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Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (film)

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a 1990 film which makes the minor characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the play Hamlet into major players of a surreal comic drama.
 * ''Written and directed by Tom Stoppard, based upon his 1966 stage play of the same name.

Rosencrantz

 * Whatever became of the moment when one first knew about death? There must have been one. A moment. In childhood. When it first occurred to you that you don't go on forever. Must have been shattering, stamped into one's memory. And yet, I can't remember it. It never occurred to me at all. We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out we come, bloodied and squalling, with the knowledge that for all the points of the compass, there's only one direction, and time is its only measure.

 * To sum up: your father, whom you love, dies, you are his heir, you come back to find that hardly was the corpse cold before his young brother popped onto his throne and into his sheets, thereby offending both legal and natural practice. Now why exactly are you behaving in this extraordinary manner? (It is worth noting that the Danish monarchy only became hereditary in the 17th century. Before this time, the crown was elective so Hamlet may not have been the elected heir.)

 * A man speaking sense to himself is no madder than a man speaking nonsense not to himself.

Guildenstern

 * We cross our bridges when we come to them, and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.

 * No, no, no... you've got it all wrong... you can't act death. The fact of it is nothing to do with seeing it happen — it's not gasps and blood and falling about — that isn't what makes it death. It's just a man failing to reappear, that's all — now you see him, now you don't, that's the only thing that's real: here one minute and gone the next and never coming back — an exit, unobtrusive and unannounced, a disappearance gathering weight as it goes on, until, finally, it is heavy with death.

 * There must have been a time, in the beginning, when we could have said – no. But somehow we missed it.

The Player

 * We do on stage things that are supposed to happen off. Which is a kind of integrity, if you look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.

 * We're more of the love, blood and rhetoric school. Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can't give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They're all blood, you see.

 * There we were—demented children mincing about in clothes that no one ever wore, speaking as no man ever spoke, swearing love in wigs and rhymed couplets, killing each other with wooden swords, hollow protestations of faith hurled after empty promises of vengeance—and every gesture, every pose, vanishing into the thin unpopulated air. We ransomed our dignity to the clouds, and the uncomprehending birds listened. Don't you see?! We're actors—we're the opposite of people!

Dialogue

 * Player: Events must play themselves out to aesthetic, moral and logical conclusion.
 * Guildenstern: And what's that, in this case?
 * Player: It never varies — we aim at the point where everyone who is marked for death dies.
 * Guildenstern: Marked?
 * Player: Between "just desserts" and "tragic irony" we are given quite a large scope for our particular talent. Generally speaking, things have gone about as far as they can possibly go when things have gotten about as bad as they can reasonably get.
 * Guildenstern: Who decides?
 * Player: Decides? It is written.

 * Rosencrantz: Do you think Death could possibly be a boat?
 * Guildenstern: No, no, no... death is not. Death isn't. Take my meaning? Death is the ultimate negative. Not-being. You can't not be on a boat.
 * Rosencrantz: I've frequently not been on boats.
 * Guildenstern: No, no... what you've been is not on boats.

 * Rosencrantz: Did you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with a lid on it?
 * Guildenstern: No.
 * Rosencrantz: Nor do I, really. It's silly to be depressed by it. I mean, one thinks of it like being alive in a box. One keeps forgetting to take into account the fact that one is dead, which should make all the difference, shouldn't it? I mean, you'd never know you were in a box, would you? It would be just like you were asleep in a box. Not that I'd like to sleep in a box, mind you. Not without any air. You'd wake up dead, for a start, and then where would you be? In a box. That's the bit I don't like, frankly. That's why I don't think of it. Because you'd be helpless, wouldn't you? Stuffed in a box like that. I mean, you'd be in there forever, even taking into account the fact that you're dead. It isn't a pleasant thought. Especially if you're dead, really. Ask yourself, if I asked you straight off, "I'm going to stuff you in this box. Now, would you rather be alive or dead?" Naturally, you'd prefer to be alive. Life in a box is better than no life at all, I expect. You'd have a chance, at least. You could lie there thinking, "Well. At least I'm not dead. In a minute somebody is going to bang on the lid, and tell me to come out." [bangs on lid] "Hey, you! What's your name? Come out of there!"
 * Guildenstern: I think I'm going to kill you.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, one Cannes Film Festival Award and three British Academy Film Awards. Brando was also an activist for many causes, notably the civil rights movement and various Native American movements. Having studied with Stella Adler in the 1940s, he is credited with being one of the first actors to bring the Stanislavski system of acting, and method acting, derived from the Stanislavski system, to mainstream audiences.

Quotes

 * An actor's a guy, who if you ain't talking about him, ain't listening.
 * The Observer (1956)

 * That scene. Let me see. There were seven takes because Rod Steiger couldn't stop crying. He's one of those actors who loves to cry. We did it over and over again.
 * Speaking with Truman Capote about the scene with them in the back of a taxi from On the Waterfront, as quoted in "The Duke in His Domain," The New Yorker (1956); reproduced in Rod Steiger: Memoirs of a Friendship (2000) by Tom Hutchinson, p. 88

 * Privacy is not something that I’m merely entitled to, it’s an absolute prerequisite.
 * Said in 1960, quoted in Marlon Brando, Ch. 11 (1974, rev. 1989), by David Shipman.

 * When they laid down their arms, we murdered them. We lied to them. We cheated them out of their lands. We starved them into signing fraudulent agreements that we called treaties which we never kept. We turned them into beggars on a continent that gave life for as long as life can remember. And by any interpretation of history, however twisted, we did not do right. We were not lawful nor were we just in what we did. For them, we do not have to restore these people, we do not have to live up to some agreements, because it is given to us by virtue of our power to attack the rights of others, to take their property, to take their lives when they are trying to defend their land and liberty, and to make their virtues a crime and our own vices virtues.
 * I think awards in this country at this time are inappropriate to be received or given until the condition of the American Indian is drastically altered. If we are not our brother's keeper, at least let us not be his executioner.
 * Undelivered speech for the Academy Awards written by Brando as it appeared in The New York Times (March 30, 1973)

 * Homosexuality is so much in fashion it no longer makes news. Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences and I am not ashamed. I have never paid much attention to what people think about me. But if there is someone who is convinced that Jack Nicholson and I are lovers, may they continue to do so. I find it amusing.
 * As stated to Gary Carey in Brando's 1976 biography The Only Contender

 * Bertolucci is extraordinary in his ability to perceive, he's a poet...he is very easy to work for.
 * Rolling Stone Issue No. 213 (May 20, 1976) on Bernardo Bertolucci.

 * Chaplin you got to go with. Chaplin is a man whose talents is such that you have to gamble. First off, comedy is his backyard. He's a genius, a cinematic genius. A comedic talent without peer.
 * Rolling Stone Issue No. 213 (May 20, 1976) on Charlie Chaplin

 * Kazan is a performer's director, the best director I ever worked with... Most actors don't get any help from directors. Emotional help, if you're playing an emotional part. Kazan is the only one I know who really gives you help.
 * Rolling Stone Issue No. 213 (May 20, 1976) on Elia Kazan

 * Bob Hope will go to the opening of a phone booth in a gas station in Anaheim, providing they have a camera there and three people. He'll go to the opening of a market to receive an award. He'd get an award from Thom McCan for wearing their shoes. It's pathetic. It's a bottomless pit. A barrel that has no floor. He must be a man who has an ever-crumbling estimation of himself. He's constantly filling himself up. He's like a junkie – an applause junkie. What happens to those people when they can't get up and do their shtick, God only knows. Bob Hope, Christ, instead of growing old gracefully or doing something with his money, be helpful, all he does is he has an anniversary with the President looking on. It's sad. He gets on an airplane every two minutes always going someplace. It didn't bother him at all to work the Vietnam War. Oh, he took that in his stride. He did his World War II and Korean War act. "Our boys" and all that. He’s a pathetic guy.
 * Playboy (January 1979); reproduced in The Playboy Interview (1981) edited by G. Barry Golson, p. 629

 * You are very attractive, but the coat you're wearing makes me think you are either a very rich woman or a very rich man's mistress.
 * Stated to Ashraf Pahlavi of Iran, as quoted in Faces in a Mirror (1980) by Ashraf Pahlavi, p. 129

 * Acting is the expression of a neurotic impulse. It's a bum's life.
 * Marlon Brando: The Only Contender, Gary Carey (1985), Ch.13

 * The principal benefit acting has afforded me is the money to pay for my psychoanalysis.
 * Marlon Brando: The Only Contender, Gary Carey (1985), Ch.13

 * It is a simple fact that all of us use the techniques of acting to achieve whatever ends we seek.
 * Introduction to The Technique of Acting by Stella Adler (1988)

 * Acting serves as the quintessential social lubricant and a device for protecting our interests and gaining advantage in every aspect of life.
 * Introduction to The Technique of Acting by Stella Adler (1988)

 * I have always considered my life a private affair and the business of no one beyond my family and those I love. Except for moral and political issues that aroused in me a desire to speak out, I have done my utmost throughout my life, for the sake of my children and myself, to remain silent … But now, in my seventieth year, I have decided to tell the story of my life as best I can, so that my children can separate the truth from the myths that others have created about me, as myths are created about everyone swept up in the turbulent and distorting maelstrom of celebrity in our culture.
 * Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994)

