N Quotes
Browse famous quotes beginning with N. This page is a child index of the full Popular Quotes A-Z directory.
“Not so long ago, disasters were periods of social levelling, rare moments when atomized communities put divisions aside and pulled together. Increasingly, however disasters are the opposite: they provide windows into a cruel and ruthlessly divided future in which money and race buy survival.”
Source: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
“Not so long ago people believed in ideologies, systems, and institutions to save all societies. Today, they have given up such hopes and have returned to relying on the individual, on individual freedom, individual initiative, individual creativity.”
“Not so long ago, the dolts among us were free to think their thoughts quietly to themselves with no easy way to share them. At worst, a person would usually just embarrass himself in front of his own family or bowling team. Bad ideas had a harder time scaling and reproducing, so lots of stupidity stayed local, and everyone else could happily overestimate the average person's intelligence because they saw less of it. But then we connected everyone on the planet and gave them each the equivalent of their own printing press, radio station and TV network. Now, even those with nothing useful to say can tell the whole world exactly, or more often vaguely, what they think.
. . . In theory, this is the democratization of expression. In practice, it feels like a crowdsourced lobotomy.
[from "A Theory of Dumb" by Lane Brown, New York Magazine, November 17 - 30, 2025]”
“Not so many moons ago, he had been able to run to the summit of the temple without losing a single breath; however, now he felt like an old camel that laboured under a load of corn. Years pass so quickly, and the dreams of youth are lost forever.”
Source: Longinus The Vampire: Babylon
“Not so many years ago there was no simpler or more intelligible notion than that of going on a journey. Travel -movement through space -provided the universal metaphor for change. One of the subtle confusions -perhaps one of the secret terrors -of modern life is that we have lost this refuge. No longer do we move through space as we once did.”
“Not so much a film as a visual essay, exquisitely directed and photographed (by Sacha Vierny)... Difficult to watch but well worthwhile for those willing to be challenged.”
Source: Leonard Maltin's movie and video guide
“Not so much a game
as a sphere,
a mystery.
Held up to light,
a small hole
into another dimension.”
Source: In the Next Galaxy
“Not so much a trickle down as a dragging-along.”
Source: A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy
“Not so much anymore but some years ago in my homeland there was a habit, something called 'casamiento de apuro,' a marriage in haste because the baby is coming and to cover socially the honor of the family. There, they weren't free and it happened many times this marriage is null. As a bishop I forbade my priests to do this.”
“Not so much that I wanted to give up rock writing, but I also wanted to try something new. So I moved to a crumbling stately heap on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere in southwest France, about 60 miles from Bordeaux: wine instead of cocaine.”
“Not so much two ships passing in the night as two ships sailing together for a time but always bound for different ports.”
Source: The Lighthouse
“Not so very long ago, the deep was a tremendous void containing myths, legends and endless unknowns.”
Source: The Brilliant Abyss
“Not so, however, with books, for books cannot change. A thousand years hence they are what you find them to-day, speaking the same words, holding forth the same cheer, the same promise, the same comfort; always constant, laughing with those who laugh and weeping with those who weep.”
Source: The Works of Eugene Field Vol. VII: The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac
“Not songs of loyalty alone are these,
But songs of insurrection also,
For I am the sworn poet of every dauntless rebel the world over.”
“Not soon, as late as the approach of my ninetieth year, I felt a door opening in me and I entered the clarity of early morning.
One after another my former lives were departing, like ships, together with their sorrow.
And the countries, cities, gardens, the bays of seas assigned to my brush came closer, ready now to be described better than they were before.”
Source: The Noble Traveller: The Life and Writings of O. V. de L. Milosz
“Not sorry, not calling, not crying
All will pass like smoke of white apple trees
Seized by the gold of autumn,
I will no longer be young.”
“Not speaking and speaking are both human ways of being in the world, and there are kinds and grades of each. There is the dumb silence of slumber or apathy; the sober silence that goes with a solemn animal face; the fertile silence of awareness, pasturing the soul, whence emerge new thoughts; the alive silence of alert perception, ready to say, “This… this…”; the musical silence that accompanies absorbed activity; the silence of listening to another speak, catching the drift and helping him be clear; the noisy silence of resentment and self-recrimination, loud and subvocal speech but sullen to say it; baffled silence; the silence of peaceful accord with other persons or communion with the cosmos.”
“Not speaks one who spoke,
There speaks one who wilt speak,
May another find what he will speak!
Not a teller of tales after they happen.
This has been done before ;
Nor a teller of what might be said,
This is vain endeavor, it is lies.
And none will recall his name to others.
I say this in accord with what I have seen:
From the first generation to those who come after,
They imitate that which is past.”
“Not specifically. "Demons have been on Earth as long as we have. They're all over the world, in their different forms – Greek daemons, Persian daevas, Hindu asuras, Japanese oni. Most belief systems have some method of incorporating both their existence and the fight against them. Shadowhunters cleave to no single religion, and in turn all religions assist us in our battle. I could as easily have gone for help to a Jewish synagogue or a Shinto temple, or – Ah. Here it is.”
Source: Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instruments Series (5 books): City of Bones; City of Ashes; City of Glass; City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls
“Not stepping over the bounds of modesty.”
Source: Romeo and Juliet: A Tragedy in Five Acts
“Not stones, nor wood, nor the art of artisans make a state; but where men are who know how to take care of themselves, these are cities and walls.”
