George Bernard Shaw

Don’t order any black things. Rejoice in his memory; and be radiant: leave grief to the children. Wear violet and purple. Be patient with the poor people who will snivel: they don’t know; and they think they will live for ever, which makes death a division instead of a bond.

You are going to let the fear of poverty govern you life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live.

I never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from people.

We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.

You cannot be a hero without being a coward.

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.

The language of friendship is not words but meanings.

Is the acorn better than the oak which is its fullness and completion?

Tear thyself from delay.

All the diversity, all the charm, and all the beauty of life are made up of light and shade.

Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.

I lose my respect for the man who can make the mystery of sex the subject of a coarse jest, yet when you speak earnestly and seriously on the subject, is silent.

In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.

We are symbols, and inhabit symbols.

Every artist was first an amateur.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

The possibility of stepping into a higher plane is quite real for everyone. It requires no force or effort or sacrifice. It involves little more than changing our ideas about what is normal.

I refused to attend his funeral. But I wrote a very nice letter explaining that I approved of it.

Rich men without convictions are more dangerous in modern society than poor women without chastity.

Never marry but for love; but see that thou lovest what is lovely.

You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.