73 Historical Quotes

In the annals of time, certain words have transcended their eras to become timeless beacons of wisdom, inspiration, and reflection. These historical quotes, uttered by leaders, thinkers, and visionaries, offer us a glimpse into pivotal moments of the past while still resonating with the present. Whether you’re a history enthusiast, seeking motivation, or simply curious about the echoes of yesteryear, our curated collection of the top 73 historical quotes promises to enlighten and inspire. Join us on this journey through the corridors of history, and uncover the enduring power of human expression.

1. “Cannibals? Who is not a cannibal? I tell you it will be more tolerable for the Fejee that salted down a lean missionary in his cellar against a coming famine; it will be more tolerable for that provident Fejee, I say, in the day of judgement, than for thee, civilized and enlightened gourmand, who nailest geese to the ground and feastest on their bloated livers in thy pate de fois gras.” - Herman Melville

2. “The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages. What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and impotent, are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and to obey? But I am done with this creed of corruption. I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: "I.” - Ayn Rand

3. “Love's stories written in love's richest books.To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes.” - William Shakespeare

4. “Show us not the aim without the way.For ends and means on earth are so entangledThat changing one, you change the other too;Each different path brings other ends in view” - Arthur Koestler

5. “When a friend of Abigail and John Adams was killed at Bunker Hill, Abigail's response was to write a letter to her husband and include these words, "My bursting heart must find vent at my pen.” - David McCullough

6. “When writing the constitution for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, John Adams wrote:I must judge for myself, but how can I judge, how can any man judge, unless his mind has been opened and enlarged by reading.” - John Adams

7. “My bursting heart must find vent at my pen.” - Abigail Adams

8. “How does a woman gain such wisdom in only twenty-nine years?” Gordon asked, escorting her across the lawns toward the mansion.“The same way a man does."“Which is?"Lady Keely cast him an ambiguous smile. “Either you are born with wisdom, my lord, or you make dowithout it...” - Patricia Grasso

9. “We only need to wear shoes because the British built roads which hurt our feet.” - Anthony Burgess

10. “When the watermelons were as large as a child's head, the women boiled them, but they collapsed into a tasteless green mush that no one could eat, not the children, not the cow.” - Annie Proulx

11. “If the Confederacy falls, there should be written on its tombstone: Died of a theory.” - Jefferson Davis

12. “I worked night and day for twelve years to prevent the war, but I could not. The North was mad and blind, would not let us govern ourselves, and so the war came.” - Jefferson Davis

13. “The principle for which we contend is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and in another form.” - Jefferson Davis

14. “...the long blue shadows of afternoon advanced before me like cheerful ghosts of last summer's growth, dancing past the withered flower borders and the stiff hedges to fall at the feet of a stone nymph, her cascade of water frozen in her urn.” - Stephanie Barron

15. “The greatest challenge of my life has been to see and accept the actual truth without great pain and struggle against it.” - M.C. Halliday

16. “If I am never to have you again after this night, this moment, you will remain the wife of my soul. Keeper of my heart.” - Penelope Williamson

17. “Damn, you're good,' he said and rolled onto his back. The man wasn't much for flowery speech, Alesandra thought with a smile. It didn't matter. She was arrogantly proud of herself because she'd pleased him. Perhaps she should give him a little praise too. She rolled onto her side to face him, put her hand on his chest directly over his pounded heart, and whispered. 'You're good, too. 'Tis the truth, you're the best I've ever had.' He opened his eyes to look at her. 'I'm the only one you've ever had, remember?' His voice was gruff with affection. 'I remember,' she said. 'No other man is ever going to touch you, Alesandra. You're mine.” - Julie Garwood

18. “This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” - Queen Elizabeth I

