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Human Nature Quotes

Browse 4693 quotes about Human Nature.

Human Nature Quotes

“... beauty, like ecstasy, has always been hostile to the commonplace. And the commonplace, under its popular label of the normal,has been the supreme authority for Homo sapiens since the days when he was probably arboreal.”

Has Beens Beauty Human Nature Authority Normal Supreme Labels Ecstasy Mediocrity Hostile Commonplace Homo Sapiens Real Beauty

Author:Ellen Glasgow

“I would write of the universal, not the provincial, in human nature.... I would write of characters, not of characteristics.”

Writing Humans Character Human Nature Universal Characteristics

Author:Ellen Glasgow

“People are less self-conscious in the intimacy of family life and during the anxiety of a great sorrow. The dazzling varnish of anextreme politeness is then less in evidence, and the true qualities of the heart regain their proper proportions.”

People Heart Self Quality Family Human Nature Sorrow Anxiety Conscious Evidence Intimacy Proportion Family Life Self Conscious Politeness Dazzling True Intimacy

Book:Armance

Source: Armance

“Signs cannot be represented, in a spy's report, so damningly as words.”

Language Human Nature Reports Spy

Book:The Red and the Black: World Classics

Source: The Red and the Black: World Classics

“Great ladies are no more spiteful than the average rich woman; but one acquires in their society a greater susceptibility, and feels more profoundly andmore irremediably, their unpleasant remarks.”

Feels Women Rich Greater Society Human Nature Average Acquire Remarks Spiteful Susceptibility Rich Women

Author:Stendhal

“The mayor of Sochi is now saying that there are no gay people in Sochi. So the only thing that is flaming over there now is the Olympic torch.”

People Politics Community Leadership Class Comedy Human Nature Gay Equal Ethics Human Rights Individuality Ideology Equal Rights Mayors Torches Gay People Partisanship Sochi

Author:David Letterman

“Here's a woman, a real pioneer for other women looking for careers in stand-up comedy. And talk about guts - she would come out here and sit in this chair and say some things that were unbelievable - where you would have to swallow pretty hard... but it was hilarious... the force of her comedy was overpowering.”

Real Hard Force Leadership Careers History Comedy Generations Fashion Human Nature Individuality Guts Chairs Free Speech Unbelievable Pioneers Stand Up Comedy Overpowering

Author:David Letterman

“In one and the same human being there are cognitions that, however utterly dissimilar they are, yet have one and the same object,so that one can only conclude that there are different subjects in one and the same human being.”

Humans Different Human Beings Subjects Human Nature Objects Experience Individualism Being There Cognition Different Subjects

Book:Wedding preparations in the country: and other posthumous prose writings. With notes by Max Brod

Source: Wedding preparations in the country: and other posthumous prose writings. With notes by Max Brod

“The history of the world, as it is written and handed down by word of mouth, often fails us completely; but man's intuitive capacity, though it often misleads, does lead, does not ever abandon one.”

Men World Love Doe Failing Written Human Nature Mouths Capacity Abandon Intuitive One Love World History Mislead Word Of Mouth

Book:The Blue Octavo Notebooks

Source: The Blue Octavo Notebooks

“Ye whose clay-cold heads and luke-warm hearts can argue down or mask your passions--tell me, what trespass is it that man should have them?... If nature has so wove her web of kindness, that some threads of love and desire are entangled with the piece--must the whole web be rent in drawing them out?”

Source: The Works of Laurence Sterne: Containing The Life and Opinions of Tristan Shandy ... [etc.] ; with a Life of the Author Written by Himself

“However incoherent a human existence may be, human unity is not bothered by it.”

Humans May Existence Human Nature Unity Bothered Human Existence Not Bothered

Author:Charles Baudelaire

“I think if you write humor, then people don't - you know - they don't give you that much credit. They tend to think you just dictate your stories into a tape recorder. And I'm not necessarily insulted by that, because I think that just means that it looks easy.”

