George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin and was a civil servant's son. He was a critic, playwright, and political activist. He also has a literary career as a novelist and a polemicist. May these George Bernard Shaw quotes about life give you insights that will serve as an inspiration and motivation for whatever your goals in life.
1. “The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.” – George Bernard Shaw
2. “The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” – George Bernard Shaw
3. “There is always danger for those who are afraid.” – George Bernard Shaw
4. “Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.” – George Bernard Shaw
5. “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” – George Bernard Shaw
6. “Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated.” – George Bernard Shaw
7. “You don't stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” – George Bernard Shaw
8. “I am afraid we must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.” – George Bernard Shaw
9. “The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not.” – George Bernard Shaw
10. “The things most people want to know about are usually none of their business.” – George Bernard Shaw
11. “The test of a man’s or woman’s breeding is how they behave in a quarrel.” – George Bernard Shaw
12. “There is no subject on which more dangerous nonsense is talked and thought than marriage.” – George Bernard Shaw
13. “A doctor’s reputation is made by the number of eminent men who die under his care.” – George Bernard Shaw
14. “When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.” – George Bernard Shaw
15. “You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.” – George Bernard Shaw
16. “The faults of the burglar are the qualities of the financier.” – George Bernard Shaw
17. “There is no satisfaction in hanging a man who does not object to it.” – George Bernard Shaw
18. “It is not pleasure that makes life worth living. It is life that makes pleasure worth having.” – George Bernard Shaw
19. “A book is like a child: it is easier to bring it into the world than to control it when it is launched there.” – George Bernard Shaw
20. “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
21. “What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day.” – George Bernard Shaw
22. “A man of my spiritual intensity does not eat corpses.” – George Bernard Shaw
23. “A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence university education.” – George Bernard Shaw
24. “Do not waste your time on social questions. What is the matter with the poor is poverty; what is the matter with the rich is uselessness.” – George Bernard Shaw
25. “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” – George Bernard Shaw
26. “There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it.” – George Bernard Shaw
27. “Hell is full of musical amateurs: music is the brandy of the damned. May not one lost soul be permitted to abstain?” – George Bernard Shaw
28. “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” – George Bernard Shaw
29. “Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
30. “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw
More Quotes from George Bernard Shaw
31. “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw
32. “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” – George Bernard Shaw
33. “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw
34. “Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough.” – George Bernard Shaw
35. “The liar's punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.” – George Bernard Shaw
36. “My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world.” – George Bernard Shaw
37. “I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig, you get dirty; and besides, the pig likes it.” – George Bernard Shaw
38. “Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.” – George Bernard Shaw
39. “War does not decide who is right but who is left.” – George Bernard Shaw
40. “When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity.” – George Bernard Shaw
41. “Science never solves a problem without creating ten more.” – George Bernard Shaw
42. “After all, the wrong road always leads somewhere.” – George Bernard Shaw
43. “Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.” – George Bernard Shaw
44. “Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.” – George Bernard Shaw
45. “We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.” – George Bernard Shaw
46. “Two percent of the people think; three percent of the people think they think; and ninety-five percent of the people would rather die than think.” – George Bernard Shaw
47. “When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth.” – George Bernard Shaw
48. “Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.” – George Bernard Shaw
49. “A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out.” – George Bernard Shaw
50. “Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get.” – George Bernard Shaw
51. “Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.” – George Bernard Shaw
52. “Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby.” – George Bernard Shaw
53. “You have learnt something. That always feels at first as if you have lost something.” – George Bernard Shaw
54. “Choose silence of all virtues, for by it you hear other men's imperfections, and conceal your own.” – George Bernard Shaw
55. “Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.” – George Bernard Shaw
56. “If you can’t appreciate what you’ve got, you’d better get what you can appreciate.” – George Bernard Shaw
57. “The only service a friend can really render is to keep up your courage by holding up to you a mirror in which you can see a noble image of yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
58. “A miracle, my friend, is an event which creates faith.” – George Bernard Shaw
59. “The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honor.” – George Bernard Shaw
60. “It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid.” – George Bernard Shaw
61. “We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.” – George Bernard Shaw
62. “It is a curious sensation: the sort of pain that goes mercifully beyond our powers of feeling. When your heart is broken, your boats are burned: nothing matters any more. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace.” – George Bernard Shaw
63. “Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.” – George Bernard Shaw
64. “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw
65. “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw
66. “I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.” – George Bernard Shaw
67. “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.” – George Bernard Shaw
68. “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw
69. “When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.” – George Bernard Shaw
70. “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” – George Bernard Shaw
Share these Quotes by George Bernard Shaw with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.
