33 Sad But True Quotes

In life, we often encounter moments of profound introspection, moments that remind us of the inherent truths woven into our existence. These truths can be both sobering and enlightening, prompting us to reflect on our journeys and the world around us. Whether it’s grappling with loss, acknowledging the passing of time, or navigating the complexities of human relationships, certain quotes resonate deeply, offering solace and understanding. In this spirit, we've curated a collection of the top 33 Sad But True Quotes, each one a poignant reminder of the realities we face. Join us as we explore these powerful reflections on life's bittersweet moments.

1. “We want one class of persons to have a liberal education, and we want another class of persons, a very much larger class of necessity in every society, to forgo the privilege of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks.” - Woodrow Wilson

2. “We find that at present the human race is divided into one wise man, nine knaves, and ninety fools out of every hundred. That is, by an optimistic observer. The nine knaves assemble themselves under the banner of the most knavish among them, and become 'politicians'; the wise man stands out, because he knows himself to be hopelessly outnumbered, and devotes himself to poetry, mathematics, or philosophy; while the ninety fools plod off under the banners of the nine villains, according to fancy, into the labyrinths of chicanery, malice and warfare. It is pleasant to have command, observes Sancho Panza, even over a flock of sheep, and that is why the politicians raise their banners. It is, moreover, the same thing for the sheep whatever the banner. If it is democracy, then the nine knaves will become members of parliament; if fascism, they will become party leaders; if communism, commissars. Nothing will be different, except the name. The fools will be still fools, the knaves still leaders, the results still exploitation. As for the wise man, his lot will be much the same under any ideology. Under democracy he will be encouraged to starve to death in a garret, under fascism he will be put in a concentration camp, under communism he will be liquidated.” - T.H. White

3. “Every choice has a consequence, every consequence another choice. Little agonies waiting to be embraced. Only the moment before the choice really weighs anything. Very heavy moments, exploding into nothing.” - MCM

4. “It was probably easier in the old days when the bad guys rode into town wearing black capes or whatever bad guys wore and the milk cows were ownded by honest people. Right off the bat, you'd know who you were dealing with. Now everybody dresses alike.” - Joan Bauer

5. “We could have been happy. I know that, and it is perhaps the hardest thing to know.” - Ally Condie

6. “Sometimes two people will regard each other over a gulf too wide to ever be bridged, and know immediately what could have happened, and that it never will.” - Roger Ebert

7. “What she mostly wanted, he learned, was the same thing many people want--someone to notice she was there.” - Mitch Albom

8. “Don’t be deceived when they tell you things are better now. Even if there’s no poverty to be seen because the poverty’s been hidden. Even if you ever got more wages and could afford to buy more of these new and useless goods which industries foist on you and even if it seems to you that you never had so much, that is only the slogan of those who still have much more than you. Don’t be taken in when they paternally pat you on the shoulder and say that there’s no inequality worth speaking of and no more reason to fight because if you believe them they will be completely in charge in their marble homes and granite banks from which they rob the people of the world under the pretence of bringing them culture. Watch out, for as soon as it pleases them they’ll send you out to protect their gold in wars whose weapons, rapidly developed by servile scientists, will become more and more deadly until they can with a flick of the finger tear a million of you to pieces.” - Jean-Paul Marat

9. “Pops added,"you know, they say if you don't vote, you get the government you deserve.""And if you do, you never get the results you expected," (Katherine) replied.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

10. “One day we'll look back we'll smile and we'll laugh,but right now we just cry. Cuz it's so hard to say good-bye.” - Miley Cyrus

11. “That's really sad," Beth said softly, "To have no one left.” - RJ Scott

12. “This here is your inheritance, says the senior partner. Yes, he says, Ludwig, I know, and stows the plan for the bathing house (5.5m long, 3.8m wide, outer wall construction: wood, roof construction: thatch), stows both the plan and the mosquito in his briefcase. On a German shelf, this mosquito, pressed flat between large quantities of paper, will outlast time and times, and one day it might even be petrified, who knows.” - Jenny Erpenbeck

