George Bernard Shaw Quotes

In this post, we are going to see George Bernard Shaw quotes (GB Shaw Quotes). He was an Irish playwright, critic and political activist. He has considerable influence in Western culture and politics.

Apart from this, he had a great contribution in bringing a revolution in comedy-drama.

He was a prominent playwright of his time. He has also received the Nobel Prize in literature. So let’s know a little more about George Shaw.

Who Is George Bernard Shaw?

George Bernard Shaw was born on 26 July 1856 in the Portobello area of South Center City, Ireland.

His father was an alcoholic. So they were not very successful in earning money. Because of this, George faced a lot of poverty.  Apart from this, he did not get much affection from his mother. Due to this, he was deeply hurt.

George Bernard Shaw in 1894
George Bernard Shaw in 1894

George’s father was a conductor and singing teacher. So that he got a good knowledge of music since childhood. Apart from this, he used to read a lot of books too. Because of this, he had a great interest in music and literature.

He studied in about four schools. But he hated formal school education. He looked like a school prison and turnkey.

Because of this, he soon left school. He was to become a junior clerk for which he worked hard. And soon he became a cashier. After that, he changed his name from George Shaw to George Bernard Shaw.

A few years later, George Bernard’s father left Dublin and moved to London and never returned. And his mother was settled by someone else. In this way, their united family came to an end.

After this, Shaw learned to play the piano along with his work. And devoted himself to music.

A few years later Bernard Shaw also moved to London. Where he underwent rigorous self-education to become a writer and novelist. And only in 3 years, he became a prestigious theater and music critic.

After this, he decided to go into politics. So he joined the serialist Fabian Society and became its chief pamphleteer.

In 1894 he wrote the play Arms and the Man. Which got a lot of public success. After this, he wrote many Surrey plays. Because of which he became a popular dramatist of the twentieth century.

George Bernard Shaw in 1911
George Bernard Shaw in 1911

In 1938 he wrote a screenplay on top of the Pygmalion. Because of which he received the Academy Award. He continued to write till the last time of his life. He died in 1950 at the age of 94.

After his death, he received the State Honor Order of Merit.

George Bernard Shaw Quotes :

George Bernard Shaw Quotes
As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.  — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself. — George Bernard Shaw

If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you. — George Bernard Shaw

Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it. — George Bernard Shaw

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world and the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. — George Bernard Shaw

There is always danger for those who are afraid. — George Bernard Shaw

george bernard shaw sayings
Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great. — George Bernard Shaw

Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day. — George Bernard Shaw

I never resist temptation because I have found that things that are bad for me do not tempt me. — George Bernard Shaw

After all, the wrong road always leads somewhere. — George Bernard Shaw

Criminals do not die by the hands of the law. They die by the hands of other men. — George Bernard Shaw

george bernard shaw quotations
It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

Only in books has mankind known perfect truth, love and beauty. — George Bernard Shaw

Do not waste your time on Social Questions. What is the matter with the poor is Poverty what is the matter with the rich is Uselessness. — George Bernard Shaw

Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. — George Bernard Shaw

When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity. — George Bernard Shaw

All great truths begin as blasphemies. — George Bernard Shaw

bernard shaw quotes
Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

Liquor is the chloroform which enables the poor man to endure the painful operation of living. — George Bernard Shaw

The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honor. — George Bernard Shaw

Progress is impossible without change. — George Bernard Shaw

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. — George Bernard Shaw

We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience. — George Bernard Shaw

Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery – it’s the sincerest form of learning. — George Bernard Shaw

gb shaw quotes
Imagination is the beginning of creation. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out. — George Bernard Shaw

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.

Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated. — George Bernard Shaw

A pessimist is a man who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself, and hates them for it. — George Bernard Shaw

The liar’s punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Love :

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Love
First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

There is no love sincerer than the love of food. — George Bernard Shaw

We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Life :

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Life
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. — George Bernard Shaw

There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it. — George Bernard Shaw

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Happiness :

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Happiness
You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness and by no means a necessity of life. — George Bernard Shaw

Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby. — George Bernard Shaw

Believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. — George Bernard Shaw

The world will not devote itself to making you happy. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Quote About Success :

George Bernard Shaw Quote About Success
Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Circumstances :

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Circumstances
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them. — George Bernard Shaw

When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth. — George Bernard Shaw

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Quote on Woman :

The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she’s treated. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Democracy Quotes :

George Bernard Shaw Democracy Quotes
Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power. — George Bernard Shaw

Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Politics and Patriotism :

George Bernard Shaw Quotes on Patriotism
You’ll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race. — George Bernard Shaw Quotes

Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it. — George Bernard Shaw

He knows nothing, and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career. — George Bernard Shaw

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Quote on Communication :

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. — George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw Funny Quotes :

My way of joking is to tell the truth. It’s the funniest joke in the world. — George Bernard Shaw

I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation. — George Bernard Shaw

Final Words :

George Bernard Shaw was a great playwright and critic. He had achieved this great accomplishment through a lot of struggle. However, his views mostly aroused controversy.

But even today their influence is seen on English-language playwrights. And also, one English language word that expresses his thoughts is Shavian.