 * A lot of the old movie stars couldn't act their way out of a box of wet tissue paper, but they were successful because they had distinctive personalities. They were predictable brands of breakfast cereal: on Wednesdays we had Quaker Oats and Gary Cooper; on Fridays we had Wheaties and Clark Gable. They were off-the-shelf products you expected always to be the same, actors and actresses with likable personalities who played themselves more or less the same role the same way every time out.
 * Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994), p. 83

 * Even today I meet people who think of me automatically as a tough, insensitive, coarse guy named Stanley Kowalski. They can't help it, but, it is troubling.
 * Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994) p. 143

 * I was surprised as anyone when T-shirts, jeans and leather jackets suddenly became symbols of rebellion. In the film there was a scene in which somebody asked my character, Johnny, what I was rebelling against, and I answered 'Whaddya got?' But none of us involved in the picture ever imagined that it would instigate or encourage youthful rebellion.
 * Speaking about the film The Wild One (1953) in Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994) p. 175

 * On the day Kazan showed me the completed picture I was so depressed by my performance that I got up and left the screening room.
 * Speaking of his performance in On the Waterfront (1954). Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994)
 * "If there is a better performance by a man in the history of film in America, I don't know what it is."- Eli Kazan on Brando's performance in On the Waterfront, published in Marlon Brando, Portraits and Film Stills 1946-1995 (1996)

 * The power and influence of a movie star is curious: I didn't ask for it or take it; people gave it to me. Simply because you're a movie star, people empower you with special rights and privileges.
 * Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994)

 * I don't think I was constructed to be monogamous. I don't think it's the nature of any man to be monogamous. Men are propelled by genetically ordained impulses over which they have no control to distribute their seed.
 * 1994 statement, as quoted in Kosher Sex : A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy (2000) by Shmuley Boteach

 * There's a line in the picture where he snarls, "Nobody tells me what to do." That's exactly how I've felt all my life.
 * Marlon Brando, Portraits and Film Stills 1946-1995 (1996)  Speaking about the film The Wild One (1953).

 * Hollywood is run by Jews. It is owned by Jews, and they should have a greater sensitivity. They should have greater sensitivity about the issue of people who are suffering because they've [been] exploited. We have seen the nigger, we've seen the greaseball, we have seen the chink, the slit-eyed dangerous Jap. We have seen the wily Filipino. We've seen everything, but we never saw the kike, because they know perfectly well that is where you draw the wagons around.
 * Interview on Larry King Live (April 1996), quoted in Cultural Diversity and the U.S. Media (1998) by Yahya R. Kamalipour and Theresa Carilli, p. 105

 * This picture will try to show the Nazism is a matter of mind, not geography, and that there are Nazis — and people of good will — in every country. The world can't spend its life looking over its shoulder and nursing hatreds. There would be no progress that way.
 * At a press conference for The Young Lions in Berlin; republished in  Marlon Brando, Portraits and Film Stills 1946-1995 (1996)

 * Acting is the least mysterious of all crafts. Whenever we want something from somebody or when we want to hide something or pretend, we're acting. Most people do it all day long.
 * New York Times (July 2, 2004)

 * If a studio offered to pay me as much to sweep the floor as it did to act, I'd sweep the floor. There isn't anything that pays you as well as acting while you decide what the hell you're going to do with yourself. Who cares about the applause? Do I need applause to feel good about myself?
 * New York Times (July 2, 2004)

 * The close-up says everything, it's then that an actor's learned, rehearsed behavior becomes most obvious to an audience and chips away, unconsciously, at its experience of reality. In a close-up, the audience is only inches away, and your face becomes the stage.
 * New York Times (July 2, 2004)

 * I suppose the story of my life is a search for love, but more than that, I have been looking for a way to repair myself from the damages I suffered early on and to define my obligation, if I had any, to myself and my species.
 * New York Times (July 2, 2004)

 * When I lie on the beach there naked, which I do sometimes, and I feel the wind coming over me and I see the stars up above and I am looking into this very deep, indescribable night, it is something that escapes my vocabulary to describe. Then I think: 'God, I have no importance. Whatever I do or don't do, or what anybody does, is not more important than the grains of sand that I am lying on, or the coconut that I am using for my pillow.' So I really don't think in the long sense.
 * New York Times (July 2, 2004)

 * Conviction of the myth is everything. We need myths, we live by myths, we die for myths.
 * Listen to Me Marlon (2015)

Quotations about Brando

 * Pallid as a mushroom, smooth-skinned and scarred, with curved feminine lips and silky hair, he seems as unhealthy as a lame duck. Yet his ram-like profile has the harsh strength of the gutter.
 * Cecil Beaton, diary entry, circa 1957; as quoted in "Beaton on Brando", Sothebys.com (July 19, 2018)

 * This fear of the single man is seen most viscerally in Hollywood films, with their images of dangerous, potentially violent men. The most famous of these were stars such as James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando, and Anthony Perkins, each embodying a different type of moody, sensitive rebel.
 * Michael Bronski A Queer History of the United States (2011)

 * The movie may not contain Brando's greatest performance, but it certainly contains his most emotionally overwhelming scene... As he weeps, as he attempts to remove her cosmetic death mask ("Look at you! You're a monument to your mother! You never wore makeup, never wore false eyelashes!"), he makes it absolutely clear why he is the best film actor of all time. He may be a bore, he may be a creep, he may act childish about the Academy Awards -- but there is no one else who could have played that scene flat-out, no holds barred, the way he did, and make it work triumphantly.
 * Roger Ebert, reviewing Last Tango in Paris, originally in the Chicago Sun-Times (October 14, 1972).

 * People like Brando are just kindergarten compared to Kinski.
 * Werner Herzog, as quoted in Cintra Wilson, "Devoured by Demons", Slate (April 22, 2004).

 * Simply put, in film acting, there is before Brando, and there is after Brando. And they are like different worlds.
 * Rick Lyman, in The New York Times (July 2, 2004).

 * Mr. Brando can chew on a matchstick with more skill than many actors can summon up to create a whole character, and simply watching him work is a lesson in the art of acting.
 * , April 1961, as quoted in "Introducing 'One-Eyed Jacks'", The Iola Register (August 4, 1961), p. 8

 * Talking about Marlon is like dancing about architecture. When you tell the stories, the stories would be rich. And everybody would laugh a lot. And then say "where does it come from?"
 * Sean Penn on the difficulty of explaining Brando, on interview on "The Charlie Rose Show" (2 July 2004).

 * I like Brando's acting … and James Dean … and Richard Widmark. Quite a few of 'em I like.
 * Elvis Presley, when asked to name his favorite actors, in "Elvis Exclusive Interview" with Ray Green in Little Rock, Arkansas (16 May 1956), as published in Elvis — Word for Word : What He Said, Exactly As He Said It (1999), by Jerry Osborne, p. 21

 * No figure of his influence has so precariously balanced a handful of unforgettable achievements against a brimming barrelful of embarrassments. And yet the reverence in which he is held by his profession is unshakable. His sometime friend and co-star Jack Nicholson said it simply and best: "He gave us our freedom." By which he meant that Brando's example permitted actors to go beyond characterizations that were merely well made, beautifully spoken and seemly in demeanor; allowed them to play not just a script's polished text but its rough, conflicting subtext as well.
 * Richard Schickel, in "The TIME 100: The Most Important People of the Century" (8 June 1998).

 * I realized there was a part of him always churning with something, some problem he was dealing with. I got the impression of a man who was trying to solve the pain of something – perhaps he was gifted with or burdened with – that he didn't really want, or he didn't want so long as he didn't understand it. It kept him, whether he liked it or not, continually alert, seeking for a solution and continually alive, and connected with all of us who have things inside of us going on all the time, and we became fascinated, unconsciously, and watched his turmoil. And that's the word. Turmoil. It was a continuing deep and personal problem.
 * , as quoted in Rod Steiger: Memoirs of a Friendship (2000) by Tom Hutchinson, p. 88

title: Marlon Brando


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On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront is a 1954 film about an ex-prize fighter turned longshoreman who struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses.
 * Directed by Elia Kazan. Written by Budd Schulberg, based on magazine articles by Malcolm Johnson.

Terry Malloy

 * Conscience... that stuff can drive you nuts!

 * [to Johnny Friendly] You think you're God Almighty, but you know what you are? You're a cheap, lousy, dirty, stinkin' mug! And I'm glad what I done to you, ya hear that? I'm glad what I done!

Edie Doyle

 * But Pop, I've seen things that I know are so wrong. Now how can I go back to school and keep my mind on... on things that are just in books, that-that-that aren't people living?

Father Barry

 * [to the dockworkers] Isn't it simple as one, two, three? One, the working conditions are bad. Two, they're bad because the mob does the hiring. And three, the only way we can break the mob is to stop letting them get away with murder.

 * There's one thing we've got in this country and that's ways of fightin' back. Gettin' the facts to the public. Testifyin' for what you know is right against what you know is wrong. Now what's ratting to them is telling the truth for you. Now can't you see that? Can't you see that?

