There's no doubt that John Steinbeck was a hell of a writer. It didn't hit me so much when I first read Of Mice and Men–to be fair, I was a bit young for that one–but it felt more apparent when I read The Grapes of Wrath some time after that. And it really struck home for me when I picked up East of Eden and devoured it in a matter of days.
“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good," he writes at one point. It's a pretty popular quote these days–I mean, I'm quoting it right now, aren't I?–but it's a pretty hard-hitting thing to read when you realize that you're living up to impossible standards.
People shared their favorite quotes with us after Redditor krito-OP asked the online community,
"What's your favorite quote?"
From Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
SmittenKittenMittens
For those wondering: Learning from one's mistakes is inherent in the message.
From Mark Twain:
"Don’t ever try to argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”
GoldenBoy56
Mark Twain was sharp as a tack, that's for sure. And there have been quite a few idiots around in recent years if you get our drift...
From Eleanor Roosevelt:
"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."
SkylightDunelege
Would have been nice to figure this one out when I was muuuch younger, but it is what it is!
From Albert Einstein:
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything."
[deleted]
Understand that Einstein was born German and his family was Jewish. He was driven out of his home country, Germany, by the Nazis who put a price on his head.
From George Carlin:
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of’em are even stupider than that.”
[deleted]
This one feels more relevant than ever, doesn't it?
From John F. Kennedy:
"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
TallxCream4Eva
Who knows what JFK would have accomplished (and what the world might look like) had he lived?
From Maya Angelou
"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
629mrsn
This one hits you more deeply the older you get.
From Arthur C. Clarke:
"I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical.”
FatChemistryTeacher
We see what you did there, Mr. Clarke!
From "Abraham Lincoln":
""Don't believe everything you see on the internet."
TheGamingCJ
This one made you think twice, didn't it?
From Henry Hill, the lead in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990):
"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."
[deleted]
Annnnd we all saw how that worked out, didn't we? Didn't go so well.
There's a treasure trove of great quotes out there. Read more and you'll never run out of quotes to make you laugh, cry, or feel inspired.
If you have a favorite quote of your own, feel free to share it with us in the comments below!
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