“I grabbed a pile of dust, and holding it up, foolishly asked for as many birthdays as the grains of dust, I forgot to ask that they be years of youth. ”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all.”
"Be patient and tough; one day this pain will be useful to you.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Fas est ab hoste doceri.
One should learn even from one's enemies.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Omnia mutantur, nihil interit (everything changes, nothing perishes).”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“When he, whoever of the gods it was, had thus arranged in order and resolved that chaotic mass, and reduced it, thus resolved, to cosmic parts, he first moulded the Earth into the form of a mighty ball so that it might be of like form on every side … And, that no region might be without its own forms of animate life, the stars and divine forms occupied the floor of heaven, the sea fell to the shining fishes for their home, Earth received the beasts, and the mobile air the birds … Then Man was born:… though all other animals are prone, and fix their gaze upon the earth, he gave to Man an uplifted face and bade him stand erect and turn his eyes to heaven.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“I am dragged along by a strange new force. Desire and reason are pulling in different directions. I see the right way and approve it, but follow the wrong.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“God himself helps those who dare.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“As wave is driven by wave
And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead,
So time flies on and follows, flies, and follows,
Always, for ever and new. What was before
Is left behind; what never was is now;
And every passing moment is renewed.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Love is the force that leaves you colorless”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Eurydice, dying now a second time, uttered no complaint against her husband. What was there to complain of, but that she had been loved?”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“My soul would sing of metamorphoses.
But since, o gods, you were the source of these
bodies becoming other bodies, breathe
your breath into my book of changes: may
the song I sing be seamless as its way
weaves from the world's beginning to our day.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Water belongs to us all. Nature did not make the sun one person's property, nor air, nor water, cool and clear.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“In the make-up of human beings, intelligence counts for more than our hands, and that is our true strength.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Venus of Eryx, from her mountain throne,
Saw Hades and clasped her swift-winged son, and said:
'Cupid, my child, my warrior, my power,
Take those sure shafts with which you conquer all,
And shoot your speedy arrows to the heart
Of the great god to whom the last lot fell
When the three realms were drawn. Your mastery
Subdues the gods of heaven and even Jove,
Subdues the ocean's deities and him,
Even him, who rules the ocean's deities.
Why should Hell lag behind? Why not there too
Extend your mother's empire and your own....?
Then Cupid, guided by his mother, opened
His quiver of all his thousand arrows
Selected one, the sharpest and the surest,
The arrow most obedient to the bow,
And bent the pliant horn against his knee
And shot the barbed shaft deep in Pluto's heart.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“When all the other animals, downcast looked upon the earth, he [Prometheus] gave a face raised on high to man, and commanded him to see the sky and raise his high eyes to the stars.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“And now the measure of my song is done:
The work has reached its end; the book is mine,
None shall unwrite these words: nor angry Jove,
Nor war, nor fire, nor flood,
Nor venomous time that eats our lives away.
Then let that morning come, as come it will,
When this disguise I carry shall be no more,
And all the treacherous years of life undone,
And yet my name shall rise to heavenly music,
The deathless music of the circling stars.
As long as Rome is the Eternal City
These lines shall echo from the lips of men,
As long as poetry speaks truth on earth,
That immortality is mine to wear.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“The god of Delos, proud in victory,
Saw Cupid draw his bow's taut arc, and said:
'Mischievous boy, what are a brave man's arms
To you? That gear becomes my shoulders best.
My aim is sure; I wound my enemies,
I wound wild beasts; my countless arrows slew
But now the bloated Python, whose vast coils
Across so many acres spread their blight.
You and your loves! You have your torch to light them!Let that content you; never claim my fame!'
And Venus' son replied: 'Your bow, Apollo,
May vanquish all, but mine shall vanquish you.
As every creature yields to power divine,
So likewise shall your glory yield to mine.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Right it is to be taught even by the enemy.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“...et ignotas animum dimittit in artes, naturamque nouat. (to arts unknown he bends his wits, and alters nature.)”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Even as a cow she was lovely.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“And besides, we lovers fear everything”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Et ignotas animum dimittit in artes.
And he sets his mind to unknown arts.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“You will go most safely by the middle way.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“She made up prayers and said them,
Worshipping unknown gods with unknown singing,
Her customary magic, which would cover
The white moon’s face and darken the sun with cloud.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“for no god may undo what another god has done...”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Ceza kaldırılabilir; ama suç insanın içinde sonsuza kadar yaşar.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
“Crédule enfant, à quoi bon ces vains efforts pour saisir une fugitive apparence? L'objet de ton désir n'existe pas! ... Cette ombre que tu vois, c'est le reflet de ton image.”
― Ovid, quote from The Metamorphoses
Ovid
Born place: in Sulmo, Italia, Roman Republic, Italy
Born date March 28, 0043
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“He was a ferocious man. He had been ill-made in the making. He had not been born right, and he had not been helped any by the molding he had received at the hands of society. The hands of society are harsh, and this man was a striking sample of its handiwork. He was a beast - a human beast, it is true, but nevertheless so terrible a beast that he can best be characterized as carnivorous.”
― Jack London, quote from White Fang
“They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, quote from The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings
“The first time he'd held her hand, it felt so good that it crowded out all the bad things. It felt better than anything had ever hurt.”
― Rainbow Rowell, quote from Eleanor & Park
“They have accepted me as an individual, as a personality, as an entity. I belong! I am important! I am somebody!”
― Beatrice Sparks, quote from Go Ask Alice
“I'll find you. Don't worry. Just be on your own and I'll find you.”
― Neil Gaiman, quote from The Graveyard Book
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The Kitchen Boy: A N...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.