19. “She was in big trouble now."You stupid man," she said to the body on the floor. "Why did you have to lunge at me like that? Why couldn't you have left well enough alone? I told your father I wasn't going to marry you. I told him I wouldn't marry you if you were the last idiot in Britain."She nearly stamped her foot in frustration. Why was it her words never came out quite the way sheintended them to? "What I meant to say was that you are an idiot," she said to Percy, who, notsurprisingly, didn't respond, "and that I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man in Britain, and- Oh, blast. What am I doing talking to you, anyway? You're quite dead.” - Julia Quinn

20. “Patience is only a virtue when there is something worth waiting for.” - Lauren Willig

21. “It is too late for me to learn your wisdom in this matter. From the time I knew aught, I have lived with a knight and his lady whose love lit and warmed the dark hall on winter's nights. Madam, my example comes not from any book of romance. My grandparents walked and breathed; they kissed and quarreled. This I must have, and I will seek it with the point of my knife in a bad husband's heart if I can find it no other way.” - Roberta Gellis

22. “You tell me that you sometimes view the dark side of your Diana, and there no doubt you discover many Spots which I rather wish were erased, than conceal'd from you. Do not judge by this, that your opinion is an indifferent thing to me, (were it so, I should look forward with a heavey Heart,) but it is far otherways, for I had rather stand fair there, and be thought well of by Lysander than by the greater part of the World besides. I would fain hope that those faults which you discover, proceed more, from a wrong Head, than a bad Heart. E'er long May I be connected with a Friend from whose Example I may form a more faultless conduct, and whose benevolent mind will lead him to pardon, what he cannot amend.” - Abigail Adams

23. “Our Euripides the human,With his droppings of warm tears,and his touchings of things common Till they rose to meet the spheres.” - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

24. “I'll betide thee, say I, and may the Gods, or at least the Athenians, confound thee for a vile citizen and a vile third-rate actor! Read the evidence.” - Demosthenes

25. “It touched me to be trusted with something terrible.” - Elizabeth Kostova

26. “By some miracle, Charlotte's polite smile never wavered. It was a proud moment for her. After all, it wasn't every day that a little old lady told you right to your face that your bosom was as flat as a flounder.” - Olivia Parker

27. “Watching him, his hands buried in his pockets—to keep from circling her neck she supposed—she couldn't help but marvel at the curious mix of Southern courtesy and male arrogance, the natural assumption he shouldered of being lawfully in control. "Engaging in a moral battle isn't always hazardous to one's health, you know.""Doesn't look like it's doing wonders for yours.""Saints be praised, it can actually be rewarding."Looking over his shoulder, he halted in the middle of the room. "Irish.""I beg your pardon?""You. Irish. The green eyes, the tiny bit of red in your hair. Is Connor your real name?""Yes, why..." she said, stammering. Bloody hell. "Of course.""Liar."She felt the slow, hot roll of color cross her cheeks. "What could that possibly have to do with anything?""I don't know, but I have a feeling it means something. It's the first I've heard come out of that sassy mouth of yours that didn't sound like some damned speech." He tapped his head, starting to pace again. "What I wonder is, where are you in there?” - Tracy Sumner

28. “Yes. Kissing. Overrated.""I could change your mind," Zach said, surprising the hell out of them both. Why would he take something as simple as this banter as a challenge? "I don't know that I want to, but I feel right sure I could.""How arrogant. How typically male.""I suppose." He shrugged and reached for the wine bottle. "More?"She nodded, frowning now. "How do you know you could change my mind? It's been a long time since you... well—""Over two years." The pain was there, an ache in his chest he imagined he would feel every time he thought of Hannah.And he thought of her every day. Dreamed of her about as often. But lately, maybe only in the past week, he'd begun to realize that his life had not ended with his wife's.He either had to die or start living again.” - Tracy Sumner

29. “In our twenties, when there is still so much time ahead of us, time that seems ample for a hundred indecisions, for a hundred visions and revisions—we draw a card, and we must decide right then and there whether to keep that card and discard the next, or discard the first card and keep the second. And before we know it, the deck has been played out and the decisions we have just made will shape our lives for decades to come.” - Amor Towles

