George Bernard Shaw Quotes

He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.

All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.

I have very carefully studied Islam and the life of its Prophet (PBUH). I have done so both as a student of history and as a critic. And I have come to conclusion that Muhammad (PBUH) was indeed a great man and a deliverer and benefactor of mankind which was till then writhing under the most agonising Pain.

You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.

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

When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.

Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.

Your friends are all the dullest dogs I know. They are not beautiful: they are only decorated. They are not clean: they are only shaved and starched. They are not dignified: they are only fashionably dressed. They are not educated: they are only college passmen. They are not religious: they are only pewrenters. They are not moral: they are only conventional. They are not virtuous: they are only cowardly. They are not even vicious: they are only “frail.” They are not artistic: they are only lascivious. They are not prosperous: they are only rich. They are not loyal, they are only servile; not dutiful, only sheepish; not public spirited, only patriotic; not courageous, only quarrelsome; not determined, only obstinate; not masterful, only domineering; not self-controlled, only obtuse; not self-respecting, only vain; not kind, only sentimental; not social, only gregarious; not considerate, only polite; not intelligent, only opinionated; not progressive, only factious; not imaginative, only superstitious; not just, only vindictive; not generous, only propitiatory; not disciplined, only cowed; and not truthful at all: liars every one of them, to the very backbone of their souls.

Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.

"Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody can read."

[As quoted in Literary Censorship in England (in Current Opinion, Vol. 55, No. 5, November 1913)]

The thought of two thousand people crunching celery at the same time horrified me.

Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.

The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she’s treated.

When you loved me I gave you the whole sun and stars to play with. I gave you eternity in a single moment, strength of the mountains in one clasp of your arms, and the volume of all the seas in one impulse of your soul.