1856 - 1950
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.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.
Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.
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.
Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.
If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.
When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.
Beauty is all very well at first sight; but who ever looks at it when it has been in the house three days?
Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not.
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 know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself.
I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.
Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.
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.
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.
You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?
A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth.
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.
The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it.
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
Independence? That's middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.
That is the thankless position of the father in the family - the provider for all, and the enemy of all.
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 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.
If you don't believe it yourself, don't ask anyone else to do so.
You don't stop learning because you grow old. You grow old because you stop learning.
If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance.
No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means.
The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.
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.
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the company of intelligent women.
Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.