Famous Quotes About The Power Of Words That Linked To Reliable Sources

Finally there is a list of famous quotes about the power of words with full citations.

In other words, all the quotes here are definitely authentic.

You just click on the citation below each quote, and it will link you to the reliable source.

All the sources are verified authentic.

Please be informed:

I DO NOT link all those unreliable quote books or quotation websites

Anyway, talking about words…

When was the last time you carefully listen to yourself speaking?

I’m not talking about the way you speak, but the words that you say to yourself or to others.

Even the words you hear in your head have great effect on us.

All our actions, decisions and resolutions, they are come from words we hear from ourselves.

So always, pay close attention to the words you use and the words you speak.

If they are not chosen or use appropriately, they could harm you.

In other words, words have power.

Choose and use them wisely.

Famous Quotes About The Power Of Words

Here a great list of quotes about the use and the power of words:

“They only apply their minds to excuse their injustices; they only use words to cover up their thoughts.” – Voltaire

“Ils ne se servent de la pensée que pour autoriser leurs injustices, et n’emploient les paroles que pour déguiser leurs pensées.” (French)

“The language of friendship is not words but meanings.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been!” – John Greenleaf. Whittier

(Maud Muller By John Greanleaf Whittier, With Illustrations By W. J. Hennessy, Fields, Osgood, & Co.,1870; p.15)

“Words are also actions, and actions are a kind of words.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Emerson: Poems By Ralph Waldo Emerson, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012, Longer Poems, From The Poet, p.247)

“For if your meaning’s threatened with stagnation, Then words come in to save the situation.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Denn eben wo Begriffe fehlen, Da stellt ein Wort zur rechten Zeit sich ein.” (German)

(Faust Part I By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Translated By Philip Wayne, Edited By E. V. Ribu, Penguin Books, 1954, Faust’s Study (iii); p.97)

Another English translation:

“…when the sense may halt, a word, adroitly used, conceals the fault.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(The Faust Of Goethe By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Attempted, In English Rhyme By Honorable Robert Talbot, Smith, Elder And Co. Cornhill, 1835; p.99)

(The quote in French is found in: The Faust Of Goethe: Part The First, Translated Into English Rhyme By Honorable Robert Talbot, With German Text On Alternate Pages And Additional Notes, J. Wacey, 1839, p.211)

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

“….if I found the right words you must remember that I have always earned my living by my pen and by my tongue.” – Winston Churchill

(Churchill: The Power Of Words: His Remarkable Life Recounted through His Writings And Speeches By Winston Churchill, Selected, Edited And Introduced By Martin Gilbert, Hachette UK, 2012, The Most Memorable Public Occasion Of My Life)

“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly – they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” – Aldous Huxley

(Brave New World By Aldous Huxley, Ch. Four; p.52)

“Words may show a man’s wit, but actions his meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin

(The Life Of Benjamin Franklin, Written By Himself, Edited By John Bigelow, Volume I, Fourth Edition, J.B. Lippincott, 1900, Ch. VII, Poor Richard’s Almanac; p.601)

(The quote is also found in: Poor Richard’s Almanack By Benjamin Franklin, The U.S.C. Publishing Co., 1914, 657; p.61)

“If your words are not humble, it will be difficult to put them into action.” – Confucius

“其言之不怍、則爲之也難 .” (Mandarin)

(The quote both in English and Mandarin is found in: The Analects Of Confucius Translated By A. Charles Muller, Xian wen 憲問, 14:20)

“Sweet words are like honey, a little may refresh, but too much gluts the stomach.” – Anne Bradstreet

(A woman’s Inner World: Selected Poetry And Prose Of Anne Bradstreet, Edited With An Introduction By Adelaide P. Amore, University Press of America, 1982, 9; p.67)

“…to me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music that words make.” – Truman Capote

(Truman Capote: Conversations By Truman Capote, “Go Right Ahead And Ask Me Anything.” (And So She Did) An Interview With Truman Capote, Gloria Steinem/1967, From McCall’s 95 (November 1967), 76-77, 148-15, 154; p.88)

“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” – Stephen King

(Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus Compiled By Christine A. Lindberg, Oxford University Press, 2012, Introduction, Remodeling “The Warehouse Of Roget”: How the Thesaurus Is Being Reinvented As A Writer’s Tool By Ben Zimmer; p.xii)

“You can change your world by changing your words… Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue.” – Joel Osteen

“For words are wise men’s counters, they do but reckon by them; but they are the money of fools…” – Thomas Hobbes

(The English Works Of Thomas Hobbes Of Malmesbury; Now First Collecte And Edited By Sir William Molesworth, Bart, Vol.III, John Bohn, 1839, Leviathan, Or The Matter, Form, And Power Of A Commonwealth Ecclesiastical And Civil, Part I. Of Man, Ch.4, Of Speech; p.25)

(The quote is also found in: Leviathan , Or The Matter, Form, And Power Of A Commonwealth Ecclesiastical And Civil, Thomas Hobbes Of Malmesbury, Wih An Essay By The Late W.G. Pogson Smith, Introduction By Jennifer J. Popiel, George Routledge and Sons, 1886, Part I. Of Man, Ch.IV, Of Speech; p.25)

“When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words, than thy words without a heart.” – John Bunyan

(The Complete Works Of John Bunyan, With An Introduction By Rev. John P. Gulliver, D.D., Bradley, Garretson & Co., 1873, Mr. John Bunyan’s Dying Sayings, Of Prayer; p.80)

(The quote is also found in:

“All my life I’ve looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.” – Ernest Hemingway

(Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917–1961, Edited By Carlos Baker, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1959, Selected Letters 1917–1961; p.583)

(The quote is also found in: Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917–1961, Edited By Carlos Baker, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1981, Selected Letters 1917–1961; p.583)

“Volatility of words is carelessness in actions; words are the wings of actions.” – John Caspar Lavater

(Aphorisms On Man Translated From The Original Manuscript Of Rev. John Caspar Lavater, Citizen Of Zuric, J. Johnson, S. Paul’s Church, 1794, Aphorisms, 396; p.137)

(The quote is also found here.)

“Better than a thousand useless words is one useful word, hearing which one attains peace.” – Buddha

(The quote is also found in: The Dhammapada, The Buddha’s Path, Ch. 8, The Thousands, 100)

“Actions are the first tragedy in life, words are the second. Words are perhaps the worst. Words are merciless. . .” – Oscar Wilde

(Lady Windermere’s Fan: A Play About A Good Woman By Oscar Wilde, Leonard Smithers , 1903, Fourth Act, Scene – Same As In Act I.; p.107)

(The quote is also found in: Lady Windermere’s Fan By Oscar Wilde, Edited By Ian Small, A&C Black, 2014, Act IV, Scene: Same As In Act I; p.72)

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost

(The Cincinnati Enquirer, Robert Frost’s Secret By Ray Josephs, September 5, 1954; p.54)

“Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.” – Lao Tze (Laozi)

“信言不美，美言不信.” (Mandarin)

(Dao De Jing By Lao Tze, English Translation By James Legge)

Another English translation:

“True words are not pleasant; pleasant words are not true.” – Lao Tzu

(Lao-Tze’s Tao Teh-King, Chinese-English, With Introduction, Translation And Notes By Dr. Paul Carus, The Open Court Publishing Company, 1898, 81. Propounding The Essential; p.137)

Note: More English version of Tao Te Ching can be found here.)