 * Some people think the Crucifixion only took place on Calvary. They better wise up! Taking Joey Doyle's life to stop him from testifying is a crucifixion. And dropping a sling on Kayo Dugan because he was ready to spill his guts tomorrow, that's a crucifixion. And every time the Mob puts the pressure on a good man, tries to stop him from doing his duty as a citizen, it's a crucifixion. And anybody who sits around and lets it happen, keeps silent about something he knows that happened, shares the guilt of it just as much as the Roman soldier who pierced the flesh of our Lord to see if he was dead...Boys, this is my church! And if you don't think Christ is down here on the waterfront, you've got another guess coming!

 * Every morning when the hiring boss blows his whistle, Jesus stands alongside you in the shape-up. He sees why some of you get picked and some of you get passed over. He sees the family men worrying about getting the rent and getting food in the house for the wife and the kids. He sees you selling your souls to the mob for a day's pay...And what does Christ think of the easy-money boys who do none of the work and take all of the gravy? And how does he feel about the fellows who wear hundred-and-fifty dollar suits and diamond rings, on your union dues and your kickback money? And how does He, who spoke up without fear against every evil, feel about your silence? You want to know what's wrong with our waterfront? It's the love of a lousy buck. It's making the love of the lousy buck - the cushy job - more important than the love of man! It's forgettin' that every fellow down here is your brother in Christ! But remember, Christ is always with you - Christ is in the shape up. He's in the hatch. He's in the union hall. He's kneeling right here beside Dugan. And He's saying with all of you, if you do it to the least of mine, you do it to me! And what they did to Joey, and what they did to Dugan, they're doing to you. And you. You. ALL OF YOU. And only you, only you with God's help, have the power to knock 'em out for good.

 * [to Terry] You'd better get rid of that gun, unless you haven't got the guts. And if you don't, you'd better hang on to it!

Dialogue

 * "Big" Mac: The only arithmetic he ever got was hearing the referee count up to 10.
 * Terry Malloy: You know you're not too funny today, fat man!

 * Edie Doyle: Which side are you with?
 * Terry Malloy: Me? I'm with me, Terry.

 * Edie Doyle: Shouldn't everybody care about everybody else?
 * Terry Malloy: Boy, what a fruitcake you are!
 * Edie Doyle: I mean, isn't everybody a part of everybody else?
 * Terry Malloy: And you really believe that drool?
 * Edie Doyle: Yes, I do.
 * Terry Malloy: You wanna hear my philosophy of life? Do it to him before he does it to you.
 * Edie Doyle: I never met anyone like you. There's not a spark of sentiment or romance or human kindness in your whole body.
 * Terry Malloy: What good does it do ya besides get ya in trouble?
 * Edie Doyle: And when things and people get in your way, you just knock them aside, get rid of them, is that your idea?

 * Terry Malloy: If I spill, my life ain't worth a nickel.
 * Father Barry: And how much is your soul worth if you don't?

 * Charlie Malloy: You're getting on. You're pushing 30, slugger. You know, it's time to think about getting some ambition.
 * Terry Malloy: I always figured I'd live a little bit longer without it.

 * Charley Malloy: Look, kid, I - how much you weigh, son? When you weighed one hundred and sixty-eight pounds you were beautiful. You coulda been another Billy Conn, and that skunk we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast.
 * Terry Malloy: It wasn't him, Charley; it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and you said, "Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Wilson." You remember that? "This ain't your night"! My night? I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors in a ballpark, and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville! You was my brother, Charley; you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so I wouldn't have to take them dives for the short-end money.
 * Charley Malloy: Oh I had some bets down for you. You saw some money.
 * Terry Malloy: You don't understand, I could have had class. I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody... instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. [Charley takes it in.] It was you, Charley.
 * Note: The bolded portion is ranked #3 in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema''.

 * Edie Doyle: I want you to stay away from me.
 * Terry Malloy: Edie, you love me... I want you to say it to me.
 * Edie Doyle: I didn't say I didn't love you. I said, "Stay away from me."

 * [after Terry is badly beaten by Johnny Friendly and his goons]
 * Dock workers: How about Terry? He don't work, we don't work.
 * Johnny Friendly: Work! He can't even walk!
 * Longshoreman: If Terry walks in, we walk in with him. [To Father Barry] They're waitin' for him to walk in.
 * Father Barry: [to Terry] Do you hear that, Terry?...You lost a battle, but you have a chance to win the war....Can you walk?...Just finish what you started. You can!
 * Terry Malloy: Get me on my feet.
 * [Father Barry and Edie help Terry stand up]
 * Father Barry: How're you doing?
 * Terry Malloy: Am I on my feet?
 * [Terry staggers through past Friendly; the longshoremen follow]
 * Johnny Friendly: Where you guys going? Wait a minute! I'll remember this! I'll remember every one of you! I'll be back! Don't you forget that! I'll be back!

Cast

 * Marlon Brando - Terry Malloy
 * Eva Marie Saint - Edie Doyle
 * Karl Malden - Father Barry
 * Lee J. Cobb - Michael J. Skelly aka "Big" John "Johnny" Friendly
 * Rod Steiger - Charley "The Gent" Malloy
 * Pat Henning - Timothy J. "Kayo" Dugan
 * Ben Wager - Joey Doyle
 * Fred Gwynne - Slim (uncredited)
 * Martin Balsam - Gillette (uncredited)
 * Pat Hingle - Bartender (uncredited)

title: On the Waterfront


text:
Jack Valenti

 Jack Joseph Valenti (5 September 1921 – 26 April 2007) was an influential American lobbyist and a long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Quotes

 * I sleep each night a little better, a little more confidently, because Lyndon Johnson is my president. For I know he lives and thinks and works to make sure that for all America and indeed, the growing body of the free world, the morning shall always come.
 * Address before the Advertising Federation of America convention, Boston, Massachusetts (28 June 1965); published in the Congressional Record (7 July 1965) Vol. 111, Appendix, p. A3583

 * A huge parasite in the marketplace, feeding and fattening itself off of local television stations and copyright owners of copyrighted material. We do not like it because we think it wrong and unfair.
 * Comments on the Cable television industry, in testimony to Congress (June 1974); quoted in "What Jack Valenti Did for Hollywood" by Richard Corliss in TIME magazine (27 April 2007)

 * I think politicians and movie actors and movie executives are similar in more ways than they’re different. There is an egocentric quality about both; there is a very sensitive awareness of the public attitude, because you live or die on public favor or disfavor. There is the desire for publicity and for acclaim, because, again, that’s part of your life... And in a strange and bizarre way, when movie actors come to Washington, they’re absolutely fascinated by the politicians. And when the politicians go to Hollywood, they’re absolutely fascinated by the movie stars. It’s a kind of reciprocity of affection by people who both recognize in a sense they’re in the same racket.
 * Interview on National Public Radio (13 December 1974)

 * I don’t know any other business that tells you not to go in and buy their product.
 * On the film rating system, as quoted in The New York Times (5 May 1985)

 * I don’t care if you call it AO for Adults Only, or Chopped Liver or Father Goose. Your movie will still have the stigma of being in a category that’s going to be inhabited by the very worst of pictures.
 * On changing the un-trademarked "X" rating to an "A" for Adults; it was eventually changed to the trademarked "NC-17". The New York Times (5 March 1987)

 * On-line service providers and others have a key role to play in freeing cyberspace of the taint of copyright lawlessness. Accountability for copyright violations committed by users is as essential for advancing this indispensable goal. Who is responsible if a valuable copyrighted work is downloaded from a provider, and then copied on a digital video machine from which thousands of copies can be made, the last copy as pure and pristine as the first? And if no one can be held responsible, then who and what is to prevent the flood that will surely follow? This is a loophole larger than a parade of eight-wheelers through which a dam-busting avalanche of violations can rupture the purpose of your bill every day.
 * Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on copyright immunities for ISPs. (7 February 1996)

 * Technology moves with terrifying speed. If the traffic rules are explicit and understandable, and accompanied by common-sense protective designs, this technology will be an incalculable boon to America, a shot in the arm to our international competitiveness, and a stimulus to our creative industries. If not, then the information superhighway, cyberspace, the Internet, call it what you will, technology will collapse the great wonder of intellectual property. The country will be the loser. Big time.
 * Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on copyright immunities for ISPs. (7 February 1996)

 * The only group in America that ought to be the final arbiters, the only group in America that deserves to scrutinize what we are doing, and then judge its worth... are parents.
 * On the TV rating system, as quoted in "U.S. TV industry unveils ratings system" CNN (19 December 1996)

 * I found the most convincing part to be the working stiffs, the guys who have a modest home and kids who go to public schools. They make $75,000 to $100,000 a year. That's not much to live on. I don't have to tell you that.
 * Discussing the plausibility of anti-piracy advertisements featuring wealthy Hollywood figures. Entertainment Weekly (18 April 2003)

 * If you buy a DVD you have a copy. If you want a backup copy you buy another one.
 * Statement to the Associated Press (November 2003), as quoted in "DVD-copy program tweaked after court order" at CNN.com (23 February 2004)

 * If you design your own machine, you can't fuss at people, because you're one of just a few. How many Linux users are there?
 * On being informed there were no legitimate DVD players for Linux after four years, in "Real Dialogue: The Tech interviews Jack Valenti" by Keith J. Winstein of The Tech (16 April 2004)

 * We want to tell American parents that they and they alone have total power to control every hour of television programming that comes into their home.
 * As quoted in "US TV industry plans June ad campaign on decency" Reuters news agency (24 April 2006)

 * No one today knows what is indecent.
 * As quoted in "US TV industry plans June ad campaign on decency" Reuters news agency (24 April 2006)

 * In a political struggle, never get personal — else the dagger digs too deep.
 * As quoted in "What Jack Valenti Taught Us All" in The Washington Post (28 April 2007)

Testimony to the US House of Representatives (1982)

 * Testimony given as president of the MPAA. (12 April 1982)

 * We are facing a very new and a very troubling assault on our fiscal security, on our very economic life and we are facing it from a thing called the video cassette recorder and its necessary companion called the blank tape. And it is like a great tidal wave just off the shore. This video cassette recorder and the blank tape threaten profoundly the life-sustaining protection, I guess you would call it, on which copyright owners depend, on which film people depend, on which television people depend and it is called copyright.

