Most of these quotes are serious, others are humorous. Some I agree with, some I disagree with.
Danger:
"Dangers by being despised grow great." - Edmund Burke
Death:
"When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing." - Proverbs 11:7
"Hereafter, in a better world than this, / I shall desire more love and knowledge of you." - Shakespeare, "As You Like It", act 1, scene 2
"Cowards die many times before their deaths, / The valiant never taste of death but once. / Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, / It seems to me most strange that men should fear, / See that death, a necessary end, / Will come when it will come." - Shakespeare, "Julius Caesar", act 2, scene 2
"And you know, Louise, I've come to the conclusion that hardly anybody in the world really lives, and so hardly anybody really dies. I want death to be real to me. I want it to hurt me, Louise. If it hurts me enough, I shall know I was alive." - from D.H. Lawrence's "St. Mawr"
"I have often thought upon death, and I find it the least of all evils." "I do not believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke of death." "Above all, believe it, the sweetest canticle is 'Nunc dimittis', when a man hath obtained worthy ends and expectations. Death hath this also, that it openeth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy." "One of the fathers saith that old men go to death, and death comes to young men." "Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other." - Francis Bacon
"The traveler has reached the end of the journey! In the freedom of the Infinite he is free from all sorrows, the fetters that bound him are thrown away, and the burning fever of life is no more." "This body is decaying! A nest of diseases, a heap of corruption, bound to destruction, to dissolution. All life ends in death." - Dhammapada 90, 148
"So live, that when thy summons comes to join / The innumerable caravan, which moves / To that mysterious realm, where each shall take / His chamber in the silent halls of death, / Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, / Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed / By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave / Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch / About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." - William Cullen Bryant, "Thanatopsis"
"All that lives must die, / passing through nature to eternity." - Shakespeare, "Hamlet", act 1, scene 2
"To be or not to be: that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep - / No more." - Shakespeare, "Hamlet", act 3, scene 1
"Frequently when I'm in a hospital room with a 'dying' patient, we are laughing. Out in the hallway, the other staff members often think we are denying reality. We must realize that people aren't 'living' or 'dying', they are either alive or dead. As long as they are alive, we must treat them that way. For this reason, I find the word 'terminal' very upsetting. It means we've begun to treat that person as though he or she were already dead, incapable of laughter and joy." - Dr. Bernie Siegel, "Love, Medicine and Miracles"
Death: to stop sinning suddenly.
Deception:
A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit. - Proverbs 26:24
"Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'I was only joking!'" - Proverbs 26:18-19
"Sometimes the means we use to hide a thing serve only to advertise it." - Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind
"There are many canonized on Earth, that shall never be Saints in Heaven." - Sir Thomas Browne
"Your face, my thane, is as a book, where men / May read strange matters. To beguile the time, / Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, / Your hand, your tongue; look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't." - Shakespeare, "Macbeth", act 1, scene 5
"A goodly apple rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!" - Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice", act 1, scene 3
Decisions:
"All our final resolutions are made in a state of mind which is not going to last." - Marcel Proust
Dedication:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it." - Matthew 16:25-25
"For many are called, but few are chosen." - Matthew 22:14
Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!" - Mark 4:1-9, New Revised Standard // "The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." - Mark 4:14-20, New Revised Standard
Democracy:
"To say the least, you were born, which is in itself half the battle, and you live in a democracy - this halfway house between nightmare and utopia - which throws fewer obstacles in the way of an individual than its alternatives." - Joseph Brodsky, commencement address, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1988
Denial:
"Our preoccupation with other people - whether we aid or hinder them, love or hate them - is at bottom a means of getting away from ourselves. It is strange to contemplate that competition with others - the breathless race to get ahead of others - is basically a running away from ourselves." - Eric Hoffer, "The Passionate State of Mind"
Depression:
"Anxiety is not the same as depression; while anxiety is helplessness, depression is hopelessness. But helplessness unendurably prolonged leads inevitably to hopelessness." - TIME, 3/31/61
Desire:
"Can one desire too much of a good thing?" - Shakespeare, "As You Like It", act 4, scene 1
"I am no pilot; / Yet, wert thou as far / As that vast shore / Washt with the furthest sea, / I would adventure / For such merchandise." - Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet", act 2, scene 1
"All things that are, / Are with more spirit chased than enjoyed." - - Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice", act 2, scene 6
"See how she leans her cheek upon her hand! / O that I were a glove upon that hand, / That I might touch that cheek!" - Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet", act 2, scene 2
