Quotes from If Only It Were True

“Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to used during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course? Each of us has such a bank, it's name is time. Every morning, it credits you 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off at a lost, whatever of this you failed to invest to a good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against "tomorrow". You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and health. The clock is running. Make the most of today.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“My mother died yesterday, yesterday many years ago. You know, what amazed me the most the next day after her leaving was the fact that the buildings were still in place, the streets were still full of cars running, full of people who were walking, seemingly ignoring that my whole world has just disappeared."
(rough translation)”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“It's when you give something that you have very little of, that you truly give. - Arthur”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“You may think I'm doing this without taking the time to really think it through, and you're absolutely right. It would take me the rest of my life to think this thing through. But it's while you're thinking, while you're weighing the pros and cons, that life goes on. It passes by you while you're doing nothing. - Arthur”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Recognizing happiness when it's lying at your feet, having the will and courage to reach down and take it in your arms--and to hold on to it--that's the heart's intelligence. Intelligence minus the heart is just logic, and that doesn't amount to much. - Arthur”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“¿Quieres entender que es un año de vida? Pregúntaselo a un estudiante que acaba de suspender el examen de fin de curso. ¿Un mes de vida? Díselo a una mujer que acaba de traer al mundo a un niño prematuro y espera que salga de la incubadora para estrecharlo entre sus brazos, sano y salvo. ¿Una semana? Que te lo cuente un hombre que trabaja en una fábrica o en una mina para mantener a la familia. ¿Un día? Háblales del asunto a dos que están locamente enamorados uno de otro y esperan el momento de volver a estar juntos. ¿Una hora? Pregúntale a una persona claustrofóbica encerrada en un ascensor averiado. ¿Un segundo? Mira la expresión de un hombre que acaba de salvarse de un accidente de coche. ¿Y una milésima de segundo? Pregúntale al atleta que acaba de ganar la medalla de plata en los Juegos Olímpicos, en vez de la medalla de oro para la que lleva toda su vida entrenándose.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Parce que c’est pendant qu’on calcule, qu’on analyse les pour et les contre, que la vie passe et qu’il ne se passe rien.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“أنتِ عندي لذة الإندهاش التي يعيشها الطفل وهو يلعب بلعبة جديدة ,, أنتِ دموع الطالب وهو يتناول شهادة تخرجه الجامعية ,, أنتِ عندي نقطة الماء في فم من قد يقتله العطش .. إني أفعل ما أفعل لأمنع الموت عنكِ ,, ولإبقائكِ إلى جانبي”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“انا لست جزءا من نظام معين،انا ضد هذه الفكرة، ارى اﻻناس الذين احب رؤيتهم واذهب حيث يحلو لي واقرأ الكتاب الذي قد يفيدني وليس لانه من الكتب الاكثر مبيعا، هذه هي حياتي ولست مستعدة لازعاج نفسي بتحليل كل امر اواجهه”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Rien n'est impossible, seules les limites de nos esprits définissent certaines choses comme inconcevables.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Le temps ferme toutes les blessures, même s'il ne nous épargne pas quelques cicatrices.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“On ne peut pas tout vivre, alors l'important est de vivre l'essentiel, et chacun de nous a "son essentiel".”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Svakoga jutra,kad se probudimo,dobivamo kredit od 86 400 sekunda života za taj dan,a kad navečer zaspimo više nema prijenosa te svote,ono što nije proživljeno toga dana izgubljeno je zauvijek,jučer je upravo prošlo.Svakoga jutra ta čarolija počinje iznova,opet dobivamo kredit od 86 400 sekunda života i igramo uz to nezaobilazno pravilo:u bilo kojem trenutku,život se može zaustaviti...”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Chacun a son monde, le tout est de planter ses racines dans la terre qui nous convient.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“each second with you is worth more than any other second”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“— Je t’ai dit que je t’aimais ? reprit-il d’un ton timide.