 * If what you own cannot be protected, you own nothing.
 * He later paraphrased this statement in a pamphlet: "If You Cannot Protect What You Own, You Don’t Own Anything!" (28 February 2002) (PDF document)

 * Nothing of value is free. It is very easy, Mr. Chairman, to convince people that it is in their best interest to give away somebody else's property for nothing, but even the most guileless among us know that this is a cave of illusion where commonsense is lured and then quietly strangled.

 * I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.

 * The Ninth Circuit Court decision was lucid, unambiguous, and consistent. The logic was clear and it said when you use copyrighted material on a video cassette recorder, it is an infringement of copyright.

 * When my son is taping for his permanent collection, he sits there and pauses his machine and when he is finished with it, he has a marvelous Clint Eastwood movie and there is no sign of a commercial. It is a brand new movie and he can put three of those on one 6-hour tape.

 * My own home, we do it in our on home. I know about that. Anybody that has a VCR, talk to them, and I ask you to use your own commonsense... If you had the power to sit on a playback of a recording and you could wipe out the commercials or not wipe out the commercials, what would you do? ... We all do it. But when you do it, you strip away the reason for free television. ... As far as I am concerned, I am going to continue taping because the plaintiffs have said they aren't going to do anything to me. I am not committing any crime. They know that.

A Plea For Keeping Alive the U.S. Film Industry’s Competitive Energy (1995)

 * "A Plea For Keeping Alive the U.S. Film Industry’s Competitive Energy" (1995) to "urge the Congress to Extend the Copyright Term" as MPAA Chairman and CEO, before The Senate Judiciary Committee (20 September 1995) (PDF)

 * Copyright term extension has a simple but compelling enticement: it is very much in America's economic interests.

 * A public domain work is an orphan. No one is responsible for its life. But everyone exploits its use, until that time certain when it becomes soiled and haggard, barren of its previous virtues. How does the consumer benefit from the steady decline of a film's quality?

Interview in Harvard Political Review (2002)

 * Interview with Derek Slater of Harvard Political Review (November 2002) (more excerpts online at Slater's blog)

 * I wasn't opposed to the VCR. The MPAA tried to establish by law that the VCR was infringing on copyright. Then we would go to the Congress and get a copyright royalty fee put on all blank videocassettes and that would go back to the creators.

 * Fair use is not a law. There's nothing in law.

 * You've already got a DVD. It lasts forever. It never wears out. In the digital world, we don't need back-ups, because a digital copy never wears out. It is timeless.
 * Responding to a question on breaking encryption to make a back-up copy of a DVD.

 * I think lobbying is really an honest profession. Lobbying means trying to persuade Congress to accept your point of view. Sometimes you can give them a lot of facts they didn't have before.

Engadget interview (2004)

 * Interview with Peter Rojas of Engadget (30 August 2004)

 * I really do believe we can stuff enough algorithms in a movie that only the dedicated hackers can spend the time and effort to try to plumb through those 1,000 algorithms to try to find a way to beat it.

 * There is no fair use to take something that doesn't belong to you. That's not fair use.
 * In response to the question "Do consumers have a fair use right to remix a few seconds of a Hollywood movie into a home movie project?"

 * Fair use is not in the law.

 * I hope people will say I never had a hidden agenda, and I never played it cute around the turns, and that my integrity stayed intact.

The Voluntary Movie Rating System (2004)

 * Testimony at the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (28 September 2004)

 * By summer of 1966, the national scene was marked by insurrection on the campus, riots in the streets, rise in women's liberation, protest of the young, doubts about the institution of marriage, abandonment of old guiding slogans, and the crumbling of social traditions. It would have been foolish to believe that movies, that most creative of art forms, could have remained unaffected by the change and torment in our society. The result of all this was the emergence of a "new kind" of American movie — frank and open, and made by filmmakers subject to very few self-imposed restraints.

 * I knew that the mix of new social currents, the irresistible force of creators determined to make "their" films and the possible intrusion of government into the movie arena demanded my immediate action. ... My first move was to abolish the old and decaying Hays Production Code. I did that immediately. Then on November 1, 1968, we announced the birth of the new voluntary film rating system of the motion picture industry ... the emergence of the voluntary rating system filled the vacuum provided by my dismantling of the Hays Production Code. The movie industry would no longer "approve or disapprove" the content of a film, but we would now see our primary task as giving advance cautionary warnings to parents so that parents could make the decision about the movie-going of their young children.

 * The basic mission of the rating system is a simple one: to offer to parents some advance information about movies so that parents can decide what movies they want their children to see or not to see. The entire rostrum of the rating program rests on the assumption of responsibility by parents.

 * We count it crucial to make regular soundings to find out how the public perceives the rating program, and to measure the approval and disapproval of what we are doing... The rating system isn't perfect but, in an imperfect world, it seems each year to match the expectations of those whom it is designed to serve — parents of America.

Quotes about Valenti

 * I invite all of you to work with me to strengthen our copyright laws in all of the ways available to us. As you know, there is also Jack Valenti's proposal for term to last forever less one day. Perhaps the Committee may look at that next Congress.
 * Comment by Congresswoman Mary Bono during debate on the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (1998)

 * Jack Valenti etched the letters G, PG and R into American cinema. That cultural legacy came early in his stewardship of Hollywood's top trade group, when he established the movie-ratings system still in place nearly 40 years later.
 * Associated Press reporter David Germain, in "Valenti became Hollywood's man of letters" in The Desert Sun (27 April 2007)

 * Mostly, filmmakers complain that they must work against muddled or moving boundaries. And parents’ groups grouse about “ratings creep,” a perceived tendency for a category like PG-13 to permit ever more violence, sex and profanity over the years to reach impressionable youth. Yet it was Mr. Valenti’s genius to have devised an apparatus that is not bound by precedent, changes its definitions at will and, ultimately, serves the motion picture industry by becoming, at any given moment, as permissive or restrictive as the prevailing climate seems to demand... for nearly 40 years, Mr. Valenti’s raters have largely kept politicians and busybodies out of the film business, even if that meant playing somewhat unpredictable busybodies themselves. They haven’t always been fair, and not entirely pleasant to deal with. But in the end, theirs was no mean achievement.
 * Michael Cieply in "The Ratings System, Built to Endure" in The New York Times (28 April 2007)

 * I thought Jack Valenti was wrong about most of the tech-policy issues that he spoke about, but I'm going to miss that guy... One of the lingering regrets of my career is showing up a few minutes late to a Post boardroom luncheon with Valenti that had started with him denouncing a column I'd written about the MPAA's "technological totalitarianism." When I sat down, then-managing editor Steve Coll leaned over to summarize Valenti's opening statement as "he took your name in vain"; I felt like I'd missed the whole show.
 * Rob Pegoraro in "R.I.P., Jack Valenti" at washingtonpost.com (27 April 2007)

 * In a sometimes unreasonable business, Jack Valenti was a giant voice of reason. He was the greatest ambassador Hollywood has ever known and I will value his wisdom and friendship for all time.
 * Steven Spielberg, as quoted in "Spielberg remembers MPAA’s Jack Valenti" at spielbergfilms.com (27 April 2007)

 * Jack works across the aisle because he doesn't see an aisle. It is the root of his success and what others ought to emulate.
 * Ted Stevens, (Republican) US Senator for Alaska

title: Jack Valenti


text:
Bjarne Stroustrup

Bjarne Stroustrup (born December 30, 1950) is a computer scientist and creator of the C++ programming language.

Quotes

 * I'm convinced that you could design a language about a tenth of the size of C++ (whichever way you measure size) providing roughly what C++ does.

 * Within C++, there is a much smaller and cleaner language struggling to get out.
 * . A later clarification adds, "And no, that smaller and cleaner language is not Java or C#."

 * Proof by analogy is fraud.

 * Design and programming are human activities; forget that and all is lost.

 * A program that has not been tested does not work.

 * "How to test?" is a question that cannot be answered in general. "When to test?" however, does have a general answer: as early and as often as possible.

 * An organisation that treats its programmers as morons will soon have programmers that are willing and able to act like morons only.

 * Anybody who comes to you and says he has a perfect language is either naïve or a salesman.
 * in C++ 0x - An Overview at University of Waterloo Computer Science Club

 * There are only two kinds of languages: the ones people complain about and the ones nobody uses.

 * Far too often, "software engineering" is neither engineering nor about software.

