The quote archive
Each edition closes with words worth carrying into the day — from the news, and from the people who said it best before us.
“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms.”
— Gene Roddenberry, creator of 'Star Trek,' which premiered 60 years ago today · September 8, 2026
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
— Arthur Ashe, tennis champion · September 7, 2026
“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms.”
— Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, which marks its 60th anniversary this weekend · September 6, 2026
“Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.”
— Kermit the Frog, in 'The Muppet Movie' — as 'The Muppet Show' turns 50 today · September 5, 2026
“Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.”
— Tupac Shakur, whose 1996 murder case reached a verdict this week · September 4, 2026
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
— Arthur Ashe, tennis champion · September 3, 2026
“Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.”
— Tupac Shakur, whose 1996 murder case ended this week with a Las Vegas jury's conviction of Duane 'Keffe D' Davis · September 2, 2026
“Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.”
— Tupac Shakur, rapper (1971-1996) · September 1, 2026
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
— Dolly Parton, laid to rest this week in Nashville · August 31, 2026
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.”
— Billie Jean King, tennis Hall of Famer · August 30, 2026
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
— Dolly Parton, the country music icon who died this week at 80 · August 29, 2026
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
— Martin Luther King Jr., delivered 63 years ago today at the March on Washington · August 28, 2026
“Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos.”
— Yayoi Kusama, the pioneering Japanese artist, who died Thursday at 97 · August 27, 2026
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
— Dolly Parton, country music icon (1946-2026) · August 26, 2026
“If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again.”
— Aaliyah, "Try Again" (2000), remembered today on the 25th anniversary of her death · August 25, 2026
“It was scored a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.”
— Diego Maradona, on his infamous 1986 goal against England — the ball just sold at auction for £2.5 million · August 24, 2026
“Pressure is a privilege -- it only comes to those who earn it.”
— Billie Jean King, tennis Hall of Famer · August 23, 2026
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
— Jackie Robinson, Hall of Fame baseball player · August 22, 2026
“How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?”
— Satchel Paige, Hall of Fame pitcher · August 21, 2026
“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher · August 20, 2026
“If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance.”
— Orville Wright, aviation pioneer, born on this day in 1871 · August 19, 2026
“There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers.”
— Susan B. Anthony, suffragist -- the 19th Amendment was ratified on this date in 1920 · August 18, 2026
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
— Jackie Robinson, Hall of Fame baseball player — a fitting epitaph for Tommy John, whose 26-season career gave its name to the surgery that has saved thousands of pitching arms · August 17, 2026
“Values are like fingerprints. Nobody's are the same, but you leave 'em all over everything you do.”
— Elvis Presley, who died on this date in 1977 · August 16, 2026
“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”
— Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, in his independence speech delivered Aug. 15, 1947 · August 15, 2026
“Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa.”
— 'Field of Dreams' (1989) — quoted as the Phillies and Twins played MLB's return to the Dyersville, Iowa ballpark · August 14, 2026
“Best night of my life.”
— Travis Kelce, on his wedding to Taylor Swift at Madison Square Garden · August 13, 2026
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
— Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher · August 12, 2026
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.”
— Anatole France, French novelist and Nobel laureate · August 11, 2026
“They can't clone this.”
— Usher, responding to fan speculation that he used a body double onstage at MetLife Stadium · August 10, 2026
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life.”
— Henry David Thoreau, 'Walden' — published on this date in 1854 · August 9, 2026
“I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body.”
— Richard Nixon, announcing his resignation as president on this date in 1974 · August 8, 2026
“Life should be lived on the edge of life. You have to exercise rebellion.”
— Philippe Petit, high-wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers on this day in 1974 · August 7, 2026
“What we play is life.”
— Louis Armstrong, jazz trumpeter and singer · August 6, 2026
“I believe in hope. I believe in believe.”
— Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), whose show returns for season 4 on Apple TV · August 5, 2026
“What we play is life.”
— Louis Armstrong, jazz trumpeter, born on this day in 1901 · August 4, 2026
“You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you.”
— Mary Tyler Moore, actress · August 3, 2026
“Music can change the world because it can change people.”
— Bono · August 2, 2026
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.”
— Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th US president · August 1, 2026
“Make art. Make art.”
— Glen Hansard, accepting the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song for 'Once'; the Irish singer-songwriter died Thursday at 56 · July 31, 2026
“Make art. Make art.”
— Glen Hansard, accepting the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song; the Irish singer-songwriter died this week at 56 · July 30, 2026
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
— Oscar Wilde, playwright and poet · July 29, 2026
“A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.”
— Homer, 'The Odyssey' · July 28, 2026
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
— T.S. Eliot, poet and playwright · July 27, 2026
“A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.”
— Homer, 'The Odyssey' · July 26, 2026
“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.”
— Satchel Paige, Hall of Fame pitcher · July 25, 2026
“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”
— Andy Warhol, artist · July 24, 2026
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
— Oscar Wilde, playwright and poet · July 23, 2026
“Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.”
— William Safire, in the never-delivered contingency speech drafted for President Nixon in case Apollo 11 failed · July 22, 2026
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
— Ernest Hemingway, 'A Farewell to Arms' (born on this day in 1899) · July 21, 2026
“That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
— Neil Armstrong, astronaut, upon stepping onto the Moon on this date in 1969 · July 20, 2026
“You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it.”
— Lionel Messi · July 19, 2026
“It always seems impossible until it's done.”
— Nelson Mandela, born on this day in 1918 · July 18, 2026
“Nothing was handed to us.”
— Lionel Messi, Argentina captain, responding to critics ahead of Sunday's World Cup final against Spain · July 17, 2026
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
— J. Robert Oppenheimer, physicist, recalling the Trinity nuclear test of July 16, 1945 · July 16, 2026
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
— Dolly Parton, singer-songwriter · July 15, 2026
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”
— Nelson Mandela · July 14, 2026
“I'm not afraid to die, but it would annoy me.”
— Sam Neill (1947-2026), actor, in his 2023 memoir · July 13, 2026
“I came, I saw, I conquered.”
— Julius Caesar, born on this date by traditional reckoning · July 12, 2026
“I need a hero. I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night.”
— Bonnie Tyler, 'Holding Out for a Hero' (1984); the Welsh singer died Friday at 75 · July 11, 2026