120 Quotes & Sayings By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and DisasterAnd treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the will which says to them: 'Hold on! ' If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! . Rudyard Kipling

A DEAD STATESMANI could not dig: I dared not rob: Therefore I lied to please the mob. Now all my lies are proved untrue And I must face the men I slew. What tale shall serve me here among Mine angry and defrauded young?from EPITAPHS OF THE WAR 1914-18 Rudyard Kipling

Witta feared nothing - except to be poor. Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way From men and woman to fill our day; But when we are certain of sorrow in store, Why do we always arrange for more? Brothers & Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear. Rudyard Kipling

At two o'clock in the morning, if you open your window and listen, You will hear the feet of the Wind that is going to call the sun. And the trees in the Shadow rustle and the trees in the moonlight glisten, And though it is deep, dark night, you feel that the night is done. Rudyard Kipling

(An unhappy childhood was not) an unsuitable preparation for my future, in that it demanded a constant wariness, the habit of observation, and the attendance on moods and tempers; the noting of discrepancies between speech and action; a certain reserve of demeanour; and automatic suspicion of sudden favours. Rudyard Kipling

Mad! Quite mad! ' said Stalky to the visitors, as one exhibiting strange beasts. 'Beetle reads an ass called Brownin', and M'Turk reads an ass called Ruskin; and-' 'Ruskin isn't an ass, ' said M'Turk. 'He's almost as good as the Opium-Eater. He says we're "children of noble races, trained by surrounding art." That means me, and the way I decorated the study when you two badgers would have stuck up brackets and Christmas cards. Child of a noble race, trained by surrounding art, stop reading or I'll shove a pilchard down your neck! . Rudyard Kipling

If you can walk with the crowd and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run- Yours is the earth and everything that's in it, And-which is more-you'll be a man my son. Rudyard Kipling

I had come down here, not to serve God as a craftsman should, but to show my people how great a craftsman I was. They cared not. Rudyard Kipling

It's clever, but is it art? Rudyard Kipling

If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten. Rudyard Kipling

We're all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding. Rudyard Kipling

Gardens are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful! ' and sitting in the shade. Rudyard Kipling

NOW this is the Law of the Jungle – as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back –For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip; drink deeply, but never too deep; And remember the night is for hunting, and forget not the day is for sleep. The Jackal may follow the Tiger, but, Cub, when thy whiskers are grown, Remember the Wolf is a Hunter – go forth and get food of thine own. Keep peace withe Lords of the Jungle – the Tiger, the Panther, and Bear.And trouble not Hathi the Silent, and mock not the Boar in his lair. When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle, and neither will go from the trail, Lie down till the leaders have spoken – it may be fair words shall prevail. When ye fight with a Wolf of the Pack, ye must fight him alone and afar, Lest others take part in the quarrel, and the Pack be diminished by war. The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, and where he has made him his home, Not even the Head Wolf may enter, not even the Council may come. The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, but where he has digged it too plain, The Council shall send him a message, and so he shall change it again. If ye kill before midnight, be silent, and wake not the woods with your bay, Lest ye frighten the deer from the crop, and your brothers go empty away. Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and ye can; But kill not for pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill Man! If ye plunder his Kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride; Pack- Right is the right of the meanest; so leave him the head and the hide. The Kill of the Pack is the meat of the Pack. Ye must eat where it lies; And no one may carry away of that meat to his lair, or he dies. The Kill of the Wolf is the meat of the Wolf. He may do what he will; But, till he has given permission, the Pack may not eat of that Kill.Cub-Right is the right of the Yearling. From all of his Pack he may claim Full-gorge when the killer has eaten; and none may refuse him the same. Lair- Right is the right of the Mother. From all of her year she may claim One haunch of each kill for her litter, and none may deny her the same. Cave- Right is the right of the Father – to hunt by himself for his own: He is freed of all calls to the Pack; he is judged by the Council alone. Because of his age and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw, In all that the Law leaveth open, the word of your Head Wolf is Law.Now these are the Laws of the Jungle, and many and mighty are they; But the head and the hoof of the Law and the haunch and the hump is – Obey!. Rudyard Kipling