 * I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone.
 * On his homepage, Bjarne Stroustrup states that he did say the above sentence, but also adds "I very much doubt that the sentiment is original."

 * People who think they know everything really annoy those of us who know we don't.

 * C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot; C++ makes it harder, but when you do it blows your whole leg off.

 * If you think it's simple, then you have misunderstood the problem.

 * There are more useful systems developed in languages deemed awful than in languages praised for being beautiful--many more.

 * "Legacy code" often differs from its suggested alternative by actually working and scaling.

 * [Corporate programming] is often done to the point where the individual is completely submerged in corporate "culture" with no outlet for unique talents and skills. Corporate practices can be directly hostile to individuals with exceptional skills and initiative in technical matters. I consider such management of technical people cruel and wasteful.

 * I do not think that safety should be bought at the cost of complicating the expression of good solutions to real-life problems.

 * The connection between the language in which we think/program and the problems and solutions we can imagine is very close. For this reason restricting language features with the intent of eliminating programmer errors is at best dangerous.

 * If you do anything useful it will haunt you forever after, and if you have a major success you get decades of hard manual labor - meaning you have to work on the manual.

 * One of the things I really like about programming languages is that it's the perfect excuse to stick your nose into any field. So if you're interested in high energy physics and the structure of the universe, being a programmer is one of the best ways to get in there. It's probably easier than becoming a theoretical physicist
 * "Bjarne Stroustrup - The Essence of C++" talk on 28 April 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's George Square Lecture Theatre.

 * Maybe "just one little global variable" isn't too unmanageable, but that style leads to code that is useless except to its original programmer

title: Bjarne Stroustrup


text:
User:Liberlogos~enwikiquote

 * Check out my page on the English Wikipedia and |my new personal page and blog right here!

Liberlogos, born in Quebec City, Quebec and brought up in the Quebec Beauce and in Trois-Rivières, is a proud Wikipedian (in the English, French, source, quote, and now commons versions). As of April 11, 2005, he has made 3902 edits on the English counterpart.

Profile
Liberlogos is a Montrealer, an artist and a politics nut. He is a degree owner from the oh-so-prestigious Collège Brébeuf of Montreal and also proudly studied at the Séminaire Saint-Joseph of Trois-Rivières. He is a Quebecer, a citizen of the Americas and citizen of the world. He believes in nationalism with internationalism, in humanitarianism, feminism, atheism and socialist/social democratic left-wing politics. In jest, he also likes to write his description at the third person.

Why
Why... the eternal question. Why am I here? Why do I like Wikipedia? Call me crazy, but I like brackets. I came, I saw an outlet for my obsession, I enrolled.

Membership

 * Wikipedia:Quebec wikipedians' notice board (co-founder)
 * Wikipedia:Wikipedians/Quebec (founder)
 * Wikipedian citizens of the world
 * Wikipedia:Wikipedians/Translators
 * The Montreal Wikipedia Meetup Group

Websites

 * My Blog ~ NEW!
 * Citoyen (on hiatus)
 * La Page du Fantôme (in reconstruction)

Favorite quotes

 * There is a time when quiet courage and audacity become for a people, at the key moments of its existence, the only form of adequate caution. If it does not then accept the calculated risk of the great steps, it can miss its career forever, exactly like the man who is afraid of life.
 * To be informed is to be free.
 * René Lévesque ~ QUOTES

 * Let us cease our fratricidal struggles and let us unite.
 * Honoré Mercier

 * God doesn't write books!
 * Bill Maher

 * It is more important to understand crime than to condemn it.
 * Charles Chaplin ~ QUOTES

 * Every time you get involved, it is a victory.
 * Paul Piché

 * Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.
 * Mark Twain ~ QUOTES

 * I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.
 * Charles de Gaulle ~ QUOTES

 * In the battle of life, it is not the critic who counts; nor the one who points out how the strong person stumbled, or where the doer of a deed could have done better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually strive to do deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends oneself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he or she fails, at least fails while daring greatly. Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.
 * Theodore Roosevelt ~ QUOTES

 * You see things and you say: "Why?". But I dream things that never were and I say: "Why not?".
 * George Bernard Shaw ~ QUOTES

 * If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.
 * W. C. Fields ~ QUOTES

 * The major problems of the world today can be solved only if we improve our understanding of human behavior.
 * B. F. Skinner ~ QUOTES

Bookmarks

 * Václav Havel
 * Olof Palme

Contributions
These are my contributions on Wikiquote. For the most part of my Wiki-contributions, please refer to my page on the English Wikipedia. Thanks for looking!

 * Pierre Bourgault
 * Adélard Godbout
 * Bernard Landry
 * René Lévesque
 * Honoré Mercier

title: User:Liberlogos~enwikiquote


text:
Terence

Publius Terentius Afer (195/185–159 BC), more commonly referred to as Terence, was a comic playwright of the Roman Republic. A Berber born in or near Carthage, his comedies were first performed between 170 BC and 160 BC.

Andria (The Lady of Andros)

 * Do not they bring it to pass by knowing that they know nothing at all?
 * The Prologue, line 17.

 * Ne quid nimis.
 * Moderation in all things. (Not anything in excess, a translation from the Greek μηδὲν ἄγαν. "Nothing in excess" as inscribed on the Temple of  Apollo at  Delphi.)
 * Line 61.

 * Of surpassing beauty and in the bloom of youth.
 * Act I, scene 1, line 45 (72).

 * Obsequium amicos, veritas odium parit.
 * Obsequiousness begets friends, truth hatred.
 * Act I, scene i, Line 41

 * Hinc illae lacrimae.
 * Hence these tears.
 * Line 126.
 * Variant translation: Hence all those tears shed.

 * That is a true proverb which is wont to be commonly quoted, that "all had rather it were well for themselves than for another."
 * Act II, scene 5, line 15 (426).

 * Amantium irae amoris integratio est.
 * Lovers' quarrels are the renewal of love.
 * Act III, scene 3, line 23 (555).
 * Variant translation: Lovers’ rows make love whole again.

 * Look you, I am the most concerned in my own interests.
 * Act IV, scene 1, line 12 (636).

Heauton Timorumenos (The Self-Tormentor)
Variant:
 * Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto.
 * Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto.
 * I am human, I consider nothing human alien to me.
 * Act I, scene 1, line 25 (77).
 * Variant translations:
 * I am a human and consider nothing human alien to me.
 * I am human, I consider nothing human to be alien to me.
 * I am human, therefore nothing relating to humanity is outside of my concern.
 * I am a man; I consider nothing human alien to me.
 * I am a man, I regard nothing that is human alien to me.
 * I am a man, I count nothing human foreign to me.

 * Periclum ex aliis facito tibi quod ex usu siet.
 * Draw from others the lesson that may profit yourself.
 * Act I, scene 2, line 37 (211).

 * Diem adimere aegritudinem hominibus.
 * Time removes distress.
 * Act III, scene 1, line 12 (421).
 * Variant translations:
 * Time heals all wounds.
 * Time assuages sorrow.

 * Aquilæ senectus.
 * Really, you have seen the old age of an eagle, as the saying is (i.e., a vigorous old age).
 * Act III, scene 2, line 9 or 10 (520).
 * Cited in Classical and Foreign Quotations (1904), no. 143

 * Many a time a man cannot be such as he would be, if circumstances do not admit of it.
 * Act IV, scene 1, line 53 (666).

 * Nil tam difficile est quin quaerendo investigari possit.
 * Nothing is so difficult but that it may be found out by seeking.
 * Act IV, scene 2, line 8 (675).

 * What now if the sky were to fall?
 * Act IV, scene 3, line 41 (719).

 * Ius summum saepe summa est malitia.
 * Extreme law is often extreme injustice.
 * Act IV, scene 5, line 48 (796).
 * Variant translations:
 * The highest law is often the greatest wrong.
 * Extreme justice is often extreme malice.

 * Aliis si licet, tibi non licet.
 * Some might, but not you.
 * Act IV, scene 5, line 49 (797).
 * Variant translations:
 * Though others were at liberty, you are not at liberty.
 * Even though it is permitted for others, it isn't permitted for you.

 * There is nothing so easy but that it becomes difficult when you do it reluctantly.
 * Act IV, scene 6, line 1 (805).

 * How many things, both just and unjust, are sanctioned by custom!
 * Act IV, scene 7, line 11 (839).

 * Modo liceat vivere, est spes.
 * While there's life, there's hope.
 * Line 981.

Eunuchus

 * Nullum est iam dictum quod non dictum sit prius.
 * In fact, nothing is said that has not been said before.
 * Prologue, Line 41.
 * Variant translation: Nothing has yet been said that’s not been said before.

 * It is up with you; all is over; you are ruined.
 * Act I, scene 1, 9, line 54.

 * si istuc crederem/sincere dici, quidvis possem perpeti.
 * If I could believe that this was said sincerely, I could put up with anything.
 * Act I, scene 2, 96, line 176.

 * Immortal gods! how much does one man excel another! What a difference there is between a wise person and a fool!
 * Act II, scene 2, 1, line 232.

 * I have everything, yet have nothing; and although I possess nothing, still of nothing am I in want.
 * Act II, scene 2, 12, line 243.

 * There are vicissitudes in all things.
 * Act II, scene 2, 45, line 276.

