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Timeless Quotes from Classic Literature

Timeless English quotes from the greatest works of literature. Each passage comes with context, Korean translation, and connections to Korean classical idioms (고사성어).

📚 25 quotes from 8 literary masters
🎭

William Shakespeare

The greatest playwright in the English language

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To be, or not to be, that is the question.

사느냐 죽느냐, 그것이 문제로다.

Hamlet (1601)
Prince Hamlet's soliloquy on the meaning of existence. One of the most quoted lines in English literature, reflecting on whether it is better to endure suffering or to take action against it.
Related Idiom 진퇴양난
"

All that glitters is not gold.

반짝인다고 다 금은 아니다.

The Merchant of Venice (1596)
Written on a casket that a suitor must choose. It warns that appearances can be deceiving — what looks valuable may not be.
Related Idiom 허장성세
"

The course of true love never did run smooth.

진정한 사랑의 길은 결코 순탄하지 않다.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595)
Lysander comforts Hermia about the obstacles to their love. A timeless truth about relationships.
"

We are such stuff as dreams are made on.

우리는 꿈과 같은 존재로다.

The Tempest (1611)
Prospero reflects on the transience of life. Our lives are brief and dreamlike, surrounded by the vast sleep of eternity.
Related Idiom 일장춘몽
"

Brevity is the soul of wit.

간결함은 지혜의 핵심이다.

Hamlet (1601)
Polonius says this while ironically being long-winded himself. True wisdom lies in expressing ideas concisely.
📝

Jane Austen

Master of wit and social commentary

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It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

상당한 재산을 가진 독신 남성에게는 반드시 아내가 필요하다는 것은 세상이 다 아는 진리이다.

Pride and Prejudice (1813)
The iconic opening line that satirizes society's obsession with wealth and marriage. Austen's ironic wit at its finest.
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I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!

결국 독서만큼 즐거운 것은 없다고 선언합니다!

Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Miss Bingley says this to impress Darcy, though she clearly doesn't enjoy reading. Austen satirizes pretentiousness.
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There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends.

진정한 친구를 위해서라면 못할 것이 없다.

Northanger Abbey (1817)
Isabella Thorpe says this with feigned sincerity. Austen explores the difference between true and false friendship.
Related Idiom 관포지교
🏙️

Charles Dickens

Champion of the downtrodden and social justice

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

최고의 시절이자 최악의 시절이었다.

A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
One of the most famous opening lines in literature. Set during the French Revolution, it captures the paradox of an era of both hope and despair.
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No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.

다른 사람의 짐을 가볍게 해주는 사람은 이 세상에서 쓸모없지 않다.

Our Mutual Friend (1865)
Dickens believed in the power of compassion. Even the smallest act of kindness gives our existence meaning.
"

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.

절대 굳어지지 않는 마음, 절대 지치지 않는 성품, 절대 상처 주지 않는 손길을 가져라.

Our Mutual Friend (1865)
A beautiful aspiration for how to live. Dickens advocates for perpetual kindness and gentleness.
🥂

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Voice of the Jazz Age and the American Dream

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So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

그래서 우리는 계속 노를 저어간다. 물결에 맞서는 배처럼, 끊임없이 과거로 떠밀려 가면서.

The Great Gatsby (1925)
The final line of the novel. We strive toward our dreams, but the current of time always pulls us back. A profound meditation on the human condition.
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I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.

그 아이가 바보이길 바랍니다 -- 이 세상에서 여자가 될 수 있는 최선은 아름다운 작은 바보니까요.

The Great Gatsby (1925)
Daisy Buchanan speaks about her daughter. A biting commentary on the limited roles available to women in 1920s society.
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There are all kinds of love in this world but never the same love twice.

이 세상에는 온갖 종류의 사랑이 있지만, 같은 사랑은 두 번 오지 않는다.

The Beautiful and Damned (1922)
Every love is unique and unrepeatable. Fitzgerald captures the bittersweet nature of human connection.
🎣

Ernest Hemingway

Master of the iceberg theory and simple prose

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The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.

세상은 모든 사람을 무너뜨리지만, 그 후 부서진 곳이 더 강해지는 사람들이 있다.

A Farewell to Arms (1929)
Written about the horrors of World War I. Suffering can destroy us or make us resilient. The choice is ours.
Related Idiom 와신상담
"

But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

하지만 인간은 패배하도록 만들어지지 않았다. 인간은 파괴될 수 있지만 패배할 수는 없다.

The Old Man and the Sea (1952)
Santiago, the old fisherman, embodies indomitable spirit. Physical defeat is possible, but the human spirit cannot be conquered.
Related Idiom 불굴
"

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

다른 사람보다 뛰어난 것은 고귀한 것이 아니다. 진정한 고귀함은 이전의 자신보다 뛰어난 것이다.

Attributed to Hemingway
The only true competition is with yourself. Growth comes from surpassing who you were yesterday, not from comparing with others.
👁️

George Orwell

Prophet of totalitarianism and defender of truth

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In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

거짓의 시대에 진실을 말하는 것은 혁명적 행위다.

Attributed to Orwell
When lies become the norm, simply telling the truth becomes an act of courage and resistance.
"

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

모든 동물은 평등하다. 그러나 어떤 동물은 다른 동물보다 더 평등하다.

Animal Farm (1945)
The pigs' final commandment, exposing how revolutionary ideals can be corrupted by those in power.
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Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.

과거를 지배하는 자가 미래를 지배한다. 현재를 지배하는 자가 과거를 지배한다.

1984 (1949)
The Party's slogan about rewriting history. Whoever shapes the narrative of the past can determine the future.
Related Idiom 온고지신
📖

Leo Tolstoy

Giant of Russian literature and moral philosophy

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All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

행복한 가정은 모두 비슷하고, 불행한 가정은 각각 나름의 불행이 있다.

Anna Karenina (1877)
One of the greatest opening lines ever written. Happiness is simple and universal, but suffering is complex and unique to each person.
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Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

모든 사람은 세상을 바꾸려 하지만, 자신을 바꾸려는 사람은 없다.

Attributed to Tolstoy
True change starts within. Before trying to fix the world, we must first examine and improve ourselves.
Related Idiom 수신제가

Oscar Wilde

Master of paradox and sparkling wit

"

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

너 자신이 되어라. 다른 사람은 이미 누군가의 몫이니까.

Attributed to Wilde
A witty reminder that authenticity is the only path to true individuality. Stop trying to be someone else.
"

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

사는 것은 세상에서 가장 드문 일이다. 대부분의 사람들은 그저 존재할 뿐이다.

The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891)
Wilde distinguishes between merely existing and truly living. To live fully requires courage, passion, and engagement.
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Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.

경험이란 사람들이 자신의 실수에 붙인 이름에 불과하다.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
A cynical but insightful view that we learn most from our failures. Every mistake is a lesson in disguise.
Related Idiom 타산지석
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