30. “Some people remember the sixties better than others do. Some weren't even there, some who were there were not really there, and some who were not really there were "really there".” - Tom Hays

31. “I've fallen in love with you. I love you even now when you sit before me with the eyes of a wolf. So take pity upon the fool I have become. I forgot it was only a bargain between us.” - Ronda Thompson

32. “Conformity is deformity” - Sharon Desruisseaux

33. “If it’s only a kiss you want, I can kiss you with my clothes on.” —Katie O'Reilly to Captain Lord Blackthorn” - Jina Bacarr

34. “I was born Katie O’Reilly,” she began. “Poor Irish, but proud of it. I boarded the Titanic at Queenstown as a third class passenger with nothing more than the clothes on my back. And the law at my heels.” Titanic Rhapsody” - Jina Bacarr

35. “Katie shook her head in dismay. “I thought being poor was the worst thing that could happen to a girl.” “No, Katie,” the countess said in a clear voice. “The worst thing is to be in love with one man and have to marry another.”—Katie O'Reilly to the Countess of Marbury” - Jina Bacarr

36. “They were orphans of war, washed up on that little island in a tide of blood. What made them amazing wasn't that they had miraculous powers; that they had escaped the ghettos and gas chamges was miracle enough.” - Ransom Riggs

37. “If there was one thing that made Captain Lord Jack Blackthorn smile more than holding a pretty woman in his arms, it was a winning hand at cards. To his dismay at the moment he had neither.” - Jina Bacarr

38. “A hand stole around her mouth, silencing her, then his lips parting her tumbled hair: “The walls have ears.”She blinked, and for the first time, looked around. A thin beam of light beneath what may have been a door. That was all. When he released her, she endeavored to match his own, barely audible tone. “Do the walls understand English?” - V.S. Carnes

39. “He watched her for her reaction, or possibly watched her just to watch, his eyes hooded by his lashes and his mouth impassive. A faceless man—such as the one she had dreamed of since she was a child—his identity not obscured by mist or flying sand or swirling dust, but by a mask he readily employed whenever he wished. As a shutter closed against a gale. Closed against her, no matter the impact of his words. He seemed to speak them against his will, just as he seemed to care for her against his will.” - V.S. Carnes

40. “His head snapped sharply aside to collide with his own aching shoulder. The hulking brute he had heard referred to as Abdullah leaned into Caine’s face while his brain was yet reeling, flexing his fingers from the punch just dealt to his jaw, and said in Arabic, “I did not know English women were so strong.” - V.S. Carnes

41. “What she knew was sand and wind and innumerable stars. The rumble in a camel’s throat as it swayed over shifting dunes, its trappings jingling in time with its steps beneath her. She knew the sting of thirst and the taste of dried fruit, the glare of sun and the frigid, bone-numbing cold of the air when the sun gave her throne over to the moon. She knew that, to survive, one must often revise one’s caliber, and one must completely depend upon Jesus Christ.” - V.S. Carnes

42. “Bitter disappointment pushed tears from her eyes."Now what's wrong? I said you could wear it."She drew in a shaky breath."I w-wanted you to l-like my dreeessssss."He moved his gaze over her."The gown makes my mouth water, love.” - Deeanne Gist

43. “Look. Isn't he beautiful?"Drew's expression softened. "Ah, Nellie. He's bald, pink, and has no teeth. What's so beautiful about that?"Nellie's laugh tinkled out like musical chimes while she covered the babe back up.” - Deeanne Gist

44. “Thought you didn't like red hair."One of Drew's dimples kicked in as he draped an arm about Grandma's shoulder. "Must have me confused with someone else, but I'm not surprised. Seems to happen to most of the older set at some point or other.” - Deeanne Gist

