Quotes & anectdotes from the wise, the foolish, the courageous & the drunk

H. G. Wells Novelist

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United Kingdom
  • Born: Sep 21, 1866
  • Died: Aug 13, 1946

Herbert George "H. G." Wells was a prolific English writer in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, and social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games. He is now best remembered for his science fiction novels, and Wells is sometimes called the father of science fiction, as are Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. His most notable science fiction works include The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Doctor Moreau.

Wells's earliest specialized training was in biology, and his thinking on ethical matters took place in a specifically and fundamentally Darwinian context. He was also from an early date an outspoken socialist, often sympathising with pacifist views. His later works became increasingly political and didactic, and he wrote little science fiction, while he sometimes indicated on official documents that his profession was that of journalist.

I must confess that my imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating its crew and floundering at sea. imagination

Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. education & history

Cynicism is humor in ill health. health & humor

No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft. communication

I want to go ahead of Father Time with a scythe of my own. time

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race. being funny, the future & time

Heresies are experiments in man's unsatisfied search for truth. truth

Beauty is in the heart of the beholder. beauty

If we don't end war, war will end us. war

Crime and bad lives are the measure of a State's failure, all crime in the end is the crime of the community. failure

Nothing leads so straight to futility as literary ambitions without systematic knowledge. knowledge

After people have repeated a phrase a great number of times, they begin to realize it has meaning and may even be true. greatness

In politics, strangely enough, the best way to play your cards is to lay them face upwards on the table. best & politics

Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo. jealousy

History is a race between education and catastrophe. education & history

Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but sober not to make us sorry but wise. sadness

Human history in essence is the history of ideas. history

Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative. nature

Advertising is legalized lying. the law

St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2025

There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting. 3 other thoughts from John Millington Synge

3 other thoughts from John Millington Synge

Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy. 28 quotes from William Butler Yeats

28 quotes from William Butler Yeats

Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep. 27 quotes from Dave Barry

27 quotes from Dave Barry

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English. 74 quotes from Winston Churchill

74 quotes from Winston Churchill