boxed Set
“At the start of each year I sit down and look at both calendars and plan it that way. Obviously sometimes there are some overlaps but I have to be organised. At the moment motor racing is taking precedence and I have been quite lucky this year in picking and choosing.”
“At the start of every conversation ask yourself what can I give, not what can I take.”
“At the start of his second term, one wonders less about Obama's fitness than his willingness: Why doesn't he do more to build and maintain the relationships required to govern in era of polarization?”
“At the start of it he'd felt only a sudden overpowering wish to make her happy. To see her smile again.”
Source: In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden
“At the start of my career, when I used to toss and turn at night, I was fighting that feeling and wanting to go to sleep. Now I know that's normal, so I'll just get up and watch TV or something. I know it's just my subconscious mind getting ready for a game.”
“At the start of the process the idea is just a thought - very fragile and exclusive. When the first physical manifestation is created everything changes. It is no longer exclusive, now it involves a lot of people.”
“At the start of the season you're strong enough to win the Premiership and the European Cup, but you have to be as strong in March, when the fish are down.”
“At the start, I had no idea to go into fashion, because I thought people would think I was stupid. I don't worry about those things anymore.”
“At the state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao, Hu opened a fortune cookie that said, 'You will lend us another trillion dollars.'”
“At the state level, we must take a careful look at what went wrong and make sure it never happens again. The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility.”
“At the State of the Union address last night, President Obama made history by using the words transgender, lesbian, and bisexual in that speech. It was the part of the speech where he was just reading Craigslist personals.”
“At the state park, they hiked up to a meadow covered with soft grass and golden poppies. Jerome spread out a blanket, and they lazed in the sunshine and had their lunch. The sliders and sheet cake were a hit, as she had known they would be. The sandwiches had been a food truck staple---thin slices of house-cured pastrami, garlic dill kraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing, the rolls slathered with herb butter and crunchy seeds and salt.”
Source: Sugar and Salt
“At the steamy train station
in New Orleans, horrifying signs
above drinking fountains
announce:
COLORED.
WHITE.
Confused, I drink out of both.
Why should it matter if a stream
of coo, refreshing water
pours
into
my
mouth
or
another?”
Source: Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings
“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is, But neither arrest nor movement. And do not all it fixity, Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards, Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point, There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.”
“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is.”
“At the still point, there the dance is.”
“At the store, they have one-hundred-percent-recycled toilet paper," Marla says. "The worst job in the whole world must be recycling toilet paper.”
Source: Fight Club
“At the street level, Sugar Fair welcomed customers into a bright, child-like fantasy. The architecturally designed enchanted forest was awash in jewel tones, and gorgeous smells, and the waterfall of free-flowing chocolate.
But it was the Dark Forest downstairs that had proved an unexpected money-spinner, an income stream that had helped keep them afloat through the precarious first year.
Four nights a week, through a haze of purple smoke and bubbling cauldrons, Sylvie taught pre-booked groups how to make concoctions that would tease the senses, delight the mind... and knock people flat on their arse if they weren't careful. High percentage of alcohol. It was a mixology class with a lot of tricks and pyrotechnics. It had been Jay's idea to get a liquor license.
"Pleasures of the mouth," he'd said at the time. "The holy trinity--- chocolate, coffee, and booze."
With even her weekends completely blocked out, Sylvie had almost made a crack about forfeiting certain other pleasures of the mouth, but Jay had inherited a puritanical streak from his mother. Both their mouths looked like dried cranberries if someone made a sex joke.
The sensuous, moody haven in the basement was a counterbalance to the carefully manufactured atmosphere upstairs. There were, after all, reasons to shy away from relentless cheer. Perhaps someone had just been through a breakup, or a family reunion. A really distressing haircut. Maybe they'd logged on to Twitter and realized half the population were a bunch of pricks. Or maybe the'd picked up the Metropolitan News and found Dominic De Vere indirectly thrashing their entire business aesthetic in a major London daily.
Whatever the reason--- feeling a little stressed? A bit peeved? Annoyed as fuck? Welcome to the Dark Forest. Through the bakery, turn left, down the stairs.”
Source: Battle Royal
“At the stroke of midnight, I am engulfed in the darkness of the night, and I am thinking of the man behind the mysterious static loop. It never crosses my mind that I have already ushered in the New Year…”
Source: Outlet from Loneliness
“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.”
Source: Sept. 1964-May 1949