— Tu m’as donné des preuves d’amour, dit-elle, c’est beaucoup mieux.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Rien n'est impossible, seules les limites de nos esprits définissent certaines choses comme inconcevables. Il faut souvent résoudre plusieurs équations pour admettre un nouveau raisonnement. C'est une question de temps et de limites de nos cerveaux. Greffer un cœur, faire voler un avion de trois cent cinquante tonnes, marcher sur la Lune a dû demander beaucoup de travail, mais surtout de l'imagination. Alors quand nos savants si savants déclarent impossible de greffer un cerveau, de voyager à la vitesse de la lumière, de cloner un être humain, je me dis que finalement ils n'ont rien appris de leurs propres limites, celles d'envisager que tout est possible et que c'est une question de temps, le temps de comprendre comment c'est possible.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Identifier le bonheur lorsqu'il est à ses pieds, avoir le courage et la détermination de se baisser pour le prendre dans ses bras... et le garder. C'est l'intelligence du coeur. L'intelligence sans celle du coeur ce n'est que de la logique et ça n'est pas grand chose.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Tu veux comprendre ce qu'est une année de vie : pose la question à un étudiant qui vient de rater son examen de fin d'année. Un mois de vie : parles-en à une mère qui vient de mettre au monde un enfant prématuré et qui attend qu'il sorte de sa couveuse pour serrer son bébé dans ses bras, sain et sauf. Une semaine : interroge un homme qui travaille dans une usine ou dans une mine pour nourrir sa famille. Un jour : demande à deux amoureux transis qui attendent de se retrouver. Une heure : questionne un claustrophobe, coincé dans un ascenseur en panne. Une seconde : regarde l'expression d'un homme qui vient d'échapper à un accident de voiture, et un millième de seconde : demande à l'athlète qui vient de gagner la médaille d'argent aux jeux Olympiques, et non la médaille d'or pour laquelle il s'était entraîné toute sa vie.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Je n'appartient pas à un système, j'ai toujours lutté contre ça. Je vois les gens que j'aime, je vais là où je veux aller, je lis un livre parce qu'il m'attire et non parce qu'il faut absolument l'avoir lu et toute ma vie est comme cela.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“- Ma mère m'a gavé d'histoires d'amour idéal, c'est un lourd handicap que d'avoir des idéaux.
- Pourquoi ?
- Ça place la barre très haut.
- Pour l’autre ?
- Non, pour soi-même.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“... les rêves vécus à deux forment les souvenirs les plus beaux. La solitude est un jardin où l'âme se dessèche, les fleurs qui y poussent n'ont pas de parfum.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Her sabah uyandığımızda, günlük 86 bin 400 saniyelik kredi açılıyor bize; akşam yatağa yattığımızda yarına hiçbir şey kalmıyor, gün içinde yaşanmayan kaçmış, dün bitmiş oluyor. Her sabah bu büyü yeniden başlıyor, hesabımıza yeniden yaşamın 86 bin 400 saniyesi yatırılıyor ve şu değişmez kuralla oynuyoruz: Banka, önceden uyarmadan, istediği zaman hesabımızı kapatabilir: Yaşam her an bitebilir. Öyleyse, günlük 86 bin 400 saniyemizi ne yapıyoruz? Yaşamın saniyeleri, dolarlardan çok daha önemli değil mi?”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“İnsan hayata erken atılmışsa, bir gün dinleneceğini düşündükçe belli bir huzur duyar. Belki de zaman geçtikçe bedenlerimiz. Bazı şeyleri bize daha zor kabul ettirdiğinden. Bir şey gitgide daha güç ve yorucu bir hale gelir; o zaman sonsuza dek uyuma düşuncesi, eskisi kadar korkutmamaya başlar.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Ölen bir anne, yanan bir kitaplıktır.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Tu sais, rien n'est plus complexe que d'élever un enfant. On passe sa vie entière à donner tout ce que l'on croit être juste, tout en sachant que l'on ne cesse de se tromper.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“If you want to understand what a year of life means, ask a student who just flunked his end-of-the-year exams. Or a month of life: speak to a mother who has just given birth to a premature baby and is waiting for him to be taken out of the incubator before she can hold him safe and sound in her arms. Or a week: interview a man who works in a factory or a mine to feed his family. Or a day: ask two people madly in love who are waiting for their next rendezvous. Or an hour: talk to a claustrophobia sufferer stuck in a broken-down elevator. Or a second: look at the expression on the face of a man who has just escaped from a car wreck. Or one-thousandth of a second: ask the athlete who just won the silver medal at the Olympic Games, and not the gold he trained for all his life. Life is magic, Arthur, and I know what I'm saying because since my accident I appreciate the value of every instant. So I beg you, let's make the most of all the seconds that we have left.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Je vais te dire pourquoi je suis "serein", comme tu dis. Parce que l'on ne peut pas tout vivre, alors l'important est de vivre l'essentiel et chacun de nous a "son essentiel".”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

“Giden bir erkek, asla geri dönmemelidir.”
― Marc Levy, quote from If Only It Were True

About the author

Popular quotes

“There are some things that are neither right nor wrong. You can’t have rules laid down for. Would you understand that?” “Yes,” Clare said immediately, “I would. Like the Holy Ghost.” “Like what?” “Like the Holy Ghost. We have to believe in Him without understanding Him. He’s not a bird and He’s not a great wind. He’s something though, and that should be enough without understanding it.” “I don’t think that’s the same at all,” said Agnes, troubled. “But if it helps you to understand the problems of trade in a small town, then for heaven’s sake, use it.”
― Maeve Binchy, quote from Echoes

“But I'm not running away. I'm running toward... toward adventure, toward discovery, toward diversity. And while I was in Mexico I discovered something intruiging: Once I leave the U.S., I am not bound by the rules of my culture. And when I am a foreigner in another country, I am exempt from the local rules. This extraordinary situation means that there are no rules in my life. I am free to live by the standards and ideals and rules I create for myself.”
― quote from Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World

“They say a girl becomes a woman when she loses her mother. You, child, were born a woman.”
― Edwidge Danticat, quote from Krik? Krak!

“I sought her eye, desirous to read there the intelligence which I could not discern in her face or hear in her conversation; it was merry, rather small; by turns I saw vivacity, vanity, coquetry, look out through its irid, but I watched in vain for a glimpse of soul. I am no Oriental; white necks, carmine lips and cheeks, clusters of bright curls, do not suffice for me without that Promethean spark which will live after the roses and lilies are faded, the burnished hair grown grey. In sunshine, in prosperity, the flowers are very well; but how many wet days are there in life--November seasons of disaster, when a man's hearth and home would be cold indeed, without the clear, cheering gleam of intellect.”
― Charlotte Brontë, quote from The Professor

“When there is a problem, there is not something to do, there is something to know.”
― Louise L. Hay, quote from You Can Heal Your Life

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

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.