Quotes from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass ·  400 pages

Rating: (769 votes)


“How do you feel," said a friend to me, "when you are hooted and jeered on the street on account of your color?" "I feel as if an ass had kicked, but had hit nobody," was my answer.”
― Frederick Douglass, quote from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass


“Men who live by robbing their fellow men of their labor and liberty have forfeited their right to know anything of the thoughts, feelings, or purposes of those whom they rob and plunder. They have by the single act of slaveholding voluntarily placed themselves beyond the laws of justice and honor, and have become only fitted for companionship with thieves and pirates - the common enemies of God and of all mankind.”
― Frederick Douglass, quote from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass


“For no man who lives at all lives unto himself. He either helps or hinders all who are in anywise connected to him.”
― Frederick Douglass, quote from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass


“He was whipped oftener who was whipped easiest.”
― Frederick Douglass, quote from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass


“none to molest them or make them afraid.”
― Frederick Douglass, quote from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass



“A man’s troubles are always half disposed of when he finds endurance the only alternative.”
― Frederick Douglass, quote from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass


About the author

Frederick Douglass
Born place: in Talbot County, Maryland, The United States
Born date February 14, 1818
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Imagine that it's sugar," Korbyn said. 'You're riding across candy.'

"Salt can never be sugar," Fennik said.

"We should talk about the definition of the word 'imagine'.”
― Sarah Beth Durst, quote from Vessel


“Why do we so often fail at this final stage of perception? The answer lies in that very element we were discussing: engagement.”
― Maria Konnikova, quote from Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes


“We’re businessmen, Chubs. The moral high ground is wherever we set it.”
― Orson Scott Card, quote from Earth Unaware


“We just want to walk. Our legs need to move to keep our minds from collapsing.”
― David Levithan, quote from Love Is the Higher Law


"I saw you and I see you every day. I greet you every day. Can you read my eyes? I miss you every day. I love you every day.
What was this guy’s story? Doorman? Bus driver? Receptionist? Who’s the girl? Has she noticed him? Is he anyone to her, or just the fella behind the counter at Benji’s?
Why doesn’t he say something to her?
But I knew why. Because there’s the creeping fear that these moments don’t actually exist outside your own head. No eyes meet across a crowded room, no two people think precisely the same thing, and if only one person actually has that moment, is it even really a moment at all?
We know this, so we say nothing. We avert our eyes, or pretend to be looking for change, we hope the other person will take the initiative, because we don’t want to risk losing this feeling of excitement and possibilities and lust. It’s too perfect. That little second of hope is worth something, possibly for ever, as we lie on our deathbeds, surrounded by our children, and our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren, and we can’t help but quickly give one last selfish, dying thought to what could have happened if we’d actually said hello to that girl in the Uggs selling CDs outside Nando’s seventy-four years earlier.
It’s the what if? The what then? And we know that if we go for it, if we risk it, we immediately stand to lose it. But weirdly, some part of us believes the feeling is two-way, because it must be; it’s too special not to be. We believe that something’s been shared, even if the evidence we have is … what? A look that lasted a breath longer than we’re used to? A second glance, when the glance could easily have been to check whether there are any cabs coming, or whether the jacket we’re wearing that’s caught their eye would look good on their boyfriend, or why it is we seem to be staring at them."

― Danny Wallace, quote from Charlotte Street


Interesting books

Twelve Angry Men
(18.9K)
Twelve Angry Men
by Reginald Rose
The Undomestic Goddess
(222.1K)
The Undomestic Godde...
by Sophie Kinsella
Monkey: The Journey to the West
(4.7K)
Monkey: The Journey...
by Wu Cheng'en
The Sufis
(786)
The Sufis
by Idries Shah
The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel
(12.5K)
The Infernal Devices...
by Cassandra Clare
You Had Me At Hello
(17.1K)
You Had Me At Hello
by Mhairi McFarlane

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.