People Ifs Thinking Knows Giving Writing Looks Mean Stories Easy Community Comedy Human Nature Individuality Credit Ideology Tape Insulted Recorders

Author:David Sedaris

“Sometimes you read something and it's just -- it doesn't invite a reader....Sometimes you read something and it's not saying, 'oh come in, come in have a seat. I'm going to tell you what happened.' Perhaps my writing comes off as conversational...and that takes effort.”

Writing Sometimes Community Effort Happened Human Nature Reader Individuality Seats Invites

Author:David Sedaris

“I'm not afraid to write about madness. I always figure that whatever most embarrasses you is something that everyone can relate to, really...because we're just not that different. So if you think, 'Oh my god, this is so embarrassing. I can't possibly talk about that,' and you write about it, the audience is gonna be like, 'that happened to me!”

Ifs Thinking Writing I Can Different Reality Community Audience Comedy Generations Happened Human Nature Figures Madness Unity Relate Not Afraid Embarrassing

Author:David Sedaris

“Adolescence is the time to enlarge the natural sentiments of pity, friendship, and generosity, the time to develop an understanding of human nature and the varieties of human character, the time to gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of all men and to study the history of mankind.”

Source: Adolescence: The Farewell to Childhood

“... it is a commonplace that men like war. For peace, in our society, with the feeling we have then that it is feeble-minded to strive except for one's own private profit, is a lonely thing and a hazardous business. Over and over men have proved that they prefer the hazards of war with all its suffering. It has its compensations.”

Men War Feelings Suffering Peace Human Nature Lonely Strive Profit Our Society Compensation Commonplace Hazards

Author:Ruth Benedict

“Physical nature lies at our feet shackled with a hundred chains. What of the control of human nature? Do not point to the triumphsof psychiatry, social services or the war against crime. Domination of human nature can only mean the domination of every man by himself.”

Men Humans Mean War Lying Social Feet Human Nature Crime Hundred Every Man Chains Domination Psychiatry Social Service

Author:Johan Huizinga

“Nothing spoils human nature more than false zeal. The good nature of a heathen is more God-like than the furious zeal of a Christian.”

Humans Christian Human Nature Spoil Zeal Furious Heathen Good Nature

Book:Moral and religious aphorisms [collected by J. Jeffery from the papers of B. Whichcote]. Now re-publ., with additions, by S. Salter. To which are added, Eight letters: which passed between dr. Whichcote, and dr. Tuckney

Source: Moral and religious aphorisms [collected by J. Jeffery from the papers of B. Whichcote]. Now re-publ., with additions, by S. Salter. To which are added, Eight letters: which passed between dr. Whichcote, and dr. Tuckney

“What a world is this! What is there in it desirable? The good we hope for so strangely mixed, that one knows not what to wish for!And one half of mankind tormenting the other, and being tormented themselves in tormenting!”

Knows World Life Wish Half Mankind Human Nature Desirable One Half

Book:Clarissa Harlowe, or The History of a Young Lady - Complete

Source: Clarissa Harlowe, or The History of a Young Lady - Complete

“When we reflect upon the cruelties daily practised upon such of the animal creation as are given us for food, or which we ensnarefor our diversion, we shall be obliged to own that there is more of the savage in human nature than we are aware of.”

Humans Given Animal Human Nature Creation Cruelty Savages Obliged Diversion

Book:A collection of the moral and instructive sentiments, maxims, cautions, and reflexions, contained in the histories of Pamela, Clarissa, and Sir Charles Grandison: Digested under proper heads, with references to the volume, ...

Source: A collection of the moral and instructive sentiments, maxims, cautions, and reflexions, contained in the histories of Pamela, Clarissa, and Sir Charles Grandison: Digested under proper heads, with references to the volume, ...

“Cardinal Dolan, of course, has a very, very hard job: trying to hold up Catholic family values in sexually liberal New York City. I'm not saying New York is the Gay Mecca. But it's at least Gay-rusalem.”