13. “...Come on let’s see the degree.” Katherine unrolled her scroll displaying a long declaration in Latin affixed with a red seal proclaiming her a Master of Art. “Imagine working for years to obtain a piece of paper we can hardly read ” Katherine joked. “And to officially declare you have talent ” Suzy returned.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

14. “No human beings, regardless of who they might be, want to look directly at their own shortcomings.” - Tatsuhiko Takimoto

15. “Because of our broken instincts we are in pain. We continue in pain because our instincts have been twisted by reason. So, what are we supposed to do? Should we abandon knowledge? Throw away reason? In any event, that wouldn't be possible. For better or worse, we ate the fruit of knowledge long, long ago.” - Tatsuhiko Takimoto

16. “There weren't any villains though. The world was just complicated in various ways, and there weren't any obvious villains to be found. It was excruciating.” - Tatsuhiko Takimoto

17. “... true evil needs no reason to exist, it simply is and feeds upon itself.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

18. “Evil influence is like a nicotine patch, you cannot help but absorb what sticks to you.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

19. “So it’s true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

20. “It was not curiosity that killed the goose who laid the golden egg, but an insatiable greed that devoured common sense.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

21. “O [Roman] people be ashamed; be ashamed of your lives. Almost no cities are free of evil dens, are altogether free of impurities, except the cities in which the barbarians have begun to live...Let nobody think otherwise, the vices of our bad lives have alone conquered us...The Goths lie, but are chaste, the Franks lie, but are but are generous, the Saxons are savage in cruelty...but are admirable in chastity...what hope can there be [for the Romans] when the barbarians are more pure [than they]?"-Salvian” - William J Federer

22. “Democracy was supposed to champion freedom of speech, and yet the simple rules of table decorum could clamp down on the rights their forefathers had fought and died for.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

23. “living a life post breakup is like drinking water from a freshly emptied cola bottle , although one drinks the water , the odour of the cola drink remains lingered for some time , but with flow of time and repeated use , the odour gets away . in the same way the pain of losing ur loved one dies a slow death from your memories untill you , once again lead to a normal life !” - vishal mishra

24. “بعض أنواع الماعز تعتقد أن الشيطان قد قدم استقالته بعد ظهور الإسلام، وبعد موت خاتم الأنبياء، وأن أهل البلاد المفتوحة قد دخلوا فى الاسلام أفواجا دفعة واحدة وبإيمان عميق لا مجال للشك فيه!” - أحمد صبحي منصور

25. “A fable from the Age of Heroes." The maester tsked. "You must put these dreams aside, they will only break your heart.” - George R.R. Martin

26. “... insanity is never reasonable.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

27. “... the lofty mind of man can be imprisoned by the artifices of its own making.” - E.A. Bucchianeri

28. “There’s nothing worse than not being wanted” - Jennifer Probst

29. “back turned, you don't have to look at what you've left behind. And the first person who turned their back on you can't watch you break down and cry.” - Ellen Hopkins

30. “Her beauty, her pink cheeks, and golden curls, seemed to give delight to all who looked at her and to purchase indemnity for every fault” - Charlotte Brontë

31. “As her lungs pumped and her head cleared, she wondered if all the effort she’d put into blotting out the pain had deadened her ability to feel pleasure, too. What a shame. What a loss.” - Susan Donovan

32. “Death was an unfeeling bitch.It didnt matter who you were, who loved you, it struck mercilessly and without discrimination” - A. Meredith Walters

33. “But her greatest assets were her bound feet, called in Chinese "three-inch golden lilies" (san-tsun-gin-lian). This meant she walked "like a tender young willow shoot in a spring breeze," as Chinese connoisseurs of women traditionally put it. The sight of a woman teetering on bound feet was supposed to have an erotic effect on men, partly because her vulnerability induced a feeling of protectiveness in the onlooker.” - Jung Chang