Shaw Quotes

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.

There are too many books I haven’t read, too many places I haven’t seen, too many memories I haven’t kept long enough.

You see things; you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

Animals are my friends...and I don't eat my friends.

Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it.

Youth is wasted on the young.

War does not determine who is right — only who is left.

If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.

What would you do if I kissed you right now?" I stared at his beautiful face and his beautiful mouth and I wanted nothing more than to taste it. "I would kiss you back.

There is no love sincerer than the love of food.

I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend ... if you have one." — George Bernard Shaw, playwright (to Winston Churchill) "Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second, if there is one." — Churchill's response

Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.

You want me as much as I want you. And all I want is you." My tongue warred with my mind. "Today," I whispered. Noah stood slowly, his body skimming mine as he rose. "Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. Forever.

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

The liar's punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.

Why should we take advice on sex from the pope? If he knows anything about it, he shouldn't!

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.

People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.

Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it....

You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.

He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.

When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part.

A pessimist is a man who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself, and hates them for it.

Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.

My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world.

I knew one hundred little things about Noah Shaw but when he kissed me I couldn't remember my own name.

I’m too selfish to leave you,” I said. Noah pulled back so I could see his smile. “I’m too selfish to let you.

You're supposed to say, 'All I want is your happiness. I'll do whatever it takes, even if it means being without you.'" "Sorry," Noah said. "I'm just not that big of a person.

I hate you," I muttered. Noah smiled wider. "I know.

After all, the wrong road always leads somewhere.

You smell good," he whispered into my neck. He was warm against me. Instinctively, I arched back into him and smiled. "Really?" "Mmm-hmm. Delicious. Like bacon.

I was going to kiss him, and I was going to regret it. But at that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care.

Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated.

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.

The play was a great success, but audience was a dismal failure.

I was warned about you, you know." And with that half-smile that wrecked me, Noah said, "But you're here anyway.

A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most.

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.

I’m an atheist and I thank God for it.

You don't stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

In my rush, I hadn’t tied my shoelaces. Noah was now tying them for me. He looked up at me through his dark fringe of lashes and smiled. The expression on his face melted me completely. I knew I had the goofiest grin plastered on my lips, and didn’t care. “There,” he said as he finished tying the laces on my left shoe. “Now you won’t fall.” Too late.

Asscrown," I muttered under my breath as I headed to my next class. I wasn't proud of swearing at a complete stranger, no. but he started it. Noah matched my pace. "Don't you mean 'assclown'?" He looked amused. "No," I said, louder this time. "I mean asscrown. The crown on top of the asshat that covers the asshole of the assclown. The very zenith in the hierarchy of asses," I said, as though I was reading from a dictionary of modern profanity. "I guess you nailed me then.

The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor: he took my measure anew every time he saw me, whilst all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit me.

When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity.

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.

When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth.

All great truths begin as blasphemies.

There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

I must be made of nothing to feel so much nothing.

The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time.

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.

Wait," I said as Noah slipped a book from a shelf and headed toward the door. "Where are you going?" "To read?" But I don't want you to. "But I need to go home," I said, my eyes meeting his. "My parents are going to kill me." "Taken care of. You're at Sophie's house." I loved Sophie. "So I'm...staying here?" "Daniel's covering for you." I loved Daniel. "Where's Katie?" I asked, trying to sound casual. "Eliza's house." I loved Eliza. "And your parents?" I asked. "Some charity thing." I loved charity. "So why are you going to read when I'm right here?

I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.

My girl is talented," Noah said. My heart stopped beating.

Je t'aime. Aujourd'hui. Ce soir. Demain. Pour toujours. Si je vivais mille ans, je t'appartiendrais pour tous. Si je vivais mille vies, je te ferais mienne dans chacune d'elles. I love you. Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. Forever. If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If I were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.

I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend ... if you have one." — George Bernard Shaw, playwright (to Winston Churchill) "Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second, if there is one." — Churchill's response

The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.

The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honor.

Liquor is the chloroform which enables the poor man to endure the painful operation of living.

Criminals do not die by the hands of the law. They die by the hands of other men.

What you are to do without me I cannot imagine.

Have you ever hoped for something? And held out for it against all the odds? Until everything you did was ridiculous?

We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.

I'll be gentle," Noah added. My breath caught in my throat as he looked at me from beneath those lashes, ruining me. "You're evil." "And you're mine.

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.

This is a love story. Twisted and messy. Flawed and screwed up. But it's ours. It's us. I don't know how our story will end. but I know it will start. I pick up my pen and begin to write: My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something.

The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness, and by no means a necessity of life.

A photographer is like a cod, which produces a million eggs in order that one may reach maturity.

I twisted my arm to curl him behind me and he unfolded there, the two of us snuggled like quotation marks in his room full of words.

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.

You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.

Rubbish. The Taj Mahal is only a hundred eighty-six square feet. This house has twenty-five thousand." I stared at him blankly. "I was kidding," he said. I stared at him blankly. "All right, I wasn't kidding. Let's go, shall we.?" "After you, my liege.

Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

I know what I can do to a girl with a word, a look, a touch. And I want to do them all to her.

When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.

I knew Noah worshipped Charlie Parker and that his toothbrush was green. That he wouldn't bother to button his shirts correctly but always made his bed. That when he slept he curled into himself and that his eyes were the color of the clouds before it rained, and I knew he had no problem eating meat but would subtly leave the room if animals started to kill one another on the Discovery Channel. I knew one hundred little things about Noah Shaw but when he kissed me I couldn't remember my own name.

