The Quotes canon
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Every quote has been curated by hand and carefully authenticated.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Authenticity29 quotes
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man. — William Shakespeare · 1616Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. — Albert Camus · 1951What you would seem to be, be really. — Benjamin Franklin · 1744Talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things. — George Hanson · 1969The greatest thing in the world is to know how to be oneself. — Michel de Montaigne · 1580Be so true to thyself as thou be not false to others. — Francis Bacon · 1625All 29 quotes →Being oneself8 quotes
Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. — Albert Camus · 1951The greatest thing in the world is to know how to be oneself. — Michel de Montaigne · 1580What ought a man to be? Well, my short answer is "himself." — Henrik Ibsen · 1867Honey, all you have to be by the time you're 23 is yourself. — Troy Dyer · 1994To free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves—there lies the great, the singular power of self-respect. Without it, one eventually discovers the final turn of the screw: one runs away to find oneself, and finds no one at home. — Joan Didion · 1961It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself. — Betty Friedan · 1963All 8 quotes →Being true to oneself7 quotes
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man. — William Shakespeare · 1616Be so true to thyself as thou be not false to others. — Francis Bacon · 1625To free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves—there lies the great, the singular power of self-respect. Without it, one eventually discovers the final turn of the screw: one runs away to find oneself, and finds no one at home. — Joan Didion · 1961Resolve to be thyself: and know, that he
Who finds himself, loses his misery. — Matthew Arnold · 1852I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use—silence, exile and cunning. — James Joyce · 1915Best advice I ever got was an old friend mine, a black friend, who said you have to go the way your blood beats. If you don’t live the only life you have, you won’t live some other life, you won’t live any life at all. — James Baldwin · 1984All 7 quotes →Personal integrity6 quotes
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man. — William Shakespeare · 1616What you would seem to be, be really. — Benjamin Franklin · 1744Talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things. — George Hanson · 1969Be so true to thyself as thou be not false to others. — Francis Bacon · 1625The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself, because he is absolutely himself. — Oscar Wilde · 1891I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use—silence, exile and cunning. — James Joyce · 1915Personal growth3 quotes
To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life. — Robert Louis Stevenson · 1882If what matters in a person's existence is to accept the inevitable consciously, to taste the good and bad to the full and to make for oneself a more individual, unaccidental and inward destiny alongside one's external fate, then my life has been neither empty nor worthless. — Hermann Hesse · 1910No man has ever been entirely and completely himself. Yet each one strives to become that-one in an awkward, the other in a more intelligent way, each as best he can. — Hermann Hesse · 1919False appearances2 quotes
What you would seem to be, be really. — Benjamin Franklin · 1744Be so true to thyself as thou be not false to others. — Francis Bacon · 1625Growing up2 quotes
Honey, all you have to be by the time you're 23 is yourself. — Troy Dyer · 1994She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world. — Kate Chopin · 1899Purpose of life2 quotes
To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life. — Robert Louis Stevenson · 1882If what matters in a person's existence is to accept the inevitable consciously, to taste the good and bad to the full and to make for oneself a more individual, unaccidental and inward destiny alongside one's external fate, then my life has been neither empty nor worthless. — Hermann Hesse · 1910Self-expression2 quotes
I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use—silence, exile and cunning. — James Joyce · 1915When the soul of a man is born in this country there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those nets. — James Joyce · 1915Society and the individual2 quotes
I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use—silence, exile and cunning. — James Joyce · 1915When the soul of a man is born in this country there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those nets. — James Joyce · 1915Art1 quote
The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself, because he is absolutely himself. — Oscar Wilde · 1891Artistic vision1 quote
The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself, because he is absolutely himself. — Oscar Wilde · 1891Artists1 quote
The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself, because he is absolutely himself. — Oscar Wilde · 1891Being a man1 quote
Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. — Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1841Conformity1 quote
Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. — Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1841Crying1 quote
Are all men in disguise except those crying? — Dannie Abse · 1986Flowers1 quote
A lily or a rose never pretends, and its beauty is that it is what it is. — Jiddu Krishnamurti · 1970Following your heart1 quote
Best advice I ever got was an old friend mine, a black friend, who said you have to go the way your blood beats. If you don’t live the only life you have, you won’t live some other life, you won’t live any life at all. — James Baldwin · 1984Generosity1 quote
The greatest gift you will ever give is your honest self. — Fred Rogers · 2003Giving of oneself1 quote
The greatest gift you will ever give is your honest self. — Fred Rogers · 2003Human nature1 quote
Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. — Albert Camus · 1951Life1 quote
Best advice I ever got was an old friend mine, a black friend, who said you have to go the way your blood beats. If you don’t live the only life you have, you won’t live some other life, you won’t live any life at all. — James Baldwin · 1984Lilies1 quote
A lily or a rose never pretends, and its beauty is that it is what it is. — Jiddu Krishnamurti · 1970Living inauthentically1 quote
The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your senses for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can’t be any large scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first. — Jim Morrison · 1981Living intentionally1 quote
If what matters in a person's existence is to accept the inevitable consciously, to taste the good and bad to the full and to make for oneself a more individual, unaccidental and inward destiny alongside one's external fate, then my life has been neither empty nor worthless. — Hermann Hesse · 1910Masculinity1 quote
Are all men in disguise except those crying? — Dannie Abse · 1986Personal identity1 quote
It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself. — Betty Friedan · 1963Putting up a front1 quote
Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not. — Gobber · 2010Roses1 quote
A lily or a rose never pretends, and its beauty is that it is what it is. — Jiddu Krishnamurti · 1970Self-discovery1 quote
She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world. — Kate Chopin · 1899