“If the world is a precipitation of human nature, so to speak, then the divine world is a sublimation of the same. Both occur in one act. No precipitation without sublimation. What goes lost there in agility, is won here.”

Ifs World Humans Lost Speak Human Nature Divine Agility

Author:Novalis

“You never know what's actually going on in a person's life. You don't know what happened to them before you met them...and that's why they are the way they are. But I do think about it whenever I get in contact with my fans. I know this may be the only time they'll ever meet me. I try to take advantage of that moment and be kind and grateful.”

“... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to take into eternity with him.”

Men Quality Situation Violence Human Nature He Man Personality Eternity Violent Afterlife Dispensable

Book:A Good Man is Hard to Find

Source: A Good Man is Hard to Find

“Obviously [my daughters] - and Michelle - have made a lot of sacrifices on behalf of my cockamamie ideas, the running for office and things.”

Made Ideas Reality Running Politics Community Family Comedy Generations Sacrifice Human Nature Office Daughter Unity Ideology My Daughter Behalf Running For Office

Author:Barack Obama

“But the question is, do we care enough? Do we care enough to keep standing up for the country that we know is possible, even if it's hard, and even if it's politically uncomfortable? Do we care enough to sustain the passion and the pressure to make our communities safer and our country safer? Do we care enough to do everything we can to spare other families the pain that is felt here today?”

“We Americans are not an inherently more violent people than folks in other countries. We're not inherently more prone to mental health problems. The main difference that sets our nation apart is what makes us so susceptible to so many mass shootings is that we don't do enough, we don't take the basic commonsense actions to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous people. What's different in America is it's easy to get your hands on a gun.”

“Politics, differences of religion or race, all that fades away when we are confronted with the awesome power of nature, and we're reminded that all we have is each other.”

Differences Race Human Nature Fades Fade Away Power Of Nature

Author:Barack Obama

“Human life is so strangely constituted that even perfected intellectual understanding combined with the richest experience is incapable of conquering innate weaknesses. Even if it thoroughly analyzes itself, psychology (and this is one of the dubious aspects of psychoanalysis) can, to be sure, recognize its flawed native characteristics, but it cannot eliminate them. Understanding (them) is not the same as overcoming (them) and, again and again, we see the wisest of human beings helpless in the fact of their small follies which everyone else observes with a smile.”

“It is a law of life that human beings, even the geniuses among them, do not pride themselves on their actual achievements but thatthey want to impress others, want to be admired and respected because of things of much lower import and value.”

Want Humans Law Values Human Beings Human Nature Pride Genius Achievement Weakness Impress Imports Laws Of Life

Author:Stefan Zweig

“One never gets to know a person's character better than by watching his behavior during decisive moments.... It is always only danger which forces the most deeply hidden strengths and abilities of a human being to come forth.”

Knows Humans Persons Moments Character Force Human Beings Ability Strength Human Nature Danger Behavior Decisive Moments Hidden Strength

Author:Stefan Zweig

“Work is the only meanin' I've ever known. Like the man in the song says, I just gotta keep on keepin' on.”

Men Song Work Known Human Nature He Man

Author:Joe Frazier

“We all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. With so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock.”

Needs Wisdom Reality Action Easy Community Leadership Forget Human Nature Health Balance Reflection Ideology Distraction Pauses

Author:Queen Elizabeth II

“...It's all sort of dreams and it's all illusion. It's theater; it's not real. We're making up stories, you know, and people tend to run into you and believe you are your characters. And I suppose the funny thing is the longer you go, you do become sort of some version of [your characters]. You both diverge from them - you know - you live, but you also permanently inhabit that geography and that mental space - and so you do morph a little bit. We do become what we imagine.”

“Don't think of yourself as an intestinal tract and tangle of nerves in the skull, that will not work unless you drink coffee. Think of yourself as incandescent power, illuminated perhaps and forever talked to by God and his messengers.... Think if Tiffany's made a mosquito, how wonderful we would think it was!”

