H.G. Wells

Science fiction pioneer

Modern influential 59 sayings

Sayings by H.G. Wells

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Uncertain — Often attributed to FDR, but the sentiment of overcoming fear is present in Wells's work.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

All roads lead to Rome.

Uncertain — A common saying, but might be used by Wells to illustrate historical inevitability or common origins…
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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Uncertain — A philosophical maxim, applicable to his grand visions for humanity.
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The pen is mightier than the sword.

Uncertain — A classic proverb, reflecting his belief in the power of ideas and writing.
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Where there's a will, there's a way.

Uncertain — A common saying, aligning with his themes of human ingenuity and determination.
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Time heals all wounds.

Uncertain — A common saying, but perhaps used by Wells in a more nuanced way to discuss historical change.
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Ignorance is bliss.

Uncertain — A proverb he might have used ironically or to highlight the dangers of willful ignorance.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The early bird catches the worm.

Uncertain — A proverb, perhaps used in a context of scientific discovery or societal progress.
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All's fair in love and war.

Uncertain — A common saying, possibly used in his more cynical observations on human behavior.
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Better late than never.

Uncertain — A common proverb, but perhaps used in a context of societal reform or scientific advancement.
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And for the rest, those swarms of black, and brown, and dirty-white, and yellow people, who do not come into the new needs of efficiency? Well, the world is a world, not a charitable institution, and I take it they will have to go.

1901 — From 'Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress Upon Human Life and Though…
Shocking Unverifiable

In 1932, he told Young Liberals at the University of Oxford that progressive leaders must become liberal fascists or enlightened Nazis who would 'compete in their enthusiasm and self-sacrifice' against the advocates of dictatorship.

1932 — Statement made at a speech to Young Liberals at the University of Oxford.
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Many eminent criminals appear to me to be persons superior in many respects [...] to the average judge.

Undated, cited in a 2016 book — From John S. Partington's book 'Building Cosmopolis: The Political Thought of H.G. Wells'.
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The eager and adventurous unemployed young are indeed the shock troops in the destruction of the old social order everywhere.

Undated, cited in a 2016 book — From John S. Partington's book 'Building Cosmopolis: The Political Thought of H.G. Wells'.
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If my phrases shock the reader, that only shows it is high time he or she was shocked.

Unspecified — From his writings.
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Man is an imperfect animal and never quite trustworthy in the dark.

1928 — From 'The Open Conspiracy: What Are We to Do With Our Lives?'.
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Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo.

1914 — From 'The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman'.
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It is in the sterilization of failures, and not in the selection of successes for breeding, that the possibility of an improvement of the human stock lies.

Early 20th Century (after 1902) — Statement made at a conference on Eugenics.
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The world has a greater purpose than happiness; our lives are to serve God's purpose, and that purpose aims not at man as an end, but works through him to greater issues.

1901 — From 'Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress Upon Human Life and Though…
Shocking Unverifiable