1. “The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.” – George Bernard Shaw
2. “The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” – George Bernard Shaw
3. “There is always danger for those who are afraid.” – George Bernard Shaw
4. “Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.” – George Bernard Shaw
5. “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” – George Bernard Shaw
6. “Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated.” – George Bernard Shaw
7. “You don't stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” – George Bernard Shaw
8. “I am afraid we must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.” – George Bernard Shaw
9. “The only way to avoid being miserable is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not.” – George Bernard Shaw
10. “The things most people want to know about are usually none of their business.” – George Bernard Shaw
11. “The test of a man’s or woman’s breeding is how they behave in a quarrel.” – George Bernard Shaw
12. “There is no subject on which more dangerous nonsense is talked and thought than marriage.” – George Bernard Shaw
13. “A doctor’s reputation is made by the number of eminent men who die under his care.” – George Bernard Shaw
14. “When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.” – George Bernard Shaw
15. “You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.” – George Bernard Shaw
16. “The faults of the burglar are the qualities of the financier.” – George Bernard Shaw
17. “There is no satisfaction in hanging a man who does not object to it.” – George Bernard Shaw
18. “It is not pleasure that makes life worth living. It is life that makes pleasure worth having.” – George Bernard Shaw
19. “A book is like a child: it is easier to bring it into the world than to control it when it is launched there.” – George Bernard Shaw
20. “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
21. “What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day.” – George Bernard Shaw
22. “A man of my spiritual intensity does not eat corpses.” – George Bernard Shaw
23. “A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence university education.” – George Bernard Shaw
24. “Do not waste your time on social questions. What is the matter with the poor is poverty; what is the matter with the rich is uselessness.” – George Bernard Shaw
25. “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” – George Bernard Shaw
26. “There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it.” – George Bernard Shaw
27. “Hell is full of musical amateurs: music is the brandy of the damned. May not one lost soul be permitted to abstain?” – George Bernard Shaw
28. “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” – George Bernard Shaw
29. “Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
30. “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw
More Quotes from George Bernard Shaw
31. “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw
32. “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” – George Bernard Shaw
33. “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw
34. “Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough.” – George Bernard Shaw
35. “The liar's punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.” – George Bernard Shaw
36. “My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world.” – George Bernard Shaw
37. “I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig, you get dirty; and besides, the pig likes it.” – George Bernard Shaw
38. “Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.” – George Bernard Shaw
39. “War does not decide who is right but who is left.” – George Bernard Shaw
40. “When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity.” – George Bernard Shaw
41. “Science never solves a problem without creating ten more.” – George Bernard Shaw
42. “After all, the wrong road always leads somewhere.” – George Bernard Shaw
43. “Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.” – George Bernard Shaw
44. “Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.” – George Bernard Shaw
45. “We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.” – George Bernard Shaw
46. “Two percent of the people think; three percent of the people think they think; and ninety-five percent of the people would rather die than think.” – George Bernard Shaw
47. “When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth.” – George Bernard Shaw
48. “Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.” – George Bernard Shaw
49. “A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out.” – George Bernard Shaw
50. “Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get.” – George Bernard Shaw
51. “Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.” – George Bernard Shaw
52. “Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby.” – George Bernard Shaw
53. “You have learnt something. That always feels at first as if you have lost something.” – George Bernard Shaw
54. “Choose silence of all virtues, for by it you hear other men's imperfections, and conceal your own.” – George Bernard Shaw
55. “Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.” – George Bernard Shaw
56. “If you can’t appreciate what you’ve got, you’d better get what you can appreciate.” – George Bernard Shaw
57. “The only service a friend can really render is to keep up your courage by holding up to you a mirror in which you can see a noble image of yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
58. “A miracle, my friend, is an event which creates faith.” – George Bernard Shaw
59. “The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honor.” – George Bernard Shaw
60. “It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid.” – George Bernard Shaw
61. “We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.” – George Bernard Shaw
62. “It is a curious sensation: the sort of pain that goes mercifully beyond our powers of feeling. When your heart is broken, your boats are burned: nothing matters any more. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace.” – George Bernard Shaw
63. “Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.” – George Bernard Shaw
64. “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw
65. “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw
66. “I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.” – George Bernard Shaw
67. “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.” – George Bernard Shaw
68. “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw
69. “When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.” – George Bernard Shaw
70. “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” – George Bernard Shaw
Share these Quotes by George Bernard Shaw with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.