45. “Sneezeweed, Drew?"He grinned. "Jealous?""Surprised.""Remind me, and I'll have a talk with Gerald. Give him a few tips.""Promise?""Absolutely.” - Deeanne Gist

46. “You next," he said. "Out of those clothes and into bed."She nodded but didn't move from Sally's side. The thought of undressing exhausted her. Where would she find the strength such a task would require?"I'm filthy. I'll ruin the new bed.""I'll bring you some fresh water.""I've no clothes to change into."His grin was downright wicked. "I know."A short laugh escaped her.” - Deeanne Gist

47. “Oh, they'll never believe a woman could solve such puzzles. They'll just assume I'm humoring you by editing it myself and allowing you to put your name to it."She raised her eyebrows. "But you wouldn't be."He humphed. "They'll never hear me admit it.""I will," she said, a smile curving her lips.He shrugged. "They'll believe me, not you.” - Deeanne Gist

48. “You were kidnapped not?""I was kidnapped.""You were forced not into marriage?""I was forced into marriage.""You want not an annulment?""I want not an annulment.” - Deeanne Gist

49. “He wants a fifteen thousand pound settlement.""Fifteen thousand!""He says you're a great deal of trouble."She hesitated for one startled moment before choking back a laugh."I am.""I thought so." He leveled Drew a look. "If I pay you the fifteen thousand, do you swear to keep her?"Drew reared back his head. "Forever?"Her father scowled. "Forever.""Oh, I suppose." He gave a long-suffering sigh. "If I must."She bit the insides of her cheeks to keep from laughing outright.” - Deeanne Gist

50. “Historical Re-creation, he thought glumly, as they picked their way across, under, over or through the boulders and insect-buzzing heaps of splintered timber, with streamlets running everywhere. Only we do it with people dressing up and running around with blunt weapons, and people selling hot dogs, and the girls all miserable because they can only dress up as wenches, wenching being the only job available to women in the olden days.” - Terry Pratchett

51. “No, I will not join your Civil War reenactment troupe.” - Aaron A. A. Smith

52. “The last time Sean found trouble, she arrived in a package of blonde hair and blue eyes.” ~ Giles on Jem” - J.A. Belfield

53. “Keep a spur handy.” - Meg Mims

54. “Dying a thousand deaths in my head to protect you is better than losing you one time in the flesh."~ Gustaf Ræliksen” - Renee Vincent

55. “As long as it makes you happy. For the rest of my life, I will do whatever it takes to ensure it. As my wife, you will not want for anything. What you desire, I will provide.” - Renee Vincent

56. “There's a saying," Aeneas said: "Keep an eye on Greeks when they offer gifts." He spoke wryly. "Horses, particularly.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

57. “Europe is equal to its historical task. Against the anti-spiritual, anti-heroic 'ideals' of America-Jewry, Europe pits its metaphysical ideas, its faith in its Destiny, its ethical principles, its heroism. Fearlessly, Europe falls in for battle, knowing it is armed with the mightiest weapon ever forged by History: the superpersonal Destiny of the European organism. Our European Mission is to create the Culture-State-Nation-Imperium of the West, and thereby we shall perform such deeds, accomplish such works, and so transform our world that our distant posterity, when they behold the remains of our buildings and ramparts, will tell their grandchildren that on the soil of Europe once dwelt a tribe of gods.” - Francis Parker Yockey

58. “The momentary darkness gave way to scores of small glowing lights. Blaise stepped into a candlelit room filled with people and furniture. 'Where are we?" he asked Livia. "How can a whole other room be here? There were only two rooms on the top floor.” - Teresa Flavin

59. “Calmly, slowly, she reached behind with her left hand and came up against — yes, fabric. Fine linen, to be precise. So far, so good: she was inside a wardrobe, after all. The only problem was that this linen was oddly warm. Body warm. Beneath the tentative pressure of her palm, it seemed to be moving...With terrifying suddenness, an ungloved hand clamped roughly over her nose and mouth. A long arm pinned her arms against her sides. She was held tightly against a hard, warm surface."Hush," whispered a pair of lips pressed to her left ear. "If you scream, we are both lost.” - Y.S. Lee

