Top 60 quotes by George Bernard Shaw

This Irish writer and playwright has had a great influence on contemporary culture.

George Bernard Shaw is one of the most influential and well-known writers and playwrights of the British Isles. and well-known writers and playwrights of the British Isles, having been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and being the author of works such as Pygmalion o Caesar and Cleopatra.

Sometimes considered the greatest playwright after Shakespeare, he was also known for his controversial opinions (for example criticizing democracy and approaching the Stalinist regime, pointing out the guilt of all sides of the First World War, supporting eugenics or criticizing vaccination). Throughout his life he made numerous reflections on different aspects, and the most interesting ones we will see below a compilation of quotes by George Bernard Shaw.

Great quotes by George Bernard Shaw

Below is a small collection of phrases of this important playwright on different aspects of life, to bring us closer to his way of seeing the world.

1. Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

It is not about us searching and reflecting on who or how we are, but about forging our destiny from our actions.

2. First love is a little madness and a great curiosity

The author points out the strangeness and intensity of the sensations the sensations that arise when falling in love for the first time..

3. Man does not stop playing because he gets old. He gets old because he stops playing

This well-known phrase indicates the importance of keeping a young spirit and maintaining joy and enthusiasm throughout life.

4. Ideas are like fleas, they jump from one to another but do not bite everyone.

Ideas can be communicated but they will only go deep into the hearts of a few people.

5. Freedom implies responsibility, that is why most people are so afraid of it.

Freedom is a universal right and desired by all.But it also implies the responsibility to take charge of one's own life.

• You may be interested in, "Does freedom of speech have limits?"

6. Hate is the revenge of an intimidated coward

Hate is a mechanism by which someone intimidated mentally establishes a mechanism or imagines an act of revenge.

7. If you have built a castle in the air you have wasted no time, that is where it should be. Now you must build the foundations underneath it

Dreaming is never a waste of time, as long as we do something to make those dreams come true.

8. Men are more often wrong because they are too smart than too good.

Many people think they are too smart and try to show it off, getting it wrong in the process.

9. The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man tries to adapt the world to himself. Thus, progress depends on the unreasonable man.

Reason has always been regarded as a great aspect that should govern our conduct, although in the end it is its absence that allows us to advance as a society and as a species instead of limiting ourselves to adapting to the world.

10. Virtue does not consist in abstaining from vice, but rather in not desiring it.

For the author, what is truly virtuous is not desiring vices or not giving importance to theminstead of repressing the desire for them.

11. There is always someone who kisses and someone who merely permits the kiss.

A phrase that refers to the existence of asymmetries in the relationship and in the roles that are established.

12. The man who listens to reason is lost. Reason enslaves all those who are not strong enough to master it.

Reason is useful and necessary, but we should not allow ourselves to be dominated by it and ignore our emotions and desires.

13. Obedience simulates subordination, just as fear of the police simulates honesty.

The author points out that following rules or orders does not imply agreeing with them internally. internally.

14. There are two tragedies in life: one is not to achieve what one's Heart desires; the other is to achieve it.

Failure to achieve something desired can be very frustrating, but achieving it can also be very frustrating, since the difficulties have been overcome and no longer serve as motivation to act, since there is no longer an effort to achieve what is desired.

15. What really flatters a man is that he thinks he is worth flattering.

It is not really important what you say to someone to flatter him, but the fact that he observes that you consider him worthy of doing so.

16. The fact that a believer may be happier than a skeptic is as true as saying that the drunkard is happier than the sober man

Happiness is entirely independent of believing or not believing. One is simply going to hold or not hold certain beliefs.

17. Poets talk to themselves and the world overhears them by chance

Poetry is a way for its authors to verbally express their thoughts and emotions.

18. War does not decide who is right, but who is left behind.

In war there are no winners and no losersAnd the winner is not necessarily the one who is most right, but the one who survives.

19. Mirrors are used to see the face; art is used to see the soul.

The author establishes a simile between both elements to show that art is a reflection of the interior of its creators.

20. Beware of the man who does not slap you back

Someone who is attacked may initially not strike back, but in time he may rebel and strike back all the blows together.

21. Everything happens in the world, sooner or later, if there is enough time.

Reflection that everything is possible and can happen.

22. The worst sin towards our fellow men is not to hate them, but to treat them with indifference: that is the essence of inhumanity.

Indifference generates much more pain than hatred, because while the latter acknowledges the existence of the opponent, the former does not even accept him as an equal.

23. Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

Being flexible and being able to adapt to change and generate new thoughts is indispensable if we want to achieve new goals.

24. There is no better kept secret than the one that everyone knows

If everyone knows a secret it will not be necessary to expose it, so that the secret in question is ignored and forgotten.

25. A life devoted to making mistakes is not only more honorable, but also more useful than a life devoted to doing nothing.

To err is human, and implies that at least one has tried to do something, even if it went wrong. It is always more useful than just imagining without trying to achieve our goals.

26. The possibilities are numerous, once we decide to act and not to react.

Along the same lines as the previous one, we are told that we should be proactive in life and not limit ourselves to reacting to whatever happens to us.