“Not stories told by wolf or man to frighten children, of Wolfbane and of werewolves, of grasht and goblins and of silly vampires, fables to frighten cowards with the threat of evil and of sin. But the power that lives beyond those stories, and makes them strong indeed, that lives in nightmares and in sleep. That is ribbed into the very fabric of conscious being. The power of love and hate.”
“Not stupid. Overly trusting, maybe, but that reflects on his lack of trustworthiness, not on your intelligence.”
“Not suffering another existence is reaching the Way.”
Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
“Not suffering, but faint heart, is worst of woes.”
Source: Under the Willows, and Other Poems
“Not suing others does not mean that others won't sue you.If people are desperate enough to think that they can gain some kind of financial advantage, they'll sue.”
“Not sure how I felt about Antonio and Echo, I linked my fingers with hers. Antonio cocked a surprised eyebrow. Damn straight, bro. I just marked my territory.”
Source: Pushing the Limits
“Not sure how you can get them to him without looking like a crazy stalker chick," Micah says.
"You think I'm a crazy stalker chick?"
"You're using an ancient war manual to try to win back your boyfriend. I think you're a girl who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants," he says. "Hey, at least you're committed.”
Source: The Art of Lainey
“Not sure if I need a glass of wine or a gun or both.”
“Not sure if that will benefit me or hurt me, but I know I have the skills and am ready to play in the NBA regardless of my ethnicity.”
“Not sure of my place in the world (still up for debate) and not sure what I wanted to do with my life (not really up for debate).”
“Not sure there is a truth that's "for sure."”
“Not sure what of this you did offer me
Never did amount to anything
So with this
I go”
Source: Rome: Poems
“Not sure where I would be had I not been blessed with a praying mother and grandmother.”
“Not surprising though, those whose wealth come from questionable practices hardly utilize it for answerable causes. They thereby insulate themselves from divine recognition.”
Source: Weighty 'n' Worthy African Proverbs - Volume 1
“Not surprisingly, people with PTSD commonly feel detached or estranged from others. People who have endured combat, rape, disaster work, and other forms of trauma often assume that they are now different and that no one could possibly relate to their experiences. They might feel that they can’t tell others about what happened or what they did for fear of judgment, and the secrets and fear of being shunned lead to their feeling disconnected from others. Because they no longer feel comfortable in social situations, they might avoid gatherings—or they might go but find no pleasure in them. Of course, to connect with others, people need to be emotionally open. This is difficult when one is still struggling to contain memories of the past.”
Source: The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery, and Growth
“Not surprisingly, the father if market efficiency, Gene Farma, has a very clever way to avoid the pitfalls of hyperbolic discounting. When he's invited to talk or engage in sone business activity, he has a . simple rule for deciding whether to accept: no matter how far in the future it's scheduled, he ask himself whether it's something he would want to do if the event were next week; if the answer is yes, he accepts, otherwise, he politely declines. This simple rule of thumb ensures that he uses the same discount rate across all decision horizons.”
“Not surprisingly, there's nothing to do at the Pentagon except start a war.”
“Not surprisingly, there's nothing to do at the Pentagon except start a war. Tourist aren't even allowed to take photos with the building in the background, so when the sailor-suited family of Navy veterans four generations deep handed me a disposable camera and asked me to follow at a distance and secretly take photos of them while they snapped to attention, saluted, and flashed peace signs for no apparent reason, I was only too happy to serve my country.”
Source: The Sellout
“Not surprisingly, as the pioneer theme is presented, each goes back in memory to his or her own family line. There are usually examples to identify and which fit the definition of a pioneer: "one who goes before, showing others the way to follow." Some, if not all, made great sacrifices to leave behind comfort and ease and respond to that clarion call of their newly found faith.”
“Not surprisingly, because too much attention to one object leads to distraction, this one object conceals everything else, and when we focus on one point on the map we know that all other points are eluding us.”
Source: Cosmos: A Novel
“Not surprisingly, extensive effort in Britain and America goes into finding tax shelter. the system is "efficient" for the shelter industry, not for the economy.”
Source: The Economic Illusion: False Choices Between Prosperity and Social Justice
“Not surprisingly, he began to sing, and because no one in the world could hear him, and he sang without inhibition, he sang well.”
Source: Winter's Tale
“Not surprisingly, some of the super-rich declined to join the Patriotic Millionaires when the Agenda Project reached out to them. At least two airily dismissed the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and above - which will cost well over $700 billion over the coming decade - as small potatoes.”
“Not surprisingly, the chief way self-published authors get the word out about their books is through the Internet.”
“Not surprisingly, the federal judiciary nearly always rules in favor of the federal government. Judicial review, contrary to the assurances of its advocates, has hardly restrained Congress at all. Instead it has progressively stripped the states of their traditional powers, while allowing federal power to grow unchecked.”
“Not surprisingly, the insurance lobby recoils in horror at the prospect of automatic coverage (including, when it was first proposed, Social Security), no matter how efficient it may be. Automatic coverage eliminates sales commissions and profit.”
“Not surprisingly, the place we're most likely to experience testing is exactly where we struggle most to trust God.”
Source: The Dream Giver: Following Your God-Given Destiny
“Not surprisingly, thinkers from groups for whom whiteness was and is a problem have taken the lead in studying whiteness in this way. Such study began with slave folktales and American Indian stories of contact with whites.”
“Not surprisingly, troubled economic times often beget proselytizers of wacky, extreme ideas.”