All kinds of magic are out of date and done away with, except in India, where nothing changes in spite of the shiny, top-scum stuff that people call 'civilization. Rudyard Kipling

And he grew and grew strong as a boy must grow who does not know that he is learning any lessons, and who has nothing in the world to think of except things to eat" (23). Rudyard Kipling

Fiction is Truth's elder sister. Obviously. No one in the world knew what truth was till some one had told a story. Rudyard Kipling

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. Rudyard Kipling

It is not any common earth, Water or wood or air, But Merlin’s Isle of GramaryeThat you and I will fare. Rudyard Kipling

All good people agree, And all good people say, All nice people, like Us, are We And every one else is They:But if you cross over the sea, Instead of over the way, You may end by (think of it! ) looking on We As only a sort of They! Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;! Rudyard Kipling

It seems - and who so astonished as they? - that they had held back material facts; that they were guilty of both suppressio veri and suggestio falsi (well-known gods against whom they often offended); further, that they were malignant in their dispositions, untrustworthy in their characters, pernicious and revolutionary in their influences, abandoned to the devils of wilfulness, pride, and a most intolerable conceit. Ninthly, and lastly, they were to have a care and to be very careful. Rudyard Kipling

His line was the jocundly-sentimental Wardour Street brand of adventure, told in a style that exactly met, but never exceeded, every expectation. Rudyard Kipling

The Law of the Jungle NOW this is the Law of the Jungle – as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back –For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack. Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip; drink deeply, but never too deep; And remember the night is for hunting, and forget not the day is for sleep. The Jackal may follow the Tiger, but, Cub, when thy whiskers are grown, Remember the Wolf is a Hunter – go forth and get food of thine own. Keep peace withe Lords of the Jungle – the Tiger, the Panther, and Bear. And trouble not Hathi the Silent, and mock not the Boar in his lair. When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle, and neither will go from the trail, Lie down till the leaders have spoken – it may be fair words shall prevail. When ye fight with a Wolf of the Pack, ye must fight him alone and afar, Lest others take part in the quarrel, and the Pack be diminished by war. The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, and where he has made him his home, Not even the Head Wolf may enter, not even the Council may come. The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge, but where he has digged it too plain, The Council shall send him a message, and so he shall change it again. If ye kill before midnight, be silent, and wake not the woods with your bay, Lest ye frighten the deer from the crop, and your brothers go empty away. Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and ye can; But kill not for pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill Man! If ye plunder his Kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride; Pack-Right is the right of the meanest; so leave him the head and the hide. The Kill of the Pack is the meat of the Pack. Ye must eat where it lies; And no one may carry away of that meat to his lair, or he dies. The Kill of the Wolf is the meat of the Wolf. He may do what he will; But, till he has given permission, the Pack may not eat of that Kill. Cub-Right is the right of the Yearling. From all of his Pack he may claim Full-gorge when the killer has eaten; and none may refuse him the same. Lair-Right is the right of the Mother. From all of her year she may claim One haunch of each kill for her litter, and none may deny her the same. Cave-Right is the right of the Father – to hunt by himself for his own: He is freed of all calls to the Pack; he is judged by the Council alone. Because of his age and his cunning, because of his gripe and his paw, In all that the Law leaveth open, the word of your Head Wolf is Law.Now these are the Laws of the Jungle, and many and mighty are they; But the head and the hoof of the Law and the haunch and the hump is – Obey!. Rudyard Kipling

God help us for we knew the worst too young. Rudyard Kipling

One paid for one's knowledge with one's skin. Rudyard Kipling

He drew from under the table a sheet of strangely scented yellow- Chinese paper, the brushes, and slab of India ink. In cleanest, severest outline he had traced the Great Wheel with its six spokes, whose centre is the conjoined Hog, Snake, and Dove (Ignorance, Anger, and Lust), and whose compartments are all the heavens and hells, and all the chances of human life. Rudyard Kipling