 * The very flower of youth.
 * Act II, scene 3, 28, line 319.

 * I did not care one straw.
 * Act III, scene 1, 21, line 411.

 * Jupiter, now assuredly is the time when I could readily consent to be slain, lest life should sully this ecstasy with some disaster.
 * Act III, scene 5, 2, line 550.

 * Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus
 * Without Ceres (bread) and Bacchus (wine) Venus (love) freezes.
 * Act IV, scene 1, 1, line 5.

 * This and a great deal more like it I have had to put up with.
 * Act IV, scene 6, 8, line 746.

 * Take care and say this with presence of mind.
 * Act IV, scene 6, 31, line 769.

 * It behooves a prudent person to make trial of everything before arms.
 * Act IV, scene 7, 19, line 789.

 * I know the disposition of women: when you will, they won't; when you won't, they set their hearts upon you of their own inclination.
 * Act IV, scene 7, 42, line 812.

 * I took to my heels as fast as I could.
 * Act V, scene 2, 5, line 844.

 * Many a time,… from a bad beginning great friendships have sprung up.
 * Act V, scene 2, 34, line 873.

 * I only wish I may see your head stroked down with a slipper.
 * Act V, scene 7, 4, line 1028.

Phormio

 * Fortis fortuna adiuvat.
 * Fortune favours the brave.
 * Variant translation: Fortune assists the brave.
 * Act I, scene 4, line 25 (203).
 * Cf. Virgil, Aeneid, Book X, line 284: "Audentes fortuna iuvat."

 * It is the duty of all persons, when affairs are the most prosperous, 12 then in especial to reflect within themselves in what way they are to endure adversity.
 * Act II, scene 1, line 11 (241).

 * Nil est dictu facilius.
 * Nothing is easier to say.
 * Line 300.

 * Quot homines tot sententiae: suus cuique mos.
 * So many men, so many opinions: to each his own way.
 * Act II, scene 4, line 14 (454).
 * Variant translations:
 * There are as many opinions as there are people: each has his own view.
 * There are as many opinions as there are people: each has his own correct way.
 * There are as many opinions as there are people: everyone has their own way of doing things.

 * As the saying is, I have got a wolf by the ears.
 * Act III, scene 2, line 21 (506).

Adelphoe (The Brothers)

 * I bid him look into the lives of men as though into a mirror, and from others to take an example for himself.
 * Act III, scene 3, line 61 (415).

 * According as the man is, so must you humor him.
 * Act III, scene 3, line 77 (431).

 * It is a maxim of old that among themselves all things are common to friends.
 * Act V, scene 3, line 18 (803).

 * What comes from this quarter, set it down as so much gain.
 * Act V, scene 3, line 30 (816).

 * It is the common vice of all, in old age, to be too intent upon our interests.
 * Act V, scene 8, line 30 (953).

Quotes about

 * as the Roman poet Terence said, “I am human, therefore nothing human is alien to me.”
 * Alicia Ostriker Interview

title: Terence


text:
Talk:Star Wars

Yoda & Jar Jar
There are pages that have been created for both Yoda and Jar Jar Binks. I propose that the quotations for those characters be moved here in further sections for quotes by notable characters, and those pages deleted. A minor amount of duplication that might occur on the page would be tolerable, and perhaps convenient for people looking for quotes from the movies. ~ Kalki 05:18, 5 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Prequel
Hmm...the prequel quotes don't seem up to par in comparison to later ones.... Oh, well! -Anonymous Coward

Reorganization
I suggest that we reorganize this article so that each film has subheadings for each major character, a section for other characters' individual quotes, and a section for dialog. Since this would expand the table of contents considerably, I also offer to create a custom TOC that will make it easy to jump right to a film, a character, or a dialog section. (See Blackadder for an example of what that might look like.) This would allow Jar Jar Binks to be redirected here, but still allow folks to find his quotes nicely grouped. (Same with Yoda and any other characters people might want to break out into a separate article.) Any comments?— Jeff Q (talk) 17:21, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Quotes that are needed for Episode IV
I don't have the exact quotes at the tip of my mind, but maybe someone who does could add the lines by Luke whining about wanting to go to Taji (sp?) Station to pick up some power converters, and Leia's quote about getting Chewie the 'walking carpet' out of her way.

next reorganization
I suggest that someone should add characters' subsections in films' sections, because: wikiquote is for people, who doesn't remember whole quote and who wants that quote find. Now for example in E III Revenge of the Sith quotes are very hard to find, because are lot of them and if someone wants to find only Yoda's quotes - he has problem, he must read most quotes in section Revenge of the Sith. Characters' subsections make quotes easier to find.

But be caraful not to delete any of the existing quotes by doing so. Copperchair 02:00, 31 August 2005 (UTC)

"What is a magician but a practicing theorist?"
This quote is attributed to Obi-Wan Kenobi all over the web, and in fortune. Sometimes it is specified that he said it in RotJ, whose script contains no such line (and nobody seems to remember hearing him say it.) Does anyone know the actual origin of this quote? (If anyone does know, I'd love a response on my WP talk page, since I don't exist on WQ.) -- Wikipedia user Glenn Willen []

This is actually from the novelisation of Star Wars A New Hope, ghost written by Alan Dean Foster. Since Foster was working from early script drafts, it's not clear if this comes from Lucas originally or was an invention of Foster.

Endless loops
Links to Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi are but redirections for this very page.

Should we create new pages for them, like for Anakin ? Or should we send the reader to Wikipedia, like for anybody else ? Valmoer 20:18, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

I vote to breack the cicle... I mean, create separate pages for Yoda and Ben Kenobi 201.211.68.206 04:59, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Overuse
I would strongly suggest a review be made of these quotes. In my opinion, there are way too many. The draw back to this is that it is difficult to find a good quote. It also masks the good quotes. Quotes like "NO!, I am your father" make sense, while quotes like "NOOOO!" are completely and utterly useless. How can the word "no" possibly be considered a memorable quote to the star wars films? Yes, one word quotes can exist that are memorable like Captain Kirk screaming "KHAN!!!", but that is different, and much more distinct to Star Trek. Thanks! -- 17:28, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

Cleaned up somewhat
I took the liberty of arranging the article not only by film, but also by character. It's sorted by last name (when there is a last name to use...). I also made all links for characters lead to Wikipedia instead of Wikiquote where applicable; having articles for each character is rather redundant if we have an index of quotes for the whole series.

It's far from perfect... especially the last two movies, where there is are lot of dialogues. Still better than it was though, I suppose.

Also, I am unsure of the speaker and receiver of this quote, for it had no such information attached to it. I believe it to be Yoda to Dooku. I have placed this under such, but feel free to correct me. It's in the second movie.

"Much to learn you still have...my old padawan."

Also, wasn't quite sure what to do with this one... badly transcribed. =\ I took it out for now. Again, second film of the prequels.

 * "Yes master," Anakin's reply, Obi-wan Kennobi continues, "He ran in here to hide not to run" Again Anakin replies,"Yes, master"

Episode V: Removed this:
 * (Loud, high-pitched, beep) -R2-D2

(Currently lacking Wikiquote-account) 69.157.250.99 23:53, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Not in Ep IV
I removed this line, it doesn't occur in Episode IV (only V and VI):
 * "Delusions of grandeur" is uttered in each film of the original trilogy.

--Theovis 19:06, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

I took out the line by Princess Leia, "I'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee!" because she doesn't say it in IV, she says it in V, and that quote's already in the V section.

--Jesussaves 11:45, 28 January 2006

Quotes From Episode III
You should include, "I've been waiting for this for a long time, my little green friend."-Darth Sidious, right before a lightsaber with Master Yoda

Split up by movie?
Should this page be broken up into an individual page for each movie? This page has gotten rather long, and each film is certainly worthy of a page here; it would also make each page a more manageable size. —LrdChaos 03:05, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

Split into individual pages
I've gone ahead and split this page into six new pages for each of the films (cleaning them up as I went). Please add any new contributions to the appropriate film's page. —LrdChaos 18:10, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

Common
What with quotes common for all Episodes like "I have bad feeling about this" and "May the Force be with You"?

Any EU quotes?
There's plenty of great quotes in the Expanded Universe. New page, maybe?

Ex: Thrawn doesn't have anything. Too bad; "But...it was so artistically done." That line, no one who has ever read The Last Command will forget. However, they do not have an appearance anywhere in Wikiquote.

-82 Airborne 75.16.54.240 01:35, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Episode 3 quote, book
"I have been trained in your Jedi arts by Lord Tyranus himself!" Obi-Wan smiles. "Do you mean Dooku? What a curious coincidence. I trained the man that killed him."

Why is this quote not on here? It's one of the coolest quotes ever.

