Quote of the Day

How quotes are chosen and verified

The quote for a date is picked by a fixed shuffled order of the 62 verified quotes: day number modulo 62 gives the position. The same date always gives the same quote, nothing is fetched, and each quote appears once per cycle. A quote is in the set only when its exact wording was found in the text of a cited source and the author and work follow that source. Famous lines we could not trace are left out.

This week’s quotes

1. 2026-11-15: “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.
2. 2026-11-14: “Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments, love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove.” William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116.
3. 2026-11-13: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address.
4. 2026-11-12: “When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet.
5. 2026-11-11: “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden.
6. 2026-11-10: “No one is useless in this world, ... who lightens the burden of it for any one else.” Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend.
7. 2026-11-09: “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," in Essays: First Series.

Archive by genre

Every verified quote, with its source. Each genre also has its own page of longer write-ups.

Change (9)

• “Things do not change; we change.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854 ("Conclusion"). Source
• “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854 ("Where I Lived, and What I Lived For"). Source
• “The sun is but a morning star.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854 ("Conclusion"). Source
• “Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you, You must travel it for yourself.” Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," in Leaves of Grass, 1855 (Section 46). Wording as in the Project Gutenberg edition. Source
• “Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt.” William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure (Act 1, Scene 4). Spoken by Lucio. Source
• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859 (Book 1, Chapter 1). Source
• “The old order changeth, yielding place to new” Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Passing of Arthur," in Idylls of the King, 1869 ("The Passing of Arthur"). Spoken by King Arthur. Source
• “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” the Bible (King James Version), Ecclesiastes, 1611 (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Source
• “The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise — with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.” Abraham Lincoln, Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862 (Concluding remarks). Source

All change pages

Work and career (6)

• “Work is love made visible.” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923 ("Work"). Source
• “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Circles," in Essays: First Series, 1841 ("Circles"). Source
• “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854 ("Economy"). Source
• “The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854 ("Economy"). Source
• “Nothing ever comes to me, that is worth having, except as the result of hard work.” Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery, 1901 (Chapter 12). Source
• “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery, 1901 (Chapter 2). Source

All work and career pages

Government (6)

• “That government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (Nicolay copy), November 19, 1863 (Closing sentence). Source
• “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in” Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865 (Closing paragraph). Source
• “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 (Opening section). Source
• “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961 (Closing section). Source
• “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Continental Congress, Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 (Second paragraph). Source
• “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The Framers of the U.S. Constitution, Constitution of the United States, 1787 (Preamble). Source

All government pages

Love (11)

• “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813 (Chapter 1). Source
• “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813 (Chapter 34). Spoken by Mr. Darcy in his first proposal. Source
• “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will” Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847 (Chapter 23). Spoken by Jane Eyre. Source
• “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same” Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, 1847 (Chapter 9). Spoken by Catherine Earnshaw. Source
• “Love one another, but make not a bond of love” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923 ("Marriage"). Source
• “Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923 ("Love"). Source
• “The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Friendship," in Essays: First Series, 1841 ("Friendship"). Source
• “Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments, love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove.” William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116 (Sonnet 116). Source
• “The course of true love never did run smooth” William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Act 1, Scene 1). Spoken by Lysander. Source
• “Parting is such sweet sorrow” William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (Act 2, Scene 2). Spoken by Juliet. Source
• “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety” William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra (Act 2, Scene 2). Spoken by Enobarbus about Cleopatra. Source

All love pages

Good living (17)

• “Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923 ("Joy and Sorrow"). Source
• “When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923 ("Joy and Sorrow"). Source
• “Insist on yourself; never imitate.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," in Essays: First Series, 1841 ("Self-Reliance"). Source
• “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," in Essays: First Series, 1841 ("Self-Reliance"). Source
• “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854 ("Where I Lived, and What I Lived For"). Source
• “Simplify, simplify.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854 ("Where I Lived, and What I Lived For"). Source
• “I am larger, better than I thought, I did not know I held so much goodness.” Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," in Leaves of Grass, 1855 (Section 20). Wording as in the Project Gutenberg edition. Source
• “And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.” Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," in Leaves of Grass, 1855 (Section 6). Wording as in the Project Gutenberg edition. Source
• “Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak Whispers the o'er-fraught heart, and bids it break.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth (Act 4, Scene 3). Spoken by Malcolm. Source
• “The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath.” William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (Act 4, Scene 1). Spoken by Portia. Source
• “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.” William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (Act 5, Scene 1). Spoken by Portia. Source
• “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, 1843 (Stave 4). Spoken by Ebenezer Scrooge. Source
• “No one is useless in this world, ... who lightens the burden of it for any one else.” Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, 1865 (Book 3, Chapter 9). Spoken by Mr. Rokesmith (the Secretary). Source
• “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” the Bible (King James Version), Psalms, 1611 (Psalm 34:18). Source
• “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” the Bible (King James Version), Psalms, 1611 (Psalm 30:5). Source
• “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” the Bible (King James Version), Psalms, 1611 (Psalm 90:12). Source
• “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” the Bible (King James Version), Psalms, 1611 (Psalm 118:24). Source

All good living pages

Famous people (13)

• “To be great is to be misunderstood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," in Essays: First Series, 1841 ("Self-Reliance"). Source
• “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," in Essays: First Series, 1841 ("Self-Reliance"). Source
• “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," in Essays: First Series, 1841 ("Self-Reliance"). Source
• “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," in Essays: First Series, 1841 ("Self-Reliance"). Source
• “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854 ("Conclusion"). Source
• “I celebrate myself, and sing myself” Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," in Leaves of Grass, 1855 (Section 1). Wording as in the Project Gutenberg edition. Source
• “(I am large, I contain multitudes.)” Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," in Leaves of Grass, 1855 (Section 51). Wording as in the Project Gutenberg edition. Source
• “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players” William Shakespeare, As You Like It (Act 2, Scene 7). Spoken by Jaques. Source
• “This above all: to thine own self be true” William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 3). Spoken by Polonius. Source
• “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (Act 1, Scene 2). Spoken by Cassius. Source
• “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.” William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (Act 2, Scene 5). Read aloud by Malvolio from a forged letter. Source
• “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Act 2, Scene 2). Spoken by Hamlet. Source
• “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Ulysses", 1842 ("Ulysses"). Wording checked against the 1843 edition. Source

All famous people pages

Submit a correction

Found a mistake in a quote, an author or a source? Email the editorial team with the page address and the source you found. We check each report against the original and update the page.