60. “You frequently state, and in your letter you imply, that I have developed a completely one-sided outlook and look at everything in terms of science. Obviously my method of thought and reasoning is influenced by a scientific training – if that were not so my scientific training will have been a waste and a failure. But you look at science (or at least talk of it) as some sort of demoralizing invention of man, something apart from real life, and which must be cautiously guarded and kept separate from everyday existence. But science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated. Science, for me, gives a partial explanation of life. In so far as it goes, it is based on fact, experience and experiment. Your theories are those which you and many other people find easiest and pleasantest to believe, but so far as I can see, they have no foundation other than they leaf to a pleasanter view of life (and an exaggerated idea of our own importance)...I agree that faith is essential to success in life (success of any sort) but I do not accept your definition of faith, i.e. belief in life after death. In my view, all that is necessary for faith is the belief that by doing our best we shall come nearer to success and that success in our aims (the improvement of the lot of mankind, present and future) is worth attaining. Anyone able to believe in all that religion implies obviously must have such faith, but I maintain that faith in this world is perfectly possible without faith in another world…It has just occurred to me that you may raise the question of the creator. A creator of what? ... I see no reason to believe that a creator of protoplasm or primeval matter, if such there be, has any reason to be interested in our significant race in a tiny corner of the universe, and still less in us, as still more significant individuals. Again, I see no reason why the belief that we are insignificant or fortuitous should lessen our faith – as I have defined it.” - Rosalind Franklin

61. “He had taken George, my beloved George, from me. And he had taken my other self: Anne.” - Philippa Gregory

62. “Ien stopped her voice with more kisses, more promises of a world filled with only them.” - Christine Fonseca

63. “You do what you are” - Glynn Burridge

64. “I must make up my mind which is right – society or I.” - Henrik Ibsen

65. “لم يبحث الحسين عن شهادة دخول إلى الجنة أو لتأكيد دخولها, لقد كانت شهادة علينا. شهادة للأمة كلها, و للتاريخ, و للمقاومين بعد مئات السنين, لمواجهة أي يزيد يجئ, بمقاومة الحسين الوحيدة.حجة علينا!أن لا يقف أي واحد منا في أي مقام كنا, و يسأل:((ماذا أفعل و القوم كلهم ظلم, و العصر كله ظلام, و الرفاق انفضو, و الانصار رحلو؟)).” - إبراهيم عيسى

66. “Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable."Louisa May Alcott” - R.R. Smythe

67. “People perish. Books are immortal.” - Robert Harris

68. “Inrealized how valuable the art and practice of writing letters are, and how important it is to remind people of what a treasure letters--handwritten letters--can be. In our throwaway era of quick phone calls, faxes, and email, it's all to easy never to find the time to write letters. That's a great pity--for historians and the rest of us.” - Nancy Reagan

69. “I love you enough to keep you from dying with me... ~ Dane de Falaise” - Gayle Mullen Pace

70. “I am in complete alignment with my thinking with this statement by F. F. Bruce: 'Whether our approach is theological or historical, it does matter whether the New Testament documents are reliable or not'." ~R. Alan Woods [2013]” - R. Alan Woods

71. “Schism in the soul, schism in the body social, will not be resolved by any scheme to return to the good old days (archaism), or by programs guaranteed to render an ideal projected future (futurism), or even by the most realistic, hardheaded work to weld together again the deteriorating elements [of civilization]. Only birth can conquer death―the birth, not of the old thing again, but of something new.” - Arnold Toynbee

72. “I have been up too congress, and they do not seem to do anything except eat peanuts and chew tobacco while my army is starving.....” - Robert E.Lee

73. “Be Patient to become a Patent” - Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed