“Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules
Passions, desires, and fears, is more a king.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“The childhood shows the man,
As morning shows the day.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“Who reads
Incessantly, and to his reading brings not
A spirit and judgment equal or superior,
(And what he brings what needs he elsewhere seek?)
Uncertain and unsettled still remains,
Deep versed in books, and shallow in himself.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“The happy place
Imparts to thee no happiness, no joy --
Rather inflames thy torment, representing
Lost bliss, to thee no more communicable;
So never more in Hell than when in Heaven.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“Much of the Soul they talk, but all awry;
And in themselves seek virtue; and to themselves
All glory arrogate, to God give none”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“Most men admire
Virtue who follow not her lore.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“He who receives
Light from above, from the Fountain of Light,
No other doctrine needs, though granted true;
But these are false, or little else but dreams,
Conjectures, fancies, built on nothing firm.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“But to guide nations in the way of Truth
By saving Doctrine, and from error lead
To know, and knowing worship God aright,
Is yet more knightly, this attracts the Soul,
Governs the inner man, the nobler part,
That other o'er the body only reigns,
And oft by force, which to a generous mind
so reigning can be no sincere delight.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“So spake Israel's true king, and to the Fiend
Made answer meet, that made void all his wiles.
So fares it, when with truth falsehood contends.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“Thither he bent his way, determined there
to rest at noon; and entered soon the shade
high roofed, and walks beneath, and alleys brown,
That opened in the midst a woody scene;
Nature's own work it seemed, Nature-taught Art”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“Extol not riches, then, the toil of fools,
The wise man's cumbrance, if not snare; more apt
To slacken virtue and abate her edge
Than prompt her to do aught may merit praise.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“ That who advances his glory, not their own, Them he himself to glory will advance.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“[...] However, many books,
Wise men have said, are wearisome; who reads
Incessantly, and to his reading brings not
A spirit and judgment equal or superior,
(And what he brings what needs he elsewhere seek?)
Uncertain and unsettled still remains,
Deep-versed in books and shallow in himself,
Crude or intoxicate, collecting toys
And trifles for choice matters, worth a sponge,
As children gathering pebbles on the shore.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“ And now the sun with more effectual beams Had cheered the face of earth, and dried the wet From drooping plant, or dropping tree; the birds, Who all things now behold more fresh and green, After a night of storm so ruinous, Cleared up their choicest notes in bush and spray, To gratulate the sweet return of morn.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“ Hail, Son of the Most High, heir of both Worlds, Queller of Satan! On thy glorious work Now enter, and begin to save Mankind." Thus they the Son of God, our Saviour meek, Sung victor, and, from heavenly feast refreshed, Brought on his way with joy. He, unobserved, Home to his mother's house private returned.”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“ His weakness shall o'ercome Satanic strength, And all the world, and mass of sinful flesh; That all the Angels and aethereal Powers— They now, and men hereafter—may discern From what consummate virtue I have chose This perfet man, by merit called my Son, To earn salvation for the sons of men." So spake the Eternal Father, and all Heaven Admiring stood a space;”
― John Milton, quote from Paradise Regained
“I wonder if the person he wants to marry is me or a black girl? And if it isn't me he wants, but any black girl who looks like me, talks and acts like me, what will happen when he finds out that I hate ear hoops, that I don't have to straighten my hair, that Mingus puts me to sleep, that sometimes I want to get out of my skin and be only the person inside-- not American-- not black-- just me?”
― Toni Morrison, quote from Tar Baby
“Very goodlooking people are as a rule more forgetful than the median. Their mothers start it and the world at large continues it, handing them things, picking things up for them, smoothing their vicinity out for them in every way. I on the other hand remember everything.”
― Norman Rush, quote from Mating
“Even worse is the discovery that one has been living out certain greeting-card sentiments, with ribbons of middle-class virtue tied in a bow around one's heart.”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Humboldt's Gift
“extraordinary; I could almost see the Cambrian Mountains”
― Jasper Fforde, quote from First Among Sequels
“But I did it because you can't constantly be afraid of what might happen. If you do, you lose control of what is happening, and all the joy and pain it holds for you”
― Nora Roberts, quote from Birthright
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.