Have you kissed many boys before?" he asked quietly. His question brought my mind back into focus. I raised an eyebrow. "Boys? That's an assumption." Noah laughed, the sound low and husky. "Girls, then?" "No." "Not many girls? Or not many boys?" "Neither," I said. Let him make of that what he would. "How many?" "Why—" "I am taking away that word. You are no longer allowed to use it. How many?" My cheeks flushed, but my voice was steady as I answered. "One." At this, Noah leaned in impossibly closer, the slender muscles in his forearm flexing as he bent his elbow to bring himself nearer to me, almost touching. I was heady with the proximity of him and grew legitimately concerned that my heart might explode. Maybe Noah wasn't asking. Maybe I didn't mind. I closed my eyes and felt Noah's five o' clock graze my jaw, and the faintest whisper of his lips at my ear. "He was doing it wrong.

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

Is there any point asking what you're going to make me do on Sunday?' 'Not really.' Okay. 'Is there any point asking what you're going to do to me?' He grinned wickedly. 'Not really.' Fabulous. 'Does it involve the use of a safe word?' 'That will depend entirely on you.' Noah moved impossibly closer, just inches away. A few freckles disappeared into the scruff on his jaw. 'I'll be gentle,' Noah added. My breath caught in my throat as he looked at me from beneath those lashes, ruining me. I narrowed my eyes at him. 'You're evil.' In response, Noah smiled, and raised his finger to gently tap the tip of my nose. 'And you're mine,' he said, then walked away.

Here’s my heart Shaw. You have it in your hands and I promise you’re the first and last person to ever touch it. You need to be careful with it because it’s far more fragile than I ever thought and if you try and give it back I’m not taking it. I don’t know enough about love to know for sure that’s what this between us is, but I know that for me it’s you and only you from here on out and I can only promise to be careful and not push you away again. Life without you in it is doable, but if I have a choice I want to do it with you by my side and I’m telling you I’m not running away from the work it takes to make that happen. Shaw I’m not scared of us anymore.

All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.

This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire that no public monument or work of art or inscription or sermon or ritual service commemorating me shall suggest that I accepted the tenets peculiar to any established church or denomination nor take the form of a cross or any other instrument of torture or symbol of blood sacrifice. [From the will of GBS]

I have very carefully studied Islam and the life of its Prophet (PBUH). I have done so both as a student of history and as a critic. And I have come to conclusion that Muhammad (PBUH) was indeed a great man and a deliverer and benefactor of mankind which was till then writhing under the most agonising Pain.

Mara, I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. And when you're ready for me to show you," he said, brushing my hair to the side, "I'm going to kiss you." His thumb grazed my ear and his hand curved around my neck. He leaned me backward and my eyes fluttered closed. I breathed in the scent of him as he leaned in and kissed the hollow under my ear. My pulse raced under his lips. "And I won't settle for anything less.

I laughed as I twisted to face him and raised my arm to hit in one move. He caught my wrist and my laugh caught in my throat. A mischievous grin curved my mouth as I raised my other hand to hit him. He reached over me and caught that wrist too, gently pinning my arms above my head as he straddled my hips. The space between us boiled my blood.

You don't have to pick me up," I said in a rush. "Considering you have no idea where we're going and I have no intention of telling you, I'm quite sure that I do." "I can meet you somewhere centrally located." Noah sounded amused. "I promise to press my trousers before meeting your family. I'll even bring flowers for the occasion." "Oh, God. Please don't." I said. Maybe honesty is the best policy. "My family is going to screw with my life if you come over." I knew them far too well. "Congratulations-- you just made the prospect all the more enticing. What is your address?

What are my options?" "You could read obscure poetry while I play the triangle, I suppose. Or we can smother ourselves in peanut butter and howl at the moon. Use your imagination." "Fine,"I said. "You take my hand and back up toward the bed." "Excellent choice. What then?" "You sit down, and pull me down with you." "Where are you?" he asked. "You pull me onto your lap." "Where are your legs?" "Around your waist." "Well," Noah said, his voice slightly rough. "This is getting interesting. So I'm on the edge of your bed. I'm holding you on my lap as you straddle me. My arms are around you, bracing you there so you don't fall. What am I wearing?"... "What do you usually wear to bed?" I asked. Noah said nothing. I opened my eyes to an arched brow and a devious grin. Oh my God. "Close. Your. Eyes," he said. I did. "Now, where were we?" "I was straddling you," I said. "Right. And I'm wearing..." "Drawstring pants." "Those are quite thin, you know." I'm aware. ... "Right," he said. "So what are you wearing?" "I don't know. A space suit. Who cares?" "I think this should be as vivid as possible," he said. "For you," he clarified, and I chuckled. "Eyes closed," he reminded me. "I'm going to have to institute a punishment for each time I have to tell you." "What did you have in mind?" "Don't tempt me. Now, what are you wearing?" "A hoodie and drawstring pants too, I guess." "Anything underneath?" "I don't typically walk around without underwear." "Typically?" "Only on special occasions." "Christ. I meant under your hoodie." "A tank top, I guess." "What color?" "White tank. Black hoodie. Gray pants. I'm ready to move on now." I felt him nearer, his words close to my ear. "To the part where I lean back and pull you down with me?" Yes. "Over me," he said. Fuck. "The part where I tell you that I want to feel the softness of the curls at the nape of your neck? To know what your hipbone would feel like against my mouth?" he murmured against my skin. "To memorize the slope of your navel and the arch of your neck and the swell of your-