W Quotes
Browse famous quotes beginning with W. This page is a child index of the full Popular Quotes A-Z directory.
“We may indeed in counsel point to the higher road, but we cannot compel any free creature to walk upon it. That leadeth to tyranny, which disfigureth good and maketh it seem hateful.”
“We may indeed live yet to see, or at least we may feel some confidence that those who come after us will see, such bodies as oxygen and hydrogen in the liquid, perhaps even in the solid state, and the question of their metallic or non-metallic nature thereby finally settled.”
Source: The Scientific Papers of the Late Thomas Andrews ...
“We may, indeed, say that the hour of death is uncertain, but when we say so we represent that hour to ourselves as situated in a vague and remote expanse of time, it never occurs to us that it can have any connexion with the day that has already dawned, or may signify that death — or its first assault and partial possession of us, after which it will never leave hold of us again — may occur this very afternoon, so far from uncertain, this afternoon every hour of which has already been allotted to some occupation. You make a point of taking your drive every day so that in a month’s time you will have had the full benefit of the fresh air; you have hesitated over which cloak you will take, which cabman to call, you are in the cab, the whole day lies before you, short because you have to be at home early, as a friend is coming to see you; you hope that it will be as fine again to-morrow; and you have no suspicion that death, which has been making its way towards you along another plane, shrouded in an impenetrable darkness, has chosen precisely this day of all days to make its appearance, in a few minutes’ time, more or less, at the moment when the carriage has reached the Champs-Elysées.”
Source: The Guermantes Way
“We may, indeed, say that the hour of death is uncertain, but when we say this we think of that hour as situated in a vague and remorse expanse of time; it does not occur to us that it can have any connexion with the day that has already dawned and can mean that death---or its first assault and partial possession of us, after which it will never leave hold of us again---may occur this very afternoon, so far from uncertain, this afternoon whose timetable, hour by hour, has been settled in advance.”
Source: The Guermantes Way
“We may infer from any defeat of ours that it is due either to lack of faith or failure to obey. No other reason can suffice.”
Source: The Spiritual Man
“We may insist as often as we like that man's intellect is powerless in comparison to his instinctual life, and we may be right in this. Nevertheless, there is something peculiar about this weakness. The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it will not rest until it has gained a hearing. Finally, after a countless succession of rebuffs, it succeeds.”
Source: The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud
“We may justly condemn ourselves as the greatest sinners we know because we know more of the folly of our own heart than we do of other people's.”
“We may kill each other someday.”
Source: The Warrior
“We may know ourselves, and yet even with all the efforts we make, we do not know ourselves. We know our fellowman, and yet we do not know him, because we are not a thing, and our fellowman is not a thing. The further we reach into the depths of our being, on someone else's being, the more the goal of knowledge eludes us.”
Source: THE ART OF LOVING
“We may know that the work we continue to put off doing will be bad. Worse, however, is the work we never do. A work that’s finished is at least finished. It may be poor, but it exists, like the miserable plant in the lone flowerpot of my neighbour who’s crippled. That plant is her happiness, and sometimes it’s even mine. What I write, bad as it is, may provide some hurt or sad soul a few moments of distraction from something worse. That’s enough for me, or it isn’t enough, but it serves some purpose, and so it is with all of life.”
“We may know who we are or we may not. We may be Muslims, Jews or Christians but until our hearts become the mould for every heart we will see only our differences.”
“We may label our present circumstances as an irreparable disaster, and falsely convince ourselves that we will not be able to move past such shortcomings.”
“We may lack riches, but the greatest fortune is what lies in our hearts.”
Source: The Odd Thomas Series 7-Book Bundle: Odd Thomas, Forever Odd, Brother Odd, Odd Hours, Odd Apocalypse, Odd Interlude, Deeply Odd
“We may lament the near collapse of liberal arts education or we may suspect that its demise is the consequence of the cloistered humanism that produced it.”
“We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine, but if defer tasting them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age.”
Source: Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think
“We may lay it down as an incontestible axiom, that, in all the operations of art and nature, nothing is created; an equal quantity of matter exists both before and after the experiment; the quality and quantity of the elements remain precisely the same; and nothing takes place beyond changes and modifications in the combination of these elements. Upon this principle the whole art of performing chemical experiments depends: We must always suppose an exact equality between the elements of the body examined and those of the products of its analysis.”
Source: Elements of chemistry, tr. by R. Kerr
“We may learn anew what compassion and beauty are, and pause to listen to the Earth's music.”
Source: Wildlife: The Real Test of Environmental Quality
“We may learn by practice such things upon earth as shall be of use to us in heaven. Piety, unostentatious piety, is never out of place.”
“We may learn from children how large a part of our grievances is imaginary. But the pain is just as real.”
