Jackie Robinson

Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life.

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.

I think if we go back and check our record, the Negro has proven beyond a doubt that we have been more than patient in seeking our rights as American citizens.

This ain’t fun. But you watch me, I’ll get it done.

During my life, I have had a few nightmares which happened to me while I was wide awake.

I don’t like needing anyone for anything.

There is a great deal of human nature in people.

Men are seldom more commonplace than on supreme occasions.

From his cradle to his grave a man never does a single thing which has any FIRST AND FOREMOST object but one – to secure peace of mind, spiritual comfort, for HIMSELF.

A crank is someone with a new idea – until it catches on.

What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?

Valor consists in the power of self recovery.

The flowery style is not unsuitable to public speeches or addresses, which amount only to compliment. The lighter beauties are in their place when there is nothing more solid to say; but the flowery style ought to be banished from a pleading, a sermon, or a didactic work.

To be great is to be misunderstood.

We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.

Because they did not see merit where they should have seen it, people, to express their regret, will go and leave a lot of money to the very people who will be the first to throw stones at the next person who has anything to say and finds a difficulty in getting a hearing.

Every quotation contributes something to the stability or enlargement of the language.

The desire to conquer is itself a sort of subjection.

Antiquities are history defaced, or some remnants of history which have casually escaped the shipwreck of time.

Best friend, my well-spring in the wilderness!

If there was nothing wrong in the world there wouldn’t be anything for us to do.