Boba Fett article
I would suggest that this article not be merged with Star Wars, there are other characters from the star wars universe that have their own pages e.g Anakin Solo. Unless we create an other sub-section on there for Star Wars characters--McNoddy 12:15, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Darth Traya
Darth Traya should be merged somewhere. 70.55.85.177 07:52, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Other titles from disambiguation page
Redlinks and Wikipedia links moved here from the disambiguation page, pending possible future Wikiquote articles: The article also has a link to the main Wikipedia article for more complete information. ~ Ningauble 13:59, 8 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Feature films
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars (animated) (2008)
 * TV series
 * Star Wars: Droids (1985 - 1987)
 * Star Wars: Ewoks (1985 -1986)
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003 - 2005)
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
 * TV movies
 * Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984)
 * Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)
 * Video games
 * Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
 * Star Wars: Empire At War
 * Star Wars: Empire At War: Forces of Corruption
 * Soul Calibur IV
 * Star Wars Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II
 * Star Wars: Rouge Squadron III
 * Star Wars: Yoda Stories
 * Star Wars: X-Wing
 * Star Wars: Tie Fighter
 * Star Wars: X-Wing Vs Tie Fighter
 * Novels
 * Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker by George Lucas
 * Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut
 * Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels
Just to let everyone know that page is heavily requested on the Requested Entries list.(Dennys 18:01, 16 June 2009 (UTC))

Star Wars Comic Books series
So how many quotes are allowed on Star Wars Comic Book series? Also is it okay to add the Star Wars Comic Book series on this page?(StarWarsFanBoy 06:40, 28 February 2010 (UTC))

A section for Star Wars references?
I was wondering whether this would be an appropriate place to have famous quotes about Star Wars? I was thinking some of the lines from Clerks, South Park and Community, as well as some things Kevin Smith and President Obama have said, I'm sure other notable people have talked about it in public before. CensoredScribe (talk) 15:47, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

title: Talk:Star Wars


text:
Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu (孫子 Sūn Zǐ; c. 6th century BC) was a  general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of , a widely influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thinking. He is also known as Sun Wu (孫武; Sūn Wǔ), and Chang Qing (長卿; Cháng Qīng).

Chapter titles from Chow-Hou Wee (2003)

Chapter 1 · Detail Assessment and Planning

 * 兵者，詭道也. 故能而示之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之遠，遠而示之近，
 * All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
 * Variant translations
 * A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

 * 實而備之，強而避之，怒而撓之，卑而驕之，佚而勞之，親而離之，出其不意，攻其不備.
 * If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
 * Note: "If his forces are united, separate them" is also interpreted: "If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them."

 * 亂而取之
 * Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

 * 卑則驕之
 * Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

 * 孫子曰：國之上下，死生之地，存亡之道，不可不察也.
 * The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

 * 夫未戰而廟算勝者，得算多也；未戰而廟算不勝者，得算少也.
 * The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

 * 將聽吾計，用之必勝，留之；將不聽吾計，用之必敗，去之；
 * The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: — let such a one be dismissed!

 * 怒而撓之
 * If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him.

Chapter II · Waging War

 * 故兵貴勝，不貴久.
 * What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.

 * 近於師者貴賣，貴賣則百姓財竭
 * Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted.

 * 兵久而國利者，未之有也.
 * There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.

Chapter III · Strategic Attack

 * 上兵伐謀
 * What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

 * 知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆
 * It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
 * Variant translations
 * If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
 * Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know not thy enemy nor yourself, wallow in defeat every time.
 * Literal translation: Know [the] other, know [the] self, hundred battles without danger; not knowing [the] other but know [the] self, one win one loss; not knowing [the] other, not knowing [the] self, every battle must [be] lost.

 * 故用兵之法，十則圍之，五則攻之，倍則分之， 敵則能戰之，少則能守之，不若則能避之.
 * It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, defend against them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

 * 是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也.
 * For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.
 * Variant translations
 * Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
 * The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.

 * 古之所善戰者，勝於易勝者也.
 * What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

 * 知可戰與不可戰者勝.
 * He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.

 * 以虞待不虞者勝.
 * He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.

 * 凡用兵之法，全國爲上；破國次之；全軍爲上，破軍次之；全旅爲上，破旅次之；全卒爲上，破卒次之；全伍爲上，破伍次之.
 * In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.
 * Variant translations
 * It is best to keep one’s own state intact; to crush the enemy’s state is only second best.

 * 是故上攻伐謀
 * Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

Chapter IV · Disposition of the Army

 * 是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝.
 * Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
 * Variant: Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

 * 見勝不過衆人之所識，非善之善者也.
 * To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

 * 守則不足，攻則有餘
 * One defends when his strength is inadequate; he attacks when it is abundant.

 * 孫子曰：昔之善戰者，先爲不可勝，以待敵之可勝，不可勝在己，可勝在敵. 故善戰者，能爲不可勝，不能使敵必可勝. 故曰：勝可知，而不可爲.
 * Sunzi said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.
 * Translation by Lionel Giles

Chapter V · Forces

 * 治眾如治寡，分數是也.
 * Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization.

 * 積水之激，至於漂石者，勢也. 鷙鳥之疾，至於毀折者，節也.
 * When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.

 * 鷙鳥之疾，至於毀折者，節也.
 * The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.

 * 故善戰者，求之於勢，不責於人.
 * A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates.
 * Variant: The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.

Chapter VI · Weaknesses and Strengths

 * 微乎微乎，至於無形；神乎神乎，至於無聲；故能為敵之司命.
 * Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
 * Alternative translation: Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.'''
 * Alternative translation: O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

 * 人皆知我所以勝之形，而莫知吾所以制勝之形.
 * All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

 * 故形兵之極，至於無形，無形，則深間不能窺，上智不能謀.
 * The ultimate in disposing one's troops is to be without ascertainable shape. Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise lay plans against you.

 * 故善戰者，至人而不至於人.
 * And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

 * 故敵逸能勞之，飽能飢之，安能動之. 出其所不趨，趨其所不意.
 * When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.

 * 不遇敵者，必戰無不勝，但每次交鋒，終必敗北.
 * A man who never faces any enemies shall be invincible in battle, but will ultimately succumb to defeat in every confrontation.

 * Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.
 * Lionel Giles translation

Chapter VII · Military Maneuvers

 * 故其疾如風，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山，難知如陰，動如雷霆.
 * Fūrinkazan: 故に其の疾きこと風の如く、其の徐かなること林の如く、侵掠すること火の如く、動かざること山の如く、知りがたきこと陰の如く、動くこと雷霆の如し.
 * Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your gentleness that of the forest. In raiding and plundering be like fire, be immovable like a mountain. Be as hard to know as the shadow and Move as fast as lightning.
 * as swift as wind, as gentle as forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable as mountain.
 * Be as swift as the wind and as calm as a forest; invade like fire and stand steady like a mountain; be inscrutable as a shadow and move as lightning.
 * 圍師必闕
 * To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape.

Chapter VIII · Variations and Adaptability

 * 故用兵之法，無恃其不來，恃吾有以待之；無恃其不攻，恃吾有所不可攻也.
 * The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
 * Translation by Lionel Giles

Chapter IX · Movement and Development of Troops

 * 數賞者，窘也；數罰者，困也；
 * Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress.

 * In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.

 * 令素行以敎其民，則民服. 令不素行以敎其民，則民不服. 令素行者，與民相得也.
 * A leader leads by example not by force.

Chapter X · Terrain

 * 將弱不嚴，敎道不明，將之過也.
 * If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.

 * 故戰道必勝，主曰無戰，必戰可也；戰道不勝，主曰必戰，無戰可也；
 * If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding.

 * 進不邀功，退不避罪，唯人是保，而利合於主，國之寶也.
 * The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

 * 視卒如愛子，故可與之俱死.
 * Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.

Chapter XI · The Nine Battlegrounds

 * 吾士無余財，非惡貨也. 無余命，非惡壽也.
 * If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.

 * 兵之情主速，乘敵所不及，由不虞之途，攻其所不備也.
 * Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions.

'''
 * 施無法之賞，懸無政之令. 犯三軍之眾，若使一人.
 * '''Bestow rewards without respect to customary practice; publish orders without respect to precedent. Thus you may employ the entire army as you would one man.

Chapter XII · Attacking with Fire

 * 非利不動，非得不用，非危不戰. 主不可以怒而興師，將不可以慍而致戰；合于利而動，不合于利而止. 怒可以復喜，慍可以復悅，亡國不可以復存，死者不可以復生. 故明君慎之，良將警之，此安國全軍之道也.
 * Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical. No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life. Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution. This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army intact.
 * Translation by Lionel Giles

Chapter XIII · Intelligence and Espionage

 * 敵間之來間我者，因而利之，導而捨之，故反間可得而用也；
 * It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.

 * 故明君賢將，所以動而勝人，成功出於衆者，先知也.
 * Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

 * 故三軍之事，莫親於間，賞莫厚於間，事莫密於間
 * Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.

 * 此（譯注：用間）兵之要，三軍之所恃而動也.
 * Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.

Disputed

 * Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.
 * This has appeared as a variant of Sun Tzu's assertion to "leave a way of escape." Tu Mu, commenting on Sun Tzu, advises, "Show him there is a road to safety..." Ch. 7; it has also recently appeared on the internet attributed to Scipio Africanus, but without citation.

 * Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.

 * Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.
 * Attributed to Sun Tzu in multiple books and internet sites, but this text does not appear in The Art of War and seems to be a more recent creation.

