Verified quotations
Words Worth Thinking About
Short quotations, each checked against a reliable source. Famous lines are often misattributed, so every entry shows where it was verified.
Quotations
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The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden, "Economy" (1854) How this was verified
Opened the Project Gutenberg plain-text of Walden (eBook 205); sentence found verbatim in the chapter "Economy".
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Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul,
Emily Dickinson, Poems: Series One (1890), "Hope" (1890) How this was verified
Opened the Project Gutenberg text (eBook 12242); poem VI in Part I (Life), first stanza matches. Line break shown as a slash.
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All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players;
William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7 (c. 1599) How this was verified
Opened the Project Gutenberg text (eBook 1523); lines found in Act II, Scene VII (Jaques). Spelling and punctuation follow that edition.
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What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2 (c. 1600) How this was verified
Opened the Project Gutenberg text (eBook 1524); found in Act II, Scene II. Wording and punctuation vary between editions.
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A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases;
John Keats, Endymion, Book I (1818) How this was verified
Opened the Project Gutenberg text (eBook 24280); opening lines match.
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This world is mere change, and this life, opinion.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 4, section 3 (English translation as hosted by Project Gutenberg) (c. 170-180 CE) How this was verified
Opened the Project Gutenberg text (eBook 2680); sentence found in Book Four, section III. The page does not name the translator, so translations differ and this wording is specific to that edition.
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I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.
Blaise Pascal, Pensees, section 139 (English translation as hosted by Project Gutenberg) (1670 (posthumous)) How this was verified
Opened the Project Gutenberg text (eBook 18269); wording found in section 139. The page did not show the translator's name, so the wording is edition-specific.
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There is grandeur in this view of life
Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, closing paragraph (1859) How this was verified
Opened the Online Library of Liberty page reproducing the closing passage (1859). Only the opening clause is quoted; later editions add words to the sentence that follows.
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that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (1863-11-19) How this was verified
Opened the Abraham Lincoln Online page; the phrase appears in the Bliss copy and the other manuscript copies. Words differ slightly between copies elsewhere in the speech.
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the only thing we have to fear is fear itself
Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address (1933-03-04) How this was verified
Opened the Project Gutenberg text of inaugural addresses; phrase found in the 4 March 1933 address. Quoted as a fragment of a longer sentence.
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All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
United Nations General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1 (1948-12-10) How this was verified
Opened the United Nations page presenting the Declaration; Article 1 first sentence matches. Adoption date as stated there.
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I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.
William Faulkner, Nobel Prize banquet speech (1950-12-10) How this was verified
Opened the Nobel Prize page for the speech; sentence found verbatim and the delivery date is listed as 10 December 1950.
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Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality.
Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize lecture (1964-12-11) How this was verified
Opened the Nobel Prize page for the lecture; sentence found and the lecture dated 11 December 1964. Copyright remains with the King estate; the short excerpt is for commentary.
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Tree planting became a natural choice to address some of the initial basic needs identified by women.
Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize lecture (2004-12-10) How this was verified
Opened the Nobel Prize page for the lecture; sentence found and the lecture delivered 10 December 2004 in Oslo. Short excerpt under copyright, for commentary.