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Apprehend Quotes

On grasping ideas — and catching people who run.

'Apprehend' does double duty here: understanding a thousand things we never witness firsthand, and the literal work of catching a suspect, like the arsonist whose evidence burns with the fire.

There must be room for the imagination to exercise its powers; we must conceive and apprehend a thousand things which we do not actually witness.

Quotes by William Godwin

Freedom from care and anxiety of mind is a blessing, which I apprehend such people enjoy in higher perfection than most others, and is of the utmost consequence.

Quotes by William Falconer

Once you fully apprehend the vacuity of a life without struggle, you are equipped with the basic means of salvation.

Quotes by Tennessee Williams

I wish to present myself in front of the camera, each time under the features of a different woman. I would like to live and apprehend the problems, the conflicts, the feelings and the impulses of women radically different from...

Quotes by Romy Schneider

Able Quotes

If a person studies too much and exhausts his reflective powers, he will be confused, and will not be able to apprehend even that which had been within the power of his apprehension. For the powers of the body are...

Quotes by Maimonides

The serial arsonist is the most difficult to apprehend because the evidence is burned up.

Quotes by Joseph Wambaugh

To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry.

Quotes by John Holmes

I apprehend light - I make events that shape or contain light.

Quotes by James Turrell

That justice should be administered between men, it is necessary that testimonies of fact be alleged; and that witnesses should apprehend themselves greatly obliged to discover the truth, according to their conscience, in dark and doubtful cases.

Quotes by Isaac Barrow

Act Quotes

In reading the scriptures of truth, we often put wrong constructions upon them, and apply them improperly; and I apprehend it has often been the case in relation to this portion, particularly that part in relation to man's seeking out...

Quotes by Elias Hicks

On two occasions I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke...

Quotes by Charles Babbage

Where the suspect poses no immediate threat to the officer and no threat to others, the harm resulting from the failing to apprehend him does not justify the use of deadly force to do so.

Quotes by Byron White

Intelligence is quickness to apprehend as distinct from ability, which is capacity to act wisely on the thing apprehended.

Quotes by Alfred North Whitehead

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Apprehend quotes about?
This collection uses 'apprehend' in two distinct senses — grasping an idea mentally, and physically catching someone, most often a criminal. Both meanings appear across the sample quotes.
Why do people search for quotes about apprehending?
People look for these quotes when writing about understanding something fully, or, less often, when discussing the difficulty of catching a suspect or fugitive.
What's the arsonist quote about?
One quote notes that a serial arsonist is especially hard to apprehend because the fire destroys the evidence, using 'apprehend' in its law-enforcement sense.
Does 'apprehend' always mean understanding here?
No — the collection deliberately mixes both uses, from imagining things we never witness to literally catching someone, so the meaning shifts quote to quote.
Is there a philosophical angle to these quotes?
Yes, one quote ties fully grasping how hollow an unchallenged life would be to a kind of personal salvation, giving the word a reflective, almost spiritual use.

There's also a quieter use — apprehending how empty an untested life can feel, or apprehending the mental freedom that comes from having nothing to worry over. Both senses show up across these quotes.