100+ Ways to Cite a Quote in Text: Ultimate Copywriting Guide

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” – Jane Austen, *Pride and Prejudice*.

“Call me Ishmael.” – Herman Melville, *Moby Dick*.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, *The Great Gatsby*.

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – Leo Tolstoy, *Anna Karenina*.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” – Charles Dickens, *A Tale of Two Cities*.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me.” – Charlotte Brontë, *Jane Eyre*.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, *The Hobbit*.

“He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun.” – Gabriel García Márquez, *Love in the Time of Cholera*.

“Big Brother is watching you.” – George Orwell, *1984*.

“We accept the love we think we deserve.” – Stephen Chbosky, *The Perks of Being a Wallflower*.

“It did not seem to me that I was really flung into the fiery furnace.” – Sylvia Plath, *The Bell Jar*.

“She was beautiful, and therefore she was half magic.” – Alice Hoffman, *Practical Magic*.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation…” – Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.

“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.” – Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream” Speech.

“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds…” – Winston Churchill, WWII Speech.

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong, Moon Landing Broadcast.

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill, Battle of Britain Speech.

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things…” – John F. Kennedy, Rice University Speech.

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?” – Patrick Henry, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Speech.

“Tear down this wall!” – Ronald Reagan, Berlin Wall Speech.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” – Frederick Douglass, July 4th Oration.

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson.

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe.

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt.

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney.

“I think, therefore I am.” – René Descartes.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle.

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche.

“An unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates.

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” – Marcus Aurelius.

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates.

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.” – Friedrich Nietzsche.

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” – Henry David Thoreau.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein.

“No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.” – Albert Einstein.

“Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” – Carl Sagan.

“We are made of star-stuff.” – Carl Sagan.

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” – Albert Einstein.

“In science, there is only physics; all the rest is stamp collecting.” – Ernest Rutherford.

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” – Theodosius Dobzhansky.

“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson.

“We stand on the shoulders of giants.” – Isaac Newton.

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” – Isaac Newton.

“Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity.” – Marie Curie.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein.

“May the Force be with you.” – Star Wars.

“Here's looking at you, kid.” – Casablanca.

“You can't handle the truth!” – A Few Good Men.

“There's no place like home.” – The Wizard of Oz.

“I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.” – The Godfather.

“Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get.” – Forrest Gump.

“You had me at hello.” – Jerry Maguire.

“Why so serious?” – The Dark Knight.

“Just keep swimming.” – Finding Nemo.

“I'll be back.” – The Terminator.

“You talking to me?” – Taxi Driver.

“To infinity and beyond!” – Toy Story.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost.

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” – Emily Dickinson.

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” – T.S. Eliot.

“Do not go gentle into that good night.” – Dylan Thomas.

“I contain multitudes.” – Walt Whitman.

“If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.” – David Carradine.

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” – Robert Frost.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep.” – Robert Frost.

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself.” – Walt Whitman.

“A poet is a nightingale who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley.

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” – Rudyard Kipling.

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” – Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

“Your vibe attracts your tribe.” – Unknown (popularized on Instagram).

“Be the energy you want to attract.” – Unknown (viral TikTok quote).

“Self-care isn’t selfish. You can’t serve from an empty vessel.” – Eleanor Brownn (widely shared on Pinterest).

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Theodore Roosevelt (often misattributed online).

“You do you.” – Popular internet phrase.

“Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.” – Mae West (revived on meme culture).

“Create the energy you want to receive.” – Modern wellness influencer mantra.

“Manifest it.” – Common phrase in manifestation communities.

“Put on your own oxygen mask first.” – Self-help analogy widely circulated.

“You’re allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.” – Sophia Bush (quoted across platforms).

“What you focus on expands.” – Law of Attraction principle (frequently posted).

“Your story matters.” – Empowerment slogan on social justice campaigns.

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Alan Kay.

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates.

“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” – Scott Belsky.

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon.

“Focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex.” – Steve Jobs.

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford.

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk.” – Mark Zuckerberg.

“If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late.” – Reid Hoffman.

“Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” – Guy Kawasaki.

“Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.” – Donald Porter.

“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” – Peter Drucker.

“Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.” – David Rockefeller.

“I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right.” – Unknown (internet favorite).

“I’m not lazy, I’m on energy-saving mode.” – Meme quote.

“I’m not short, I’m concentrated awesome.” – Humorous retort.

“I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.” – Benjamin Franklin (apocryphal).

“Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.” – Jim Carrey (attributed).

“I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not sure.” – Anonymous joke.

“I’m not procrastinating. I’m just prioritizing my laziness.” – Internet humor.

“I’m not weird, I’m a limited edition.” – Playful self-description.

“Common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it most never use it.” – Unknown (satirical post).

“I’m not clumsy. It’s just the floor hates me, the table and the chair gang up on me.” – Comedic excuse.

“I told my therapist I keep having flashbacks. He said ‘you need to pay your bill.’” – Dark humor.

“I put the ‘pro’ in procrastination.” – Sarcastic boast.