Of course the Man was wild too. He was dreadfully wild. He didn't even begin to be tame till he met the Woman, and she told him that she did not like living in his wild ways. She picked out a nice dry Cave, instead of a heap of wet leaves, to lie down in; and she strewed clean sand on the floor; and she lit a nice fire of wood at the back of the Cave; and she hung a dried wild-horse skin, tail down, across the opening of the Cave; and she said, 'Wipe your feet, dear, when you come in, and now we'll keep house. . Rudyard Kipling

Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and ye can; But kill not for pleasure of killing, and seven times never kill Man! Rudyard Kipling

This is the great world, and I am only Kim. Who is Kim?' He considered his own identity, a thing he had never done before, till his head swam. He was one insignificant person in all this roaring whirl of India, going southward to he knew not what fate. Rudyard Kipling

A black shadow dropped down into the circle. It was Bagheera the Black Panther, inky black all over, but with the panther markings showing up in certain lights like the pattern of watered silk. Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody cared to cross his path, for he was as cunning as Tabaqui, as bold as the wild buffalo, and as reckless as the wounded elephant. But he had a voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree, and a skin softer than down. . Rudyard Kipling

One can't prescribe books, even the best books, to people unless one knows a good deal about each individual person. If a man is keen on reading, I think he ought to open his mind to some older man who knows him and his life, and to take his advice in the matter, and above all, to discuss with him the first books that interest him. Rudyard Kipling

We have done with Hope and Honour, we are lost to Love and Truth, We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung, And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth. God help us, for we knew the worst too young! from "Gentleman Rankers Rudyard Kipling

I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me. Rudyard Kipling

Yet there be certain times in a young man’s life, when, through great sorrow or sin, all the boy in him is burnt and seared away so that he passes at one step to the more sorrowful state of manhood Rudyard Kipling

What avail is honour or a sword against a pen? Rudyard Kipling

I have my own matches and sulphur, and I'll make my own hell. Rudyard Kipling

The Power of the Dogby Rudyard KiplingThere is sorrow enough in the natural way From men and women to fill our day; And when we are certain of sorrow in store, Why do we always arrange for more? Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear. Buy a pup and your money will buy Love unflinching that cannot lie-- Perfect passion and worship fed By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head. Nevertheless it is hardly fair To risk your heart for a dog to tear. When the fourteen years which Nature permits Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits, And the vet's unspoken prescription runs To lethal chambers or loaded guns, Then you will find--it's your own affair-- But. . you've given your heart to a dog to tear. When the body that lived at your single will, With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still! ). When the spirit that answered your every mood Is gone--wherever it goes--for good, You will discover how much you care, And will give your heart to a dog to tear. We've sorrow enough in the natural way, When it comes to burying Christian clay. Our loves are not given, but only lent, At compound interest of cent per cent. Though it is not always the case, I believe, That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve: For, when debts are payable, right or wrong, A short-time loan is as bad as a long-- So why in-- Heaven (before we are there) Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?. Rudyard Kipling

You may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and you can; But kill not for pleasure of killing, and S E V E N TIMES NEVER KILL MAN. Rudyard Kipling

Father Wolf looked on amazed. He had almost forgotten the days when he won Mother Wolf in fair fight from five other wolves, when she ran in the Pack and was not called The Demon for compliment’s sake. Shere Khan might have faced Father Wolf, but he could not stand up against Mother Wolf, for he knew that where he was she had all the advantage of the ground, and would fight to the death. So he backed out of the cave mouth growling.. . Rudyard Kipling

Like everything else in the world, it is one man's work. Rudyard Kipling

These are the four that are never content: that have never been filled since the dew began- Jacala's mouth, and the glut of the kite, and the hands of the ape, and the eyes of Man. Rudyard Kipling

Holden went to his bungalow and began to understand that he was not alone in the world, and also that he was afraid for the sake of another, -- which is the most soul-satisfying fear known to man. Rudyard Kipling

