The Quotes canon
Sourced and curated.
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.
Philosophical literature5 quotes
Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent. — Ludwig Wittgenstein · 1921Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man. — Martin Heidegger · 1951The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. — Ludwig Wittgenstein · 1922People suppose that words are different from the peeps of baby birds, but is there any difference, or isn't there? — Zhuang Zhou · 220 BCPhilosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. — Ludwig Wittgenstein · 1953Drama2 quotes
Language was developed for one endeavor, and that is...to woo women. — John Keating · 1989There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job. — Fletcher · 2014Drama (film)2 quotes
Language was developed for one endeavor, and that is...to woo women. — John Keating · 1989There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job. — Fletcher · 2014Religious literature2 quotes
Man is one name belonging to every nation upon earth. In them all is one soul though many tongues. Every country has its own language; yet the subjects of which the untutored soul speaks are the same everywhere. — Tertullian · 198Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. — Genesis 11:9 · 1405 BCBiography1 quote
Words being arbitrary must owe their power to association, and have the influence, and that only, which custom has given them. Language is the dress of thought. — Samuel Johnson · 1779Political writing1 quote
Dictionaries are but the depositories of words already legitimated by usage. Society is the work-shop in which new ones are elaborated. When an individual uses a new word, if illformed it is rejected in society, if well-informed, adopted, and, after due time, laid up in the depository of dictionaries. — Thomas Jefferson · 1820Psychological drama1 quote
There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job. — Fletcher · 2014Psychological drama (film)1 quote
There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job. — Fletcher · 2014Scientific literature1 quote
We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages. The categories and types that we isolate from the world of phenomena we do not find there because they stare every observer in the face; on the contrary, the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organized by our minds-and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language. — Benjamin Lee Whorf · 1940Teen1 quote
Language was developed for one endeavor, and that is...to woo women. — John Keating · 1989Teen (film)1 quote
Language was developed for one endeavor, and that is...to woo women. — John Keating · 1989Travel writing1 quote
I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigree of nations. — Samuel Johnson · 1773