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Never Quotes

Quotes on what never happens.

This page gathers quotes centered on absence and limits - books that stayed unpublished, and a pointed line arguing that secrecy is fundamentally undesirable, merely tolerated when unavoidable. Related reading includes Life Quotes.

Heaven can never countenance the barbarous and unmanly practice of the Britons in America, which savages would blush at, and which, if not discontinued, will soon be retaliated on Britain by a justly enraged people.

Quotes by John Paul Jones

Of course, when I joined the Navy and when I took up the correspondence course in cryptography, I had to sign an oath that I would never reveal what sort of work I was involved in. It was only some...

Quotes by John Paul Stevens

I had been born a Republican. My dad was an active Republican, but he was not active in politics and I really never was either. It's true that I did belong to that party, but it really had very little...

Quotes by John Paul Stevens

During my years as a practicing lawyer, it just was part of your study of what Congress was trying to say in their statutes. I never really considered judges or scholars as either those who used legislative history or those...

Quotes by John Paul Stevens

I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones.

Quotes by John Peel

I was a theater man, so I was never in the situation of being a handsome Hollywood leading man, and then having to age.

Quotes by John Noble

I do not - I never believed it's better to kill a terrorist than to detain him. We want to detain as many terrorists as possible so we can elicit the intelligence from them in the appropriate manner so that...

Quotes by John O. Brennan

Simply stated, the need for accurate intelligence and prescient analysis from CIA has never been greater than it is in 2013 - or than it will be in the coming years.

Quotes by John O. Brennan

The thing is, we've changed our style but we've never changed the actual roots of what we've done.

Quotes by John Oates

There's never any time I think I'm a real journalist, because I don't have any of the qualifications or the intentions for that.

Quotes by John Oliver

I did sketch comedy, but I never did improv. So I've just tried to learn as I go.

Quotes by John Oliver

The human longings that are deep inside of us never go away. They exist across cultures; they exist throughout life. When people were first made, our deepest longing was to know and be known. And after the Fall, when we...

Quotes by John Ortberg

I feel blessed. I never wanted to be an actor. It just happened all by chance and fate. I was studying to be a teacher.

Quotes by John Ortiz

The history of trying to start a daily where there already is one is that it has never worked.

Quotes by John Morton

It looks like things are changing in north London. Tottenham have gone down a road they've never been down before. They've kept their best players and pushed young English ones through. They've started to match Arsenal - who were light...

Quotes by John Motson

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.

Quotes by John Muir

I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.

Quotes by John Muir

I was sure we would never see the adoption of the Euro. Countries giving up their currencies for a common tender was, it seemed to me, completely out of tune with currency being a carrier of people's cultural identity, celebrating...

Quotes by John Naisbitt

Obedience to the word in humility of mind never confuses.

Quotes by John Nelson Darby

I remember Tom Baker once said to me many years ago: never go back, particularly with TV shows. This is because the track record for characters returning to series they've left is not very good.

Quotes by John Nettles

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of quotes are gathered under "Never"?
These quotes explore things that haven't happened, aren't wanted, or weren't anticipated — unpublished books that never found a marketing angle, the idea that secrets are "never desirable" even when needed, and a reflection on how it "never occurred" to anyone that private conversation might need protecting.
Are these quotes mostly about regret?
Not exactly regret, more observation — noticing gaps, oversights, or things that didn't come to pass, like unpublished books or an unanticipated need for privacy protections.
Is there a quote about problem-solving here?
Yes — one notes that "people constantly face problems they've never seen before" and have to improvise solutions, which is a nice contrast to the other, more resigned quotes on this page.
How is "Never" different from <a href="/always-quotes">Always</a> quotes?
They're natural opposites — "Always" quotes are about consistency and long-held habits, while "Never" quotes are about absence, gaps, and things that haven't happened.
What should I read if I want something more upbeat?
Good quotes or Like quotes lean lighter, while "Never" quotes tend to be more contemplative. For a broader reflective read, Life quotes is also worth checking.

Other quotes touch on constitutional rights never explicitly written down, and the constant stream of new problems people have never faced before. See also Always Quotes and Good Quotes.