“Thomas More: ...And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned around on you--where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast--man's laws, not God's--and if you cut them down...d'you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we'd live like animals or angels in the happy land that /needs/ no heroes. But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all... why then perhaps we /must/ stand fast a little --even at the risk of being heroes.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“Thomas More: Will, I'd trust you with my life. But not your principles. You see, we speak of being anchored to our principles. But if the weather turns nasty you up with an anchor and let it down where there's less wind, and the fishing's better. And "Look," we say, "look, I'm anchored! To my principles!”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“When statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“For Wales? Why Richard, it profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. . . but for Wales!”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“The law is not a "light" for you or any man to see by; the law is not an instrument of any kind. ...The law is a causeway upon which, so long as he keeps to it, a citizen may walk safely.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“I'm breathing . . . are you breathing too? It's nice, isn't it?”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“Lord, grant us rest tonight, and if we must be wakeful, cheerful.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“RICH I’m lamenting. I’ve lost my innocence.
CROMWELL You lost that some time ago. If you’ve only just noticed, it can’t have been very important to you.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“Your taste in music is excellent. It exactly coinsides with my own!”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“I am used to hear bad men misuse the name of God, yet God exists.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“The nobility of England would have snored through the Sermon on the Mount. But you'll labor like scholars over a bulldog's pedigree.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“William Roper: “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”
Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”
William Roper: “Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!”
Sir Thomas More: “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“This account of him [Thomas More] developed as I wrote: what first attracted me was a person who could not be accused of any incapacity for life, who indeed seized life in great variety and almost greedy quantities, who nevertheless found something in himself without which life was valueless and when that was denied him was able to grasp his death.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“The currents and eddies of right and wrong, which you find such plain sailing, I can't navigate. I'm no voyager. But in the thickets of the law, oh, there I'm a forester. I doubt if there's a man alive who could follow me there ...
...when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you-where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast-man's laws, not God's-and if you cut them down-and you're just the man to do it-d'you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“My master Thomas More would give anything to anyone. Some say that’s good and some say that’s bad, but I say he can’t help it—and that’s bad…because some day someone’s going to ask him for something that he wants to keep; and he’ll be out of practice”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“I'm breathing . . . Are you breathing too? . . . It's nice, isn't it? It isn't difficult to keep alive, friends just don't -make trouble-or if you must make trouble, make the sort of trouble that's expected. Well, I don't need to tell you that. Good night. If we should bump into one another, recognize me”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“Alice More: As for understanding, I understand that you are the best man that I ever met,
or am likely to;
And, if you go...Well, God knows why I suppose.
Though as God's my witness God's kept deadly quiet about it!”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“Sir Thomas More: Why not be a teacher? You'd be a fine teacher; perhaps a great one.
Richard Rich: If I was, who would know it?
Sir Thomas More: You; your pupils; your friends; God. Not a bad public, that.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“More Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? Roper I’d cut down every law in England to do that! More (roused and excited) Oh? (Advances on Roper.) And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? (Leaves him.) This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast – Man’s laws, not God’s—and if you cut them down – and you’re just the man to do it – d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? (Quietly.) Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake.”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
Robert Bolt
Born place: in Sale, Cheshire, The United Kingdom
Born date August 15, 1924
See more on GoodReads
“Fuck," he groans. "This is.... Tru... you feel... fuccckk.”
― Samantha Towle, quote from The Mighty Storm
“Just the other day the AP wire had a story about a man from Arkansas who entered some kind of contest and won a two-week vacation--all expenses paid--wherever he wanted to go. Any place in the world: Mongolia, Easter Island, the Turkish Riviera . . . but his choice was Salt Lake City, and that's where he went. Is this man a registered voter? Has he come to grips with the issues? Has he bathed in the blood of the lamb?”
― Hunter S. Thompson, quote from Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
“...Basit çocuk ruhunda derinden derine bir şeyler değişiyordu: Hayata dair, hani içinde hepimizin bazen kederli, bazen neşeli köleler olduğumuz hayata dair, bazı gerçekleri kavramaya başladığını hissediyordu.”
― Ferenc Molnár, quote from The Paul Street Boys
“He who steals my purse steals my right to live," was the reply, "old saws to the contrary. For he steals my bread and meat and bed, and in doing so imperils my life.”
― Jack London, quote from The Sea Wolf
“I never gave her a mating gift, and I want to give her this today so I can put a baby in her tonight.”
― Shay Savage, quote from Transcendence
Every Time We Say Go...
Flag in Exile
Ashes and Ice
Tongues of Serpents
Roboter-Visionen
See A Grown Man Cry/...BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.