"That we pursue something passionately does not always mean that we really want it or have a special aptitude for it. Often, the thing we pursue most passionately is but a substitute for the one thing we really want and cannot have. It is usually safe to predict that the fulfillment of an excessively cherished desire is not likely to still our nagging anxiety. In every passionate pursuit, the pursuit counts more than the object pursued." - Eric Hoffer, "The Passionate State of Mind"
"Everybody acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner necessity. Schopenhauer's saying, 'A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants', has been a very real inspiration to me since my youth; it has been a continual consolation in the face of life's hardships, my own and others', and an unfailing well-spring of tolerance. This realization mercifully mitigates the easily paralyzing sense of responsibility and prevents us from taking ourselves and other people all too seriously; it is conducive to a view of life which, in particular, gives humor its due." - Albert Einstein, from "Living Philosophies", 1931
"Do not cut loose from your longings - for what are we without our longings?" - Amos Oz
"He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence." - William Blake, "Proverbs of Hell"
"Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires." - William Blake, "Proverbs of Hell"
"Good men, at all times, surrender in truth all attachments. The holy spend not idle words on things of desire. When pleasure or pain comes to them, the wise feel above pleasure and pain." - Dhammapada 83
"From craving arises sorrow and from craving arises fear. If a man is free from craving, he is free from fear and sorrow." - Dhammapada 216
Despair:
"A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" - Shakespeare, "King Richard III", act 5, scene 4
"In a real dark night of the soul it is always three in the morning, day after day." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Devotion:
"What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish." - Matthew 18:12-14, New International Version
Difficulty:
"All things worthwhile are equally difficult." - Spinoza
Why be difficult when with a little bit of effort you can be impossible?
Diligence:
The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. - Proverbs 21:5
"If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time insight into and understanding of many things." - Vincent Van Gogh
"That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in, / and the best of me is diligence." - Shakespeare, "King Lear", act 1, scene 4
The great pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski said, "If I don't practice one day - I know it. If I don't practice for two days - the critics know it. If I don't practice for three days - the public knows it."
Disagreement:
"To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable." - Barry Goldwater, "Goldwater"
"We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't." - Frank A. Clark
Disbelief:
He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. - Mark 6:1-6. New Revised Standard
Discernment:
"A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him." - Proverbs 28:11
Discipline:
"He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads other astray." - Proverbs 10:17
"He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding." - Proverbs 15:32
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." - Proverbs 12:1
"Severity breedeth fear, but roughness breedeth hate. Even reproofs from authority ought to be grave, and not taunting." - Francis Bacon
Discontent:
"To complain of the age we live in, to murmur at the present possessors of power, to lament the past, to conceive extravagant hopes of the future, are the common dispositions of the greatest part of mankind." - Edmund Burke
"If anything ail a man so that he does not perform his functions, if he have a pain in his bowels even, he forthwith sets about reforming... the world." - Thoreau, "Walden"
Discord:
"Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand." - Matthew 12:25
Discovery:
"For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known." - Matthew 10:26
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." - Proverbs 25:2
"You know you're old when you've lost all your marvels." - Merry Browne
Discretion:
"Do not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words." - Proverbs 23:9
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." - Matthew 10:16, New International Version
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs." - Matthew 7:6
"A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret." - Proverbs 11:13
"A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly." - Proverbs 12:23
"The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly." - Proverbs 26:16
"When words are many, sin is not absent; but he who holds his tongue is wise." - Proverbs 10:19
"Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue" - Proverbs 17:28
"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion." - Proverbs 11:22
"A word once let out of the cage cannot be whistled back again." - Horace
"His heart and hand both open and both free, / For what he has he gives, what thinks he shows, / Yet gives he not till judgment guide his bounty." - Shakespeare, "Troilus and Cressida", act 4, scene 5
"We oscillated between the desire of virtue and the fear of ridicule; we wished to save ourselves from the pain of remorse, but did not want to be made the contemptible dupes of our sentiment." - Joseph Conrad, TNOTN
Verse 166 of the Dhammapada says (perhaps too bluntly), "Let no man endanger his duty, the good of his soul, for the good of another, however great. When he has seen the good of his soul, let him follow it with earnestness."
