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.Man and Superman, Act III, 1903
Author · 54 quotes
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, critic, and political activist, born on July 26, 1856. He is best known for his witty and socially provocative plays, including "Pygmalion" and "Saint Joan," which often explored controversial and unconventional ideas on society, class, and politics. Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925 for his contribution to both literature and the common good through his work.
1856–1950·lived 94 years
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.Man and Superman, Act III, 1903
A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic.
Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.
You are going to let the fear of poverty govern your life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live.
First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity.
Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.
You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?
He who has never hoped can never despair
Man can climb to the highest summits, but he cannot dwell there long.
A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth.
Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.
The longer I live the more I see that I am never wrong about anything, and that all the pains that I have so humbly taken to verify my notions have only wasted my time.
There are some experiences in life which should not be demanded twice from any man, and one of them is listening to the Brahms Requiem.
There is no sincerer love than the love of food.
It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid.
The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it.
If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance.
Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.Everybody's Political What's What, Ch. 30, p. 256, 1944
Every man over forty is a scoundrel.The Devil's Disciple, 1897
If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.Man and Superman, Act 3, 1903
We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.Maxims for Revolutionists, 1903
My reputation grows with every failure.The Perfect Wagnerite, 1898
When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.The Collected Works of George Bernard Shaw, Vol. 1, 1966
It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics.
No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means.The Living Pictures, The Saturday Review, LXXIX (April 6, 1895), 443, reprinted in Our Theatres in the Nineties, 1932
Baseball has the great advantage over cricket of being sooner ended.
Youth is wasted on the young.Maxims for Revolutionists, 1903
Hell is full of musical amateurs.Man and Superman, 1903
Beauty is all very well at first sight; but who ever looks at it when it has been in the house three days?Man and Superman, 1903
Peace is not only better than war, but infinitely more arduous.The Yahoo and the Angry Ape, 1920
All great truths begin as blasphemies.Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress
Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not.Back to Methuselah, 1921
Independence? That's middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.Pygmalion, Act V, 1912
The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932
I didn't think; I experimented.
That is the thankless position of the father in the family - the provider for all, and the enemy of all.A Treatise on Parents and Children
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.Man and Superman, 1903
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.The Serpent, in Pt. I, Act I - Back to Methuselah, 1921
A happy family is but an earlier heaven.
People who don't know how to keep themselves healthy ought to have the decency to get themselves buried, and not waste time about it.The Doctor's Dilemma, 1906
I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself.The Man Who Gave Up Smoking, The Strand Magazine, March 1929
Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself.The Doctor's Dilemma, Preface, 1906
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.Everybody's Political What's What?, Chapter XXXVII: Creed and Conduct, p. 330, 1944
I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.
The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.Man and Superman, 1903
Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the company of intelligent women.A Treatise on Parents and Children, Project Gutenberg
Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.Gather Together in My Name, 1974
If you don't believe it yourself, don't ask anyone else to do so.Love Among the Artists, 1900
Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.Never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.Man and Superman, 1903
You don't stop learning because you grow old. You grow old because you stop learning.Life lesson of the day by George Bernard Shaw: 'We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because...',' The Economic Times, 2026
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.The Doctor's Dilemma, Preface on Doctors, 1911
That’s all 54 quotes by George Bernard Shaw.