Misattributed

 * Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
 * This has often been attributed to Sun Tzu and sometimes to Petrarch. It comes most directly from a line spoken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974), written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola:
 * My father taught me many things here. He taught me in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
 * Niccolò Machiavelli, who is also sometimes credited, wrote on the subject in The Prince:
 * It is easier for the prince to make friends of those men who were contented under the former government, and are therefore his enemies, than of those who, being discontented with it, were favourable to him and encouraged him to seize it.
 * There are also some attributions of a relatable comment to Genghis Khan:
 * To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.
 * This is sometimes attributed to Sun Tzu in combination with the above quote, as well as alone, but it too has not been sourced to any published translation of The Art of War, though it is similar in concept to his famous statement in Ch. 3 : "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles..."

 * Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
 * Probably apocryphal. This quotation does not appear in any print translation of Sun Tzu. The first citation in Google Books is from 2002; no citation in Google Books occurs in a translation of Sun Tzu.

 * The true objective of war is peace.
 * This attributed to Sun Tzu and his book The Art of War. Actually James Clavell’s foreword in The Art of War states, “’the true object of war is peace.’” Therefore the quote is stated by James Clavell, but the true origin of Clavell's quotation is unclear. Nonetheless the essence of the quote, that a long war exhausts a state and therefore ultimately seeking peace is in the interest of the warring state, is true, as Sun Tzu in Chapter II Waging Wars says that "There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on." This has been interpreted by Lionel Giles as "Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close."
 * Dr. Hiroshi Hatanaka, President of Kobe College, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan is recorded as saying "the real objective of war is peace" in Pacific Stars and Stripes Ryukyu Edition, Tokyo, Japan (10 February 1949), Page 2, Column 2.

 * Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
 * Sun Tzu among many other military thinkers and leaders believed in fate and determination from the correct application of theory, the state of the opponent's and one's own power, and a code for the general and a code for the soldier to follow, rather than the Machiavellian type of intuition that evokes an evolution of opportunism that brought great historical consequences as it dominated over the classical and medieval ethical doctrines. Thus this statement is contrary to Sun Tzu principles. Nevertheless, there is a possible relation to the quote: Quickness is the essence of the war.

 * In peace, prepare for war. In war, prepare for peace.
 * Sometimes erroneously prepended to the opening line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State", but appears to be a variation of the Roman motto "Si vis pacem, para bellum". It's not clear who first misattributed this phrase to Sun Tzu. The earliest appearance of the phrase in Google Books is 1920, when it appeared in a pharmaceutical journal, but no attribution was given then.

 * Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy.
 * Attributed implicitly to Sun Tzu by "William Riker" in the episode The Last Outpost of the TV program Star Trek: The Next Generation, but no source for this quote predates the episode's airing in 1987.

Quotes about Sun Tzu

 * 吳王曰：「將軍罷休就舍，寡人不願下觀. 」孫子曰：「王徒好其言，不能用其實. 」於是闔廬知孫子能用兵，卒以為將. 西破彊楚，入郢，北威齊晉，顯名諸侯，孫子與有力焉.
 * The King of Wu said，"Enough, general. Retire to your hostel, We do not wish to come down and observe." Sun Tzu said, "The king only loves the words, he cannot make use of the reality." After this, Ho-lu knew that Sun Tzu could command troops and in the end appointed him commander. [Later when Wu] defeated mighty Ch’u to its west and entered its capital Ying awed Ch'i and Chin to its north and spread its fame among the feudal lords, it was due in part to Sun Tzu.
 * translated by Tsai-fa Cheng, Zongli Lu, William H. Nienhauser, Jr., and Robert Reynolds, in The Grand Scribe’s Records, edited by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.
 * Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, 孫子吳起列傳

 * 諸將效首虜，（休）畢賀，因問信曰：「兵法右倍山陵，前左水澤，今者將軍令臣等反背水陳，曰破趙會食，臣等不服. 然竟以勝，此何術也？」信曰：「此在兵法，顧諸君不察耳. 兵法不曰『陷之死地而後生，置之亡地而後存』？且信非得素拊循士大夫也，此所謂『驅市人而戰之』，其勢非置之死地，使人人自為戰；今予之生地，皆走，寧尚可得而用之乎！」諸將皆服曰：「善. 非臣所及也. 」
 * After the various commanders presented the heads [of the enemies] and the captives, they all offered their congratulations. They took the advantage to ask [Han] Hsin and said, “The Art of War says ‘keep the hills to your right and your back; keep the waters to the front or at your left.’’ Now you, General, on the contrary ordered your subjects to draw up in array with our backs against the river and said, ‘We will defeat Chao and feast together.’ Your servants were not convinced. However, we won with this in the end. What strategy was this?” [Han] Hsin said, “This is in The Art of War, however, you gentlemen did not notice it. Doesn’t The Art of War say ‘They will survive after being trapped in a fatal situation and will live on after being placed in a hopeless position? Furthermore, I do not have well-trained officers. This is what is called ‘Drive the street rabble and have them fight.’ The circumstances were that I had to put them in a fatal situation and made every person fight for his life. If I had put them in a safe situation, they would have had already run away. How could they have been held and employed?” The various commanders were all convinced and said, “Well put. It is of [a level] that we could not reach.”
 * translation by Wang Jing, in The Grand Scribe’s Records, edited by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.
 * On Battle of Jingxing
 * Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, 淮陰侯列傳
 * Sun Tzu’s success teaches us that a successful general is one who fully calculates his approach and plans to fight in a battle. However, the average reader is not able to identify Sun Tzu’s teachings on a deeper or philosophical level. This is my reason for writing and exegeses on the Art of War.
 * Cao Cao, 《孫子略解》 Concise Explanations of Sun Tzu

 * It seems to me that The Art of War codifies the principles of kung fu, the martial arts: to co-operate with the enemy, to prevent all-out war when possible. I remember reading a lot of pages devoted to fighting with fire, and burning down cities. Devotion to tactics rather than ethics. I have a figurine of Gwan Goong, god of war and literature, reading a book. That book is The Art of War.
 * Maxine Hong Kingston Interview

 * By contrast, classical China produced many great generals, fought many wars and conquered many peoples but did not elevate military values above civilian. (It helped, perhaps, that the scholars rather than the military wrote the histories.) Fighting was not held up as something admirable but rather as the result of a breakdown in order and propriety. There is no equivalent of the Iliad in Chinese literature and the heroes held up for the young to emulate were the great bureaucrats and wise rulers who maintained the peace. Early on Chinese thinkers such as Confucius and the great strategist Sunzi (also known in the transliteration Sun Tzu) stressed that the state’s authority rested on its virtue as well as on its ability to use force. And for Sunzi, the greatest general was the one who could win a war, through manoeuvre or trickery, without fighting a battle. Prestige in Chinese society came rather from being a scholar, poet or painter; and from the Tang dynasty onwards the examination system to enter the imperial civil service was the favoured path for fame and prestige. Successful generals were sometimes awarded a scholar’s rank and gown as a mark of particular favour where many European societies would have given military decorations to meritorious civilians.
 * Margaret MacMillan, War: How Conflict Shaped Us (2020)
 * In the famous Chinese treatise The Art of War, Sunzi laid down precepts which succeeding generations studied carefully, among them the famous ‘Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat’ and ‘He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.’ He also had specific advice, with lists of key factors, situations or types of actions, on the various phases of war, from making the plans to choosing the right terrain to fight. From the Qin Emperor to Mao Zedong, The Art of War has provided leaders throughout China and Asia with guidelines for how to win a war. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the architect of Vietnam’s victories against the French in the 1950s and the Americans a decade later, was an admirer, as are the Western business people who have flocked to buy The Complete Sun Tzu for Business Success: Use the Classic Rules of The Art of War to Win the Battle for Customers and Conquer the Competition or The Art of War for Women: Sun Tzu’s Ancient Strategies and Wisdom for Winning at Work. Perhaps they like his assertion that ‘All warfare is based on deception’ or enjoy his passages on the importance of the strong leader for victory, and it must help that The Art of War itself is short and consists of pithy maxims.
 * Margaret MacMillan, War: How Conflict Shaped Us (2020)
 * The one thing missing from The Art of War is love, ... any sense of altruism, any sense of loving your neighbor. It's just a[bout] how to take advantage of your neighbor, how to triumph over your neighbor, how to manipulate your neighbor. I'm sorry... It's a very nasty book. How to use your spies — that chapter thirteen on spies — is chilling. The whole book — of course it's very clever, and of course a lot of it is very true, and of course we can go through life treating people in that way if you want to, but I don't happen to believe that's the best way to go. ... The Lúnyǔ [Analects of Confucius] is a superior book to Sūnzi bīngfǎ [The Art of War] because the Lúnyǔ talks about morality, talks about caring for your fellow human being; after all, the whole idea of ren ... doesn't come in Sūnzi bīngfǎ at all. Sūnzi bīngfǎ is: how to use your friends and neighbors in order to get the better of them. That doesn't make me feel good. I'm an old-fashioned kind of guy, and I believe in being nice to people whenever I can. ... You don't go out of your way like Sun Tzu to manipulate everybody including your friends. For me, Sūnzi bīngfǎ is the dark side of Chinese culture. It's the dark side. And, I know it's there. And there's a dark side to Western culture too. And, therefore, it's important to be aware of it, but not to be corrupted by it. Not to be polluted by it. Because it is a very powerfully-polluting little book. Very nasty little book. Let's not pretend otherwise.
 * John Minford, Lecture on Culture and Translation at Hang Seng Management College (20 February 2016)

title: Sun Tzu