Quotes by Scottish Authors

"So people will come along and do new things and sometimes return to the spirit of an earlier age."

Norman McLaren, Scottish Artist

Age, People, Spirit, Will

2

"Grief is a process, not a state."

Anne Grant, Scottish Poet

Grief, State

2

"The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food."

William Winwood Reade, Scottish Historian

Food, Habit, Curiosity, May

1

"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

Kenneth Grahame, Scottish Novelist

Adventure, Boats, Nothing, Worth

1

"In the time of battle the hammocs, together with their bedding, are all firmly corded, and fixed in the nettings on the quarter-deck, or whereever the men are too much exposed to the view or fire of the enemy."

William Falconer, Scottish Poet

Man, Men, Time, Battle, Enemy

1

"If a farmer fills his barn with grain, he gets mice. If he leaves it empty, he gets actors."

Walter Scott, Scottish Novelist

Actor, Actors

1

"I used to fish the Border rivers, but nowadays you have to queue up for a shot and I can't stand that."

Norman MacCaig, Scottish Poet

Hobbies, Fish, Rivers

1

"I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."

Adam Smith, Scottish Economist

Public, Trade

1

"Take a film of Jacques Tati like Mon Oncle which has something quite new - for me, unique - in it."

Norman McLaren, Scottish Artist

Film,

1

"I pick my favourite quotations and store them in my mind as ready armour, offensive or defensive, amid the struggle of this turbulent existence."

Robert Burns, Scottish Poet

Existence, Mind, Quotations, Struggle

1

"The head of a ship however has not always an immediate relation to her name, at least in the British navy."

William Falconer, Scottish Poet

Travel, Name, Navy

1

"God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

Eric Liddell, Scottish Athlete

God, Pleasure

1

"For, if a good speaker, never so eloquent, does not see into the fact, and is not speaking the truth of that - is there a more horrid kind of object in creation?"

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish Philosopher

Truth, Creation, Fact

1

"Globalisation will make our societies more creative and prosperous, but also more vulnerable."

Lord Robertson, Scottish Diplomat

Will,

1

"We hear of the wealth of nations, of the powers of production, of the demand and supply of markets, and we forget that these words mean no more, if they mean any thing, then the happiness, and the labor, and the necessities of men."

Francis Wright, Scottish Activist

Happiness, Men, Wealth, Forget

1

"Rule A: Don't. Rule A1: Rule A doesn't exist. Rule A2: Do not discuss the existence or non-existence of Rules A, A1 or A2."

R. D. Laing, Scottish Psychologist

Existence, Rules

1

"The simplest principles become difficult of practice, when habits, formed in error, have been fixed by time, and the simplest truths hard to receive when prejudice has warped the mind."

Francis Wright, Scottish Activist

Time, Error, Habits, Mind

1

"The experience and behavior that gets labeled schizophrenic is a special strategy that a person invents in order to live in an unlivable situation."

R. D. Laing, Scottish Psychologist

Experience, Strategy, Behavior, Order

1

"Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world."

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish Philosopher

Faith, Force, Kings, Persuasion

1

"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary."

Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish Writer

Politics, Thought, Preparation, Profession

1

"A rusty nail placed near a faithful compass, will sway it from the truth, and wreck the argosy."

Walter Scott, Scottish Novelist

Truth, Will

1

"I'm not a great believer in awards-of course the fact that I've never won one has nothing to do with it at all!"

Iain Banks, Scottish Writer

Society, Awards, Fact, Nothing

1

"I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose."

David Livingstone, Scottish Explorer

Purpose, End

1

"And the second question, can poetry be taught? I didn't think so."

Norman MacCaig, Scottish Poet

Poetry, Question

1

"And if they haven't got poetry in them, there's nothing you can do that will produce it."

Norman MacCaig, Scottish Poet

Poetry, Nothing, Will

1

"Film is changing, and it can't help but keep changing."

Norman McLaren, Scottish Artist

Film, Help

1

"If an eloquent speaker speak not the truth, is there a more horrid kind of object in creation?"

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish Philosopher

Truth, Creation

1

"It's easier for me to get three times the amount of money I really want."

Bill Forsyth, Scottish Director

Money, Want

1

"Cornering is like bringing a woman to climax."

Jackie Stewart, Scottish Athlete

Woman,

1

"And some poets are far better read off the page because they're very bad speakers. I'm thinking of one in particular whom I won't name, a good poet, and he reads in such a dry, boring way, your eyes start drooping."

Norman MacCaig, Scottish Poet

Art, Eyes, Name, Poets, Thinking

1

"Vanity dies hard; in some obstinate cases it outlives the man."

Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish Writer

Man, Vanity

1

"During the last war when there was a market for everything that could be produced, the production capacity of Canada and the United States, which were outside the battle area, increased one hundred percent."

John Boyd Orr, Scottish Politician

War, Battle, Canada, Production

1

"A man cannot make a pair of shoes rightly unless he do it in a devout manner."

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish Philosopher

Man,

1

"Consistency is very important when you're making films."

Ian McDiarmid, Scottish Actor

Consistency,

1

"A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy."

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish Philosopher

Heart, Joy, Kindness

1

"A business like an automobile, has to be driven, in order to get results."

B. C. Forbes, Scottish Journalist

Business, Order, Results

1

"In the long-run every Government is the exact symbol of its People, with their wisdom and unwisdom; we have to say, Like People like Government."

