“The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Estragon: We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist?
Vladimir: Yes, yes, we're magicians.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Je suis comme ça. Ou j'oublie tout de suite ou je n'oublie jamais."
Samuel BECKETT, En attendant Godot
I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget. ”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Vladimir: Did I ever leave you?
Estragon: You let me go.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Let's go." "We can't." "Why not?" "We're waiting for Godot.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“There’s man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! Let us represent worthily for one the foul brood to which a cruel fate consigned us! What do you say? It is true that when with folded arms we weigh the pros and cons we are no less a credit to our species. The tiger bounds to the help of his congeners without the least reflexion, or else he slinks away into the depths of the thickets. But that is not the question. What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come -- ”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“ESTRAGON: I can't go on like this.
VLADIMIR: That's what you think.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Estragon: I'm like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“VLADIMIR: What do they say?
ESTRAGON: They talk about their lives.
VLADIMIR: To have lived is not enough for them.
ESTRAGON: They have to talk about it.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed time! It's abominable! When! When! One day, is that not enough for you, one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you? They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Estragon: People are bloody ignorant apes.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“ESTRAGON: Don't touch me! Don't question me! Don't speak to me! Stay with me!
VLADIMIR: Did I ever leave you?
ESTRAGON: You let me go.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Vladimir: I don't understand.
Estragon: Use your intelligence, can't you?
Vladimir uses his intelligence.
Vladimir: (finally) I remain in the dark.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“That's how it is on this bitch of an earth.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“POZZO:
I am blind.
(Silence.)
ESTRAGON:
Perhaps he can see into the future.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh. Let us not then speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Estragon: What about hanging ourselves?
Vladimir: Hmm. It'd give us an erection.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“There is man in his entirety, blaming his shoe when his foot is guilty.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“We always find something, eh Didi, to let us think we exist?”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“I’m like that. Either I forget right away or I never forget.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“We wait. We are bored. (He throws up his hand.) No, don't protest, we are bored to death, there's no denying it. Good. A diversion comes along and what do we do? We let it go to waste. Come, let's get to work! (He advances towards the heap, stops in his stride.) In an instant all will vanish and we'll be alone more, in the midst of nothingness!”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“Was I sleeping, while the others suffered? Am I sleeping now? Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of today? That with Estragon my friend, at this place, until the fall of night, I waited for Godot?”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“We have time to grow old. The air is full of our cries. But habit is a great deadener.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Waiting for Godot
“The human faculties of perception, judgment, discriminative feeling, mental activity, and even moral preference, are exercised only in making a choice. He who does anything because it is the custom, makes no choice.”
― John Stuart Mill, quote from On Liberty
“I'm going to the bathroom, not to Beirut. What horrible fate do you think's waiting for me in there? Death by toilet swirly?”
― Melissa Landers, quote from Alienated
“That night, when you were lying there, broken and barely breathing, I promised. I promised to always love you and that no one would ever hurt you again.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Barely Breathing
“The boar, the stag, and the eagle met on the last craggy peak of the world, look down, and sighed at what they saw. The boar was a king, and he said, "There is not enough people." The stag was a poet, and he said, "There is not enough beauty." The eagle was a cleric, and her said, "There is not enough mystery." Then the wolf, arriving late, looked up instead of down and said, "There is not enough hunger," and promptly ate them all.
If the boar was king, the stag was poet, and the eagle was cleric, then what was the wolf?”
― Shannon Hale, quote from Forest Born
“Thus did a handful of rapacious citizens come to control all that was worth controlling in America. Thus was the savage and stupid and entirely inappropriate and unnecessary and humorless American class system created. Honest, industrious, peaceful citizens were classed as bloodsuckers, if they asked to be paid a living wage. And they saw that praise was reserved henceforth for those who devised means of getting paid enormously for committing crimes against which no laws had been passed. Thus the American dream turned belly up, turned green, bobbed to the scummy surface of cupidity unlimited, filled with gas, went bang in the noonday sun.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, quote from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
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.