“We may legitimately see in the [Old Testament] event, or in the record of it, additional levels of significance in the light of the end of the story – i.e. in the light of Christ”
“We may like the honey without liking the bee, but this will not be ethical!”
“We may like to combat disease or even want to cure death. We may try to surf on the waves of infinity and attempt to kill mortality. Nobody, though, ever recovers from the lethal illness. In the meantime, we’d better unlock temporal moments that deliver touches of eternity. They, for sure, never disappoint. (" Living on probation")”
“We may like to know the relevance of loyalty in an ever-shifting world and comprehend the essence of "commitment" in a rapidly altering relationship. In a frame of the "easy come easy go syndrome” many interpretations are brought to mind like "It was all a misunderstanding" or "I liked what the other did, but at this moment I must recognize he didn't do what I really do like". ("Was it all worthwhile?")”
“We may like well to know what is Plato’s and what is Montesquieu’s or Goethe’s part, and what thought was always dear to the writer himself; but the worth of the sentences consists in their radiancy and equal aptitude to all intelligence. They fit all our facts like a charm. We respect ourselves the more that we know them.”
Source: Delphi Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Illustrated)
“We may listen to our inner self-and still not know which ocean we hear roaring.”
“We may live in a culture that believes everyone will be saved, that we are 'justified by death' and all you need to do to go to heaven is die, but God’s Word certainly doesn’t give us the luxury of believing that.”
“We may live under different roofs,
But we share the same sunlight.”
“We may live victoriously, not because we have any power within ourselves, but because when we give ourselves to God, He gives himself to us.”
Source: Stay Alive All Your Life
“We may live without friends; we may live without books
But civilized men cannot live without cooks.”
“We may live without her, and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her. How cold is all history, how lifeless all imagery, compared to that which the living nation writes, and the uncorrupted marble bears!”
Source: The seven lamps of architecture
“We may live without poetry, music, and art;
We may live without conscience, and live without heart;
We may live without friends; we may live without books;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks.
He may live without books,—what is knowledge but grieving? 20
He may live without hope,—what is hope but deceiving?
He may live without love,—what is passion but pining?
But where is the man that can live without dining?”
“We may live without poetry, music and art; We may live without conscience, and live without heart; We may live without friends; we may live without books; But civilized man cannot live without cooks. . . . He may live without books,-what is knowledge but grieving? He may live without hope,-what is hope but deceiving? He may live without love,-what is passion but pining? But where is the man that can live without dining?”
“We may look great on Instagram, but we're still lonely and depressed and anxiety-ridden. I hope, for the sake of our future generations, that our moral compass stays intact.”
“We may look old and wise to the outside world. But to each other, we are still in junior school.”
“We may look up to Armies for Defence, but Virtue is our best Security. It is not possible that any state should long remain free, where Virtue is not supremely honord.”
Source: The Writings of Samuel Adams: 1773-1777
“We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.”
“We may lose battles
but we are stronger
and the only thing that can defeat us ultimately
is our willingness to accept defeat.
We cannot accept defeat.
I do not accept defeat.”
“We may love men and we may live with men, but some of them have said stupendously inaccurate things about us, our bodies, and our psyches.”
“We may love money without having it, just as we may have money without loving it.”
“We may love to say many things, but if these are not uttered in the Holy Spirit it is better to say nothing. The flesh can conjure up many plans and methods and be full of expectations. The righteousness of the flesh is as abhorrent as its sin we must always maintain God's view of the flesh.”
“We may make an oratory of our heart wherein to retire from time to time to converse with Him in meekness, humility, and love. Every one is capable of such familiar conversation with God, some more, some less. He knows what we can do. Let us begin, then.”
Source: The Practice of the Presence of God and The Spiritual Maxims
“We may make contact with ambitious species on other planets or stars; soon thereafter there will be interplanetary war. Then, and only then, will we of this earth be one.”
“We may make mistakes-but they must never be mistakes which result from faintness of heart or abandonment of moral principle.”
Source: Inaugural Speeches from the Presidents of the United States - Complete Edition
“We may make our future by the best use of the present. There is no moment like the present.”
“We may make progress only by freeing ourselves from the rut of the past, but without this rut an orderly society would hardly be possible in the first place.”
“We may meet so many people along this long road,
But it is of no use,
Until we finally meet ourselves.”
Source: Your Light Is The Key
“We may need simple and heroic legends for that peculiar genre of literature known as the textbook. But historians must also labor to rescue human beings from their legends in science if only so that we may understand the process of scientific thought aright.”
Source: The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History
“We may need to change the way we think. As in Israel, I think there should be a mandatory draft, where you go away for the service of your country for three years.”
“We may need to focus here.' 'Right. Yes. OK. Turn around.' 'Are you going to throw something at me?' 'What? No, I'm getting out of bed.”
“We may need to let go of our beliefs and ideas about life in order to have life.”
Source: Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal, 10th Anniversary Edition