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish Philosopher

Government, Wisdom, People, Symbol

1

"The more I work with the body, keeping my assumptions in a temporary state of reservation, the more I appreciate and sympathize with a given disease. The body no longer appears as a sick or irrational demon, but as a process with its own inner logic and wisdom."

George MacDonald, Scottish Novelist

Wisdom, Work, Body, Disease

"Christianity has not conquered nationalism; the opposite has been the case nationalism has made Christianity its footstool."

Arthur Keith, Scottish Scientist

Christianity, Nationalism

"Marriage is like life - it is a field of battle, not a bed of roses."

Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish Writer

Life, Marriage, Battle, Bed

"I couldn't talk to people face to face, so I got on stage and started screaming and squealing and twitching."

David Byrne, Scottish Musician

People, Talk

"So, no, I'm not trying to crack into Hollywood, although I'll make films there if they're good scripts."

Ewan McGregor, Scottish Actor

Hollywood, Trying

"Into this pour the purified juice: and put it into a pan of water come almost to a boil and continue nearly in the state of boiling until the juice is found to be the consistency of a thick syrup when cold. It is then when cold, to be corked up in a bottle for use."

James Lind, Scottish Scientist

Consistency, State, Water

"Many people have played themselves to death. Many people have eaten and drunk themselves to death. Nobody ever thought himself to death."

Gilbert Highet, Scottish Writer

Death, Thought, People

"To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever."

Henry Drummond, Scottish Writer

Love,

"Afflictions are but the shadows of God's wings."

George MacDonald, Scottish Novelist

God, Shadows

"By drawing or exposing two or more patterns on the same bit of film I can create harmony and textual effects."

Norman McLaren, Scottish Artist

Film, Harmony

"My original opinion still stands. I don't think he should have put it out."

Lonnie Donegan, Scottish Musician

Opinion,

"It's better to be hurt by the truth than to gain satisfaction from the lies."

David Allan, Scottish Artist

Truth, Gain, Hurt, Lies

"I have some friends, some honest friends, and honest friends are few; My pipe of briar, my open fire, A book that's not too new."

Robert Service, Scottish Poet

Friendship, Fire, Friends, Open

"So people will come along and do new things and sometimes return to the spirit of an earlier age."

2

"Grief is a process, not a state."

2

"The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food."

1

"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

1

"In the time of battle the hammocs, together with their bedding, are all firmly corded, and fixed in the nettings on the quarter-deck, or whereever the men are too much exposed to the view or fire of the enemy."

1

"If a farmer fills his barn with grain, he gets mice. If he leaves it empty, he gets actors."

1

"I used to fish the Border rivers, but nowadays you have to queue up for a shot and I can't stand that."

1

"I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."

1

"Take a film of Jacques Tati like Mon Oncle which has something quite new - for me, unique - in it."

1

"I pick my favourite quotations and store them in my mind as ready armour, offensive or defensive, amid the struggle of this turbulent existence."

1

"The head of a ship however has not always an immediate relation to her name, at least in the British navy."

1

"God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

1

"For, if a good speaker, never so eloquent, does not see into the fact, and is not speaking the truth of that - is there a more horrid kind of object in creation?"

1

"Globalisation will make our societies more creative and prosperous, but also more vulnerable."

1

"We hear of the wealth of nations, of the powers of production, of the demand and supply of markets, and we forget that these words mean no more, if they mean any thing, then the happiness, and the labor, and the necessities of men."

1

"Rule A: Don't. Rule A1: Rule A doesn't exist. Rule A2: Do not discuss the existence or non-existence of Rules A, A1 or A2."

1

"The simplest principles become difficult of practice, when habits, formed in error, have been fixed by time, and the simplest truths hard to receive when prejudice has warped the mind."

1

"The experience and behavior that gets labeled schizophrenic is a special strategy that a person invents in order to live in an unlivable situation."

1

"Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world."

1

"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary."

1

"A rusty nail placed near a faithful compass, will sway it from the truth, and wreck the argosy."

1

"I'm not a great believer in awards-of course the fact that I've never won one has nothing to do with it at all!"

1

"I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose."

1

"And the second question, can poetry be taught? I didn't think so."

1

"And if they haven't got poetry in them, there's nothing you can do that will produce it."

1

"Film is changing, and it can't help but keep changing."

1

"If an eloquent speaker speak not the truth, is there a more horrid kind of object in creation?"

1

"It's easier for me to get three times the amount of money I really want."

1

"Cornering is like bringing a woman to climax."

1

"And some poets are far better read off the page because they're very bad speakers. I'm thinking of one in particular whom I won't name, a good poet, and he reads in such a dry, boring way, your eyes start drooping."

1

"Vanity dies hard; in some obstinate cases it outlives the man."

1

"During the last war when there was a market for everything that could be produced, the production capacity of Canada and the United States, which were outside the battle area, increased one hundred percent."

1

"A man cannot make a pair of shoes rightly unless he do it in a devout manner."

1

"Consistency is very important when you're making films."

1

"A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy."

1

"A business like an automobile, has to be driven, in order to get results."

1

"In the long-run every Government is the exact symbol of its People, with their wisdom and unwisdom; we have to say, Like People like Government."

1

"The more I work with the body, keeping my assumptions in a temporary state of reservation, the more I appreciate and sympathize with a given disease. The body no longer appears as a sick or irrational demon, but as a process with its own inner logic and wisdom."

​

"Christianity has not conquered nationalism; the opposite has been the case nationalism has made Christianity its footstool."

​

"Marriage is like life - it is a field of battle, not a bed of roses."