27. A gossip is like a wasp; if you can't kill it at the first blow, don't mess with it.

Bernard Shaw warns us of the necessity of being careful with rumors and to bear in mind that if you do not nip it in the bud and try to influence it without success, it is more likely to be considered true by others.

28. What intelligent man if given the choice between living with roses or living without cabbages would not run to secure the cabbages?

A phrase that expresses that the human being tends to look at the beautiful instead of the practical.

29. Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.

This phrase expresses the need to do one's duty.

30. He who has never had hope cannot despair

Despair implies that at some point one has had hope, even if it has not been fulfilled.even if it has not been fulfilled.

31. An achiever is one who rises up and seeks the circumstances he desires, and if he does not find them, he creates them.

To be able to fight for and pursue what we want is what the author defends as necessary to be a winner.

32. All great truths begin by being blasphemies.

We often find that scientific discoveries have met with disbelief and opposition from the public because they may contradict previously held beliefs about them.

33. Statistics is a science that proves that if my neighbor has two cars and I have none, we both have one.

Statistics are a useful tool, but we must bear in mind that they will not always represent reality, but rather an approximation or trend.

34. When two persons are under the influence of the most violent, the most insane, the most illusory and the most fleeting of passions they are asked to swear that they will continue continuously in that excited, abnormal and exhausting condition until death do them part.

An opinion of the author on love, passion and marriage.

35. The white American relegates the Negro to the status of a bootblack and infers from this that he is only good for shining boots

Criticism of racism and the consideration that some are inferior to others without taking into account that if they fulfill a lesser role it is because they have been forcibly placed in that position. One of George Bernard Shaw's most vindictive sentences.

36. There is always danger for those who fear it.

Danger is always there. We must accept it and face it without being paralyzed by it.

37. Life does not cease to be comic because a man dies, nor does it cease to be tragic because a man laughs.

The world continues to turn independently of what we do in it.

38. Human beings are the only animals of which I am completely and truly frightened.

Human beings are capable of great wonders, but also of enormous monstrosities and crimes.

39. The soul is too precious a gift for God to give it to man for nothing. He must earn it by being or doing something.

A phrase that urges us to do something to deserve to be alive.

40. My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world

In a world so focused on appearances, often the truth is something unexpected and unbelievable.

41. If you have an apple and I have an apple, and we exchange apples, then both you and I will still have an apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea, and we exchange ideas, then we will both have two ideas.

The author speaks of the need to share thoughts, points of view and beliefs as an element for all of us to grow.

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

We should not only focus on receiving, but also on giving and generating happiness.

43. I prefer the state of constant progress, with the goal in front of us and not behind us.

It is necessary to forge goals for ourselves throughout our livesIt is necessary to forge goals throughout life, so that we can move forward and not remain stuck in the past.

44. No one attacks a lion when the field is full of sheep.

The author says that meekness and submission make it easier for those who want to take advantage to do so, while strength of character makes it much more difficult.

45. Give a man health and goals to achieve and he will not stop to think about whether or not he is happy.

Reflecting on whether or not we are happy is something we do when we don't know what to do or if we are doing the right thing. Setting stimulating goals makes us focus on them and we can be happy without having to think about it.

46. A gentleman is someone who puts more into the world than he takes out of it.

This phrase suggests the need for our passage through life to leave something positive in the world.

47. Try to get what you like or you will be obliged to like what you are given.

A phrase that indicates the need to fight for what we want.

48. After all, the wrong road always leads somewhere.

Even if the path we take is not the one we would like, we can always take advantage of it and it can lead us to unexpected places.

49. One man who has a mind and knows it, can always beat ten men who do not have a mind and do not know it.

He who knows his limitations and his virtues is better able to cope with life than those who think they are much more than they are.

50. Success does not consist in never making mistakes, but in never making the same mistake a second time.

The key would be to learn from experience so that we do not have to stumble twice over the same stone.

51. People who say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

This phrase indicates that those who do not believe that certain things can be achieved should not stand in the way of others' attempts to achieve what has never been achieved before.

52. The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.

The author points out that we lack the ability to communicate with each otherWe often assume that others have understood or should see certain information.

53. Reading made Don Quixote a knight, but believing what he read made him a madman.

The author points out the need not to take for granted everything we read or learn.

54. Man can climb to the highest peaks, but he cannot live there for long.

Everything that goes up must come down.

55. People always blame circumstances.

Most people justify their lack of action or their present state by the circumstances in which they find themselves. However, although these will obviously have an influence, we can always try to find a means or other circumstances to achieve our objectives.

56. It is very easy to be respectable when we have no opportunity to be something else.

Sometimes we have no choice but to be or act in a certain way.

57. Almost everyone knows how to begin, the difficult thing is to put an end to it.

Starting something is relatively easy, but finishing it is not so easy. This is what happens, for example, with poorly functioning relationships.

Do not do to others what you would like them to do to you. It may be that your tastes are not the same.

For Bernard Shaw, we should not take it for granted that we all think or feel the same way.We must take into account the great disparity of opinions and ways of looking at the world that there may be.

59. Justice lies in impartiality, and only outsiders can be impartial.

The existence of partiality or linkage with one of the parties will make it difficult for us to be completely fair.

60. When God created the world he saw that it was good. What will he say now?

Shaw lived in a complex time, namely through the two World Wars and their aftermath.