Ifs Thinking Made Forever Wonderful Human Nature Drink Coffee Nerves Think Of You Skulls Messengers Mosquitoes Tiffany's

Book:If You Want to Write

Source: If You Want to Write

“In colleges, there are no gender separations in courses of study, and students can freely choose their majors. There are no male and female math classes. But women generally choose college courses that pay less in the labor market. Those are the choices that women themselves make. Those choices contribute to the pay gap.”

Source: Phyllis Schlafly: Volume I

“It is open to question whether the highly individualized characters we find in Shakespeare are perhaps not detrimental to the dramatic effect. The human being disappears to the same degree as the individual emerges.”

Humans Character Individual Human Beings Effects Human Nature Drama Degrees Disappear Dramatic Individualism Detrimental

Author:Franz Grillparzer

“He who takes people for smart pays an expensive lesson.”

People Pay Human Nature Lessons Smart Intelligence Expensive

Author:Franz Grillparzer

“My uncomfortable duty as a Christian is to confess the truth, so lethal to our self-centered human nature: 'Jesus, who suffered your sin unto his own death, calls you likewise to forgive, so that God's purposes may be accomplished in both you and your offender.”

Humans May Self Christian Purpose Jesus Sin Human Nature Duty Forgiveness Forgiving Uncomfortable Accomplished Self Centered Offenders

Author:Gordon Dalbey

“The development of technology will leave only one problem: the infirmity of human nature.”

Humans Problem Nature Technology Human Nature Development Infirmity Development Of Technology

Book:Half-truths & One-and-a-half Truths: Selected Aphorisms

Source: Half-truths & One-and-a-half Truths: Selected Aphorisms

“I...understand that age is kind of awesome. I am fortunate enough to know women like Gloria Steinem - who I think is one of the most stunning women on the planet - [who] doesn't touch her face. Diane Keaton, Annette Bening - all of these fabulous, fearless women who are flawless - they embrace it!”

“There was a point that I stopped crying. It's not just because I didn't feel pain anymore, not because I didn't feel sorrow. It was just to keep going. I mean, it just was to survive, to live.”

Feels Mean Wisdom Reality Pain Leadership Human Nature Cry Health Sorrow Strategy Individuality Ideology Keep Going

Author:Elizabeth Smart

“[Fighting Climate Change] is important for every single person on the planet, which is why it has to be the greatest grassroots movement of all time. This is the battle of our lives. We're fighting for our children.”

“Calling someone a drama queen is so negative. Why not 'content creator'?”

Comedy Human Nature Calling Drama Negative Individuality Creator Social Media Queens Why Not Calling Someone

Author:Lena Dunham

“You can be walking down the street for a chat, but until you've got the selfie out of the way, people aren't ready to talk.”

People Way Reality Community Technology Generations Streets Human Nature Ready Walking Social Media Ideology Civility

Author:David Cameron

“I'm so sick and tired of all this violence, this gun violence. And how could I speak on it - you know - being one who has advocated violence and gun violence? The only way I could do it was through a song that spoke from the heart.”

“[Putin] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically.”

“If you ask a Saudi Imam why women in Saudi Arabia can't drive, he'll say, 'Because Islam demands it.' But that's absurd, because - first of all - Islam demands no such thing; and secondly, the only country in the world in which women can't drive is Saudi Arabia. The inability to understand the difference between a cultural practice and religious belief is shocking among self-described intellectuals.”

“It is a law of nature that everything run by the government will get more expensive and worse over time. Everything run by the private sector will get better and cheaper over time. The fact that [Obamacare] starts this badly does not bode well....We want healthcare run on the same system that gave us cell phones, flat screens, Jerry Garcia chia pets. Everything you submit to the free market...keeps getting better and better.”

“Liberal moms like soccer because it's a sport in which athletic talent finds so little expression that girls can play with boys. No serious sport is co-ed, even at the kindergarten level.”