The 60 best phrases of George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw is one of the most influential writers and playwrights and well-known from the British Isles, having been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and being the author of works such as Pygmalion either Caesar and Cleopatra.

Sometimes considered the greatest playwright after Shakespeare, he was also known for his controversial views (for example criticizing democracy and approaching the Stalinist regime, pointing out the guilt of all sides of the First World War, supporting eugenics or criticizing the vaccination). Throughout his life he made numerous reflections on different aspects, and we will see the most interesting below. a compilation of phrases by George Bernard Shaw.

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Great quotes by George Bernard Shaw

Below is a small collection of phrases from this important playwright about different aspects of life, to get closer to his way of seeing the world.

1. Life is not about finding yourself. Life tries to create yourself

It is not that we are searching and reflecting on who or how we are, but that we forge our destiny from our actions.

2. First love is a little madness and a great curiosity

The author shows us the strangeness and intensity of the sensations that arise when falling in love for the first time.

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3. The man does not stop playing because he gets old. He gets old because he stops playing

This well-known phrase indicates the importance of maintaining a young spirit and maintaining joy and enthusiasm throughout life.

4. Ideas are like fleas, they jump from one to another but they don't bite everyone.

Ideas can be communicated but they only go deep with a few people.

5. Freedom implies responsibility, which is why most men fear it so much.

Freedom is a universal right and desired by all, but he also assumes the responsibility of taking charge of his own life.

• You may be interested in: "Does freedom of expression have limits?"

6. Hate is the revenge of an intimidated coward

Hating is a mechanism by which someone intimidated mentally establishes a mechanism or imagines an act of revenge.

7. If you have built a castle in the air you have not wasted your time, that is where it should be. Now you must build the foundation under it

Dreaming is never wasting time, as long as we do something to make those dreams come true.

8. Men err more often by being too smart than by being too good.

Many people consider themselves very intelligent and try to flaunt it, failing in the process.

9. The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one tries to adapt the world to himself. So progress depends on the unreasonable man

Reason has always been considered a great aspect that should govern our conduct, although deep down it is its absence which allows us to move forward as a society and as a species instead of just adapting to the world.

10. Virtue does not consist in abstaining from vice, but in not wanting it

For the author what is truly virtuous is not want vices or not give importance to them, instead of repressing their desire.

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11. There is always someone who kisses and someone who just allows the kiss.

A phrase that refers to the existence of asymmetries in the relationship and in the roles that are established.

12. The man who listens to reason is lost. Reason enslaves all who are not strong enough to master it.

Reason is useful and necessary, but we must not let ourselves be dominated by it and ignore our emotions and desires.

13. Obedience simulates subservience, just as fear of the police simulates honesty.

The author points out that following the rules or orders does not imply agreeing with them internally.

14. There are two tragedies in life: one is not achieving what the heart yearns for; the other is to achieve it

Not achieving something desired can be very frustrating, but also achieving it, having lowered the difficulties and stop serving as a motivation for action by not having to make an effort to achieve what wanted.

15. What truly flatters a man is that he believes that he is worth flattering.

In reality, what is said to someone to flatter him is not important, but the fact that he observes that he is considered worthy of doing so.

16. The fact that a believer can be happier than a skeptic is as true as saying that the drunk is happier than the sober man.

Happiness is completely independent of the fact of believing or not doing it. Certain beliefs are simply going to be maintained or not.

17. Poets talk to themselves and the world overhears them

Poetry is a way for its authors to verbally express their thoughts and emotions.

18. War does not decide who is right, but who is left

In war there are no winners or losers, and the winner does not necessarily have to be the one who is most right, but the one who survives.

19. Mirrors are used to see the face; art to see the soul

The author establishes a simile between both elements to show that art is a reflection of the interior of its creators.

20. Be very careful with the man who does not slap you back

Someone attacked may not initially strike back, but over time may rebel and strike back all at once.

21. Everything happens in the world, sooner or later, if there is enough time

Reflection that everything is possible and can come.

22. The worst sin towards our fellow men is not to hate them, but to treat them with indifference: that is the essence of inhumanity

Indifference generates much more pain than hatred, since while the latter recognizes the existence of the opponent, the former does not even accept him as an equal.

23. Progress is impossible without change, and those who can't change their minds can't change anything.

Be flexible and able to adapt to changes and generating new thoughts is essential if we want to achieve new goals.

• Related article: "The 13 types of learning: what are they?"

24. There is no better kept secret than the one that everyone knows

If everyone knows a secret, it will not be necessary to expose it, so the secret in question is ignored and forgotten.

25. A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

To err is human, and it implies that you have at least tried to do something even if it went wrong. It is always more useful than just imagining without trying to carry out our goals.

26. The possibilities are numerous, once we decide to act and not react

Along the same lines as the previous one, we are told that we must be proactive in life and not limit ourselves to reacting to what happens to us.

27. A gossip is like a wasp; If you can't kill her on the first hit, you better not mess with her.

Bernard Shaw warns us of the need to be careful with rumors and to keep in mind that if you don't nip it in the bud and try to influence it without success, it's more likely to be held true by others.

28. What intelligent man, if given the choice between living with roses or living without cabbage, would not run to secure the cabbage?

A phrase that expresses that the human being tends to look at the beautiful instead of the practical.

29. Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness

This phrase expresses the need to fulfill one's duty.

30. He who has never had hope cannot despair

Despair implies that at some point there has been hope, although this has not been fulfilled.

31. A winner is one who gets up and looks for the circumstances he wants, and if he doesn't find them, he makes them.

Being able to fight for and pursue what we want is what the author defends as what is necessary to be a winner.

32. All great truths begin by being blasphemies

We often find that scientific discoveries have been met with disbelief and opposition of the population because it can oppose the beliefs held prior to the regard.

33. Statistics is a science that shows that if my neighbor has two cars and I have none, we both have one.

Statistics is a useful tool, but we must bear in mind that it will not always represent reality, but an approximation or trend.

34. When two people are under the influence of the most violent, the most insane, the most illusory and the most fleeting of passions they are asked to swear that they will continue continually in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition until death separate them

An opinion of the author on love, passion and marriage.

35. The white American relegates the black to the status of a shoe shiner and deduces from this that he is only good for shining boots.

Criticism of racism and the consideration that some are inferior to others without taking into account that if they play a lesser role it is because they have been forcibly placed in that position. One of George Bernard Shaw's most vindictive phrases.

36. There is always danger for those who fear it

The danger is always there. We must accept it and face it without it paralyzing us.

37. Life does not stop being funny because a man dies, nor does it stop being tragic because a man laughs.

The world keeps turning regardless of what we do in it.

38. Human beings are the only animals I am completely and truly afraid of.

The human being is capable of great wonders, but also of enormous monstrosities and crimes.

39. The soul is too precious a gift for God to give to man for nothing. He has to win it, being or doing something

Phrase that drives us to do something to deserve to be alive.

40. My form of joking is telling the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world

In a world so focused on appearances, the truth is often something unexpected and unbelievable.

41. If you have an apple and I have an apple, and we exchange apples, then both you and I will still have an apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea, and we exchange ideas, then we both have two ideas.

The author tells us about the need to share thoughts, points of view and beliefs as an element for all of us to grow.

42. We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it, than to consume wealth without producing it.

We must not focus only on receiving, but also on giving and generating happiness.

43. I prefer the state of constant progress, with the goal in front and not behind

It is necessary to forge goals throughout life, so that we can move forward and not get stuck in the past.

44. No one attacks a lion when the field is full of sheep.

The author expresses that meekness and submission makes it easier for those who want to take advantage to do so, while strength of character makes it difficult to a great extent.

45. Give a man health and goals to achieve and he will not stop to think about whether he is happy or not.

Reflecting on whether or not we are happy is something we do when we don't know what to do or if we are doing the right thing. Setting stimulating goals makes us focus on them and we can be happy without having to reflect on it.

46. A gentleman is someone who puts more into the world than he takes.

This sentence proposes the need for our passage through life to leave something positive in the world.

47. Try to get what you like or you'll be forced to like what you're given

Phrase that indicates the need to fight for what we want.

48. After all, the wrong path always leads somewhere.

Even if the path we take is not the one we would like, we can always get fruit from it and it can take us to unsuspected places.

49. One man who has a mind and knows it can always beat ten men who don't have a mind and don't know it.

He who knows his limitations and his virtues is more capable of coping with life than those who believe they are much more than they are.

50. Success does not consist in never making mistakes, but in never making the same one a second time.

The key would be to learn from experience so that we do not have to stumble twice with the same stone.

51. People who say it can't be done shouldn't interrupt those who are doing it.

This phrase indicates that those who do not consider that certain things can be achieved should not interfere in the attempts of others to achieve what has never been achieved before.

52. The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

The author indicates that we lack the ability to communicate with each other, being frequent that we assume that others have understood or should see certain information.

53. Reading made Don Quixote a knight, but believing what he read made him a madman.

The author tells us the need not to take for granted everything we read or learn.

54. Man can climb to the highest peaks, but he cannot live there for long.

Everything that goes up has to go down.

55. People always blame circumstances.

Most people justify their lack of action or their current state by the circumstances in which they find themselves. However, although obviously these are going to influence, we can always try to find a means or other circumstances to achieve our objectives.

56. It's very easy to be respectable when you don't have a chance to be anything else.

Sometimes we have no choice but to be or act in a certain way.

57. Almost everyone knows how to start, the hard part is ending it

Starting something is relatively easy, but finishing it not so much. This is what happens, for example, with relationships that don't work well.

58. Do not do to others what you would like them to do to you. It may be that your tastes are not the same

For Bernard Shaw, we should not assume that we all think or feel the same, but we must take into account the great disparity of opinions and ways of seeing the world that may exist.

59. Justice lies in impartiality, and only strangers can be impartial

The existence of partiality or connection with one of the parties will make it difficult for us to be completely fair.

60. When God created the world he saw that it was good. What will he say now?

Shaw lived in a complex time, specifically going through the two World Wars and their consequences.