"Nothing is more dangerous than a friend without discretion." - Jean de La Fontaine
"Give every man thine ear but few thy voice. Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement." - Shakespeare, "Hamlet"
"I have often repented speaking, but never of holding my tongue." - Xenocrates
"Be advised what thou dost discourse of, and what thou maintainest whether touching religion, state, or vanity; for if thou err in the first, thou shalt be accounted profane; if in the second, dangerous; if in the third, indiscreet and foolish." - Sir Walter Raleigh
"Be wiser than other people, if you can; but do not tell them so." - Lord Chesterfield
Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing.
Diversity:
"One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other." - Jane Austen, "Emma" ch. 3
"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." - Emerson, Essays: "Self-Reliance"
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Shakespeare, "Hamlet", act 1, scene 5
Divorce:
"Do you really believe that constant happiness is guaranteed in marriage or in any other aspect of life?" "Certainly, quarreling parents are bad for children, especially if they lack the self-control to quarrel in private. But an uneasy home with 2 parents may well be better than a broken home with one." - Norman Vincent Peale
Doubt:
Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?" But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, "From heaven,' He will say, "Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, "From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet." So they answered that they did not know where it was from. And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." - Luke 20:1-8, New King James Bible
"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties." - Francis Bacon
"Our doubts are traitors, / And makes us lose the good we oft might win, / By fearing to attempt." - Shakespeare, "Measure for Measure", act 1, scene 4
Drinking:
"It is not for kings, O Lemuel - not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more." - Proverbs 31:4-7
"If all be true that I do think, / There are five reasons we should drink; / Good wine - a friend - or being dry - / Or lest we should be by and by - / Or any other reason why." - Henry Aldrich
"And malt does more than Milton can / To justify God's ways to man." - A.E. Housman
"Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch?" - W.C. Fields
44% of college students are presumed to be binge drinkers; 86% of college-fraternity residents are presumed to be binge drinkers. - from TIME magazine
"Don't order a drink for the road, because the road is already laid out." - Flip Wilson
Who needs friends when you can sit alone in your room and drink?
Duty:
Then the Pharisees went and counseled together how they might trap Him in what He said. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. Tell us therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away. - Matthew 22:15-22, New American Standard
One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." - Mark 12:28-34, New American Bible
"But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given." - Luke 12:48, New Living Translation
"And he that beareth not his cross, and cometh after me, may not be my disciple." - Luke 14:27, Wycliffe New Testament
"I ought, therefore I can." - attributed to Immanuel Kant
"For never any thing can be amiss, / When simpleness and duty tender it." - Shakespeare, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", act 5, scene 1
"It is not, what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice, tell me I ought to do." - Edmund Burke
"There is but one categorical imperative: 'Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universal law'." - Immanuel Kant
I would like to give credit to my uncle, James McManus, who first encouraged me to start a filing system which would allow me to keep facts and quotes in good order. Uncle Jim's files gave me my first batch of quotes, and I've used some of them here.