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Absence Quotes

On what's missing, proven, or left unsaid.

These absence quotes range from a paradox about happiness needing no active pursuit to a logical reminder that a lack of evidence isn't evidence of nonexistence, a point often raised in debates over Belief.

Wilderness is not defined by the absence of certain activities, but rather by the presence of certain unique and invaluable characteristics.

Quotes by Nick Rahall

Discouragement is not the absence of adequacy but the absence of courage.

Quotes by Neal A. Maxwell

Our hours in love have wings; in absence, crutches.

Quotes by Miguel de Cervantes

The absence of diverse voices leads to policies and programs that adversely impact African-Americans.

Quotes by Marcia Fudge

But I still always felt the absence of a mother.

Quotes by Marcel Carne

Absence - that common cure of love.

Quotes by Lord Byron

Freedom is not the absence of obligation or restraint, but the freedom of movement within healthy, chosen parameters.

Quotes by Kristin Armstrong

In general, if signs of sectarianism do appear in a Socialist Party, these are only the products of the absence of a broad Labour movement in the country.

Quotes by Karl Radek

I seem to enjoy telling stories with a central absence, with a lacuna tunnelled into them.

Quotes by Junot Diaz

Barbarism is the absence of standards to which appeal can be made.

Quotes by Jose Ortega y Gasset

We seem, as it were, to have conquered and peopled half the world in a fit of absence of mind.

Quotes by John Robert Seeley

I've been fascinated by the idea that evil is the absence of empathy.

Quotes by John Connolly

Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.

Quotes by Janet Yellen

The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.

Quotes by Henry Kissinger

Absolute liberty is absence of restraint; responsibility is restraint; therefore, the ideally free individual is responsible to himself.

Quotes by Henry Adams

The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw.

Quotes by Havelock Ellis

There is a movement to get an international criminal court in the world, voted for by hundreds of states-but with the noticeable absence of the United States of America.

Quotes by Harold Pinter

A necessary consequent of religious belief is the attaching ideas of merit to that belief, and of demerit to its absence.

Quotes by Frances Wright

Los Angeles has been known as the center of creativity but has often been equally known for the absence of spirituality.

Quotes by Erwin McManus

To some extent, the mainstream's absence means the Tea Party is the Republican Party.

Quotes by David Remnick

Frequently Asked Questions

What do these quotes mean by "absence"?
These quotes use 'absence' in several ways—the lack of striving behind true happiness, the lack of proof as different from disproof, and even a historical description of what legally defined a southern versus a northern state before the Civil War.
Is the historical quote glorifying anything?
No, it simply describes a legal fact about the pre-Civil War era—that the presence or absence of slavery under state law, rather than geography, was what separated the two regions at the time.
Is there a quote about rest and idle time?
Yes, one quote argues that having nothing to occupy your mind isn't the same as true rest, since an empty mind can end up troubled rather than calm.
What's the quote about "absence of proof"?
It's a reminder that not finding evidence for something doesn't automatically mean that thing doesn't exist—a point often made in scientific and philosophical discussions.
Where can I find related quotes about belief or ability?
If this theme interests you, the Belief quotes page and the Ability quotes page explore adjacent ideas.

One historical line notes how the legal presence or absence of slavery once distinguished a northern state from a southern one, a fact worth remembering rather than glorifying. Read more in our Ability and Been quotes.