Quotes from George Bernard Shaw

Liquor is the chloroform which enables the poor man to endure the painful operation of living.

The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honor.

Criminals do not die by the hands of the law. They die by the hands of other men.

What you are to do without me I cannot imagine.

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.

We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.

A photographer is like a cod, which produces a million eggs in order that one may reach maturity.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

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.

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.

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

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

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)]

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.

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.

If you can't appreciate what you've got, you'd better get what you can appreciate.