Everyone is more or less mad on one point. Rudyard Kipling

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. Rudyard Kipling

Anything from Kipling Rudyard Kipling

One man in a thousand, Solomon says. Will stick more close than a brother. And it's worth while seeking him half your days If you find him before the other.--- The Thousandth Man Rudyard Kipling

Something I owe to the soil that grew-- More to the life that fed-- But most to Allah who gave me two Separate sides of my head. I would go without shirt or shoes, Friends, tobacco, or bread Sooner than for an instant lose Either side of my head. Rudyard Kipling

Now this is the Law of the Jungle -- as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back --For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack. Rudyard Kipling

O it's Tommy this, and Tommy that, and Tommy 'ow's your soul/ But it's thin red line of heroes when the drums begin to roll. Rudyard Kipling

It was the forty-fathom slumber that clears the soul and eye and heart, and sends you to breakfast ravening. They emptied a big tin dish of juicy fragments of fish- the blood-ends the cook had collected overnight. They cleaned up the plates and pans of the elder mess, who were out fishing, sliced pork for the midday meal, swabbed down the foc'sle, filled the lamps, drew coal and water for the cook, an investigated the fore-hold, where the boat's stores were stacked. It was another perfect day - soft, mild and clear; and Harvey breathed to the very bottom of his lungs. . Rudyard Kipling

Barbarians are all alike... sit up half the night to discuss anything a Roman says. Rudyard Kipling

To hear is one thing, to know is another. Rudyard Kipling

Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges -- Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go! Rudyard Kipling

Now India is a place beyond all others where one must not take things too seriously - the mid-day sun always excepted. Too much work and too much energy kill a man as effectively as too much assorted vice or too much drink. Flirtation does not matter, because every one is being transferred, and either you or she leave the station and never return. Good work does not matter, because a man is judged by his worst output, and another man takes all the credit of his best as a rule. Bad work does not matter, because other men do worse, and incompetents hang on longer in India than anywhere else. Amusements do not matter, because you must repeat them as soon as you have accomplished them once, and most amusements only mean trying to win another person's money. Sickness does not matter, because it's all in the day's work, and if you die, another man takes over your place and your office in the eight hours between your death and burial. Nothing matters except Home-furlough and acting allowances, and these only because they are scarce. It is a slack country, where all men work with imperfect instruments, and the wisest thing is to escape as soon as you ever can to some place where amusement is amusement and a reputation worth the having. Rudyard Kipling

A thin grey fog hung over the city, and the streets were very cold; for summer was in England. Rudyard Kipling

Whatever he knows of his weaknesses, Private Mulvaney is wholly ignorant of his strength. Rudyard Kipling

I always try to believe the best of everybody -it saves so much trouble. Rudyard Kipling

One can’t prescribe books, even the best books, to people unless one knows a good deal about each individual person. Rudyard Kipling

It's clever but is it art? Rudyard Kipling

There was a small boy of Quebec Who was buried in snow to the neck: When they said 'Are you friz?' He replied 'Yes I is - But we don't call this cold in Quebec! ' Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too If you can wait and not be tired by waiting Or being lied about don't deal in lies Or being hated don't give away to hating And yet don't look too good nor talk to wise If you can dream - and not make dreams your master If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two imposters just the same If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss And lose and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss . If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue Or walk with Kings nor lose the common touch If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you If all men count with you but none too much If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! . Rudyard Kipling

If you hit a pony over the nose at the outset of your acquaintance he may not love you but he will take a deep interest in your movements ever afterwards. Rudyard Kipling

What should they know of England who only England know? Rudyard Kipling

For the colonel's lady an' Judy O'Grady Are sisters under their skins. Rudyard Kipling

We have forty million reasons for failure but not a single excuse. Rudyard Kipling

Gawd knows and 'E won't split on a pal. Rudyard Kipling

They're hangin' Danny Deever in the morning! Rudyard Kipling

Still stands thine ancient sacrifice - An humble and a contrite heart. Rudyard Kipling

Take up the white man's burden - Send forth the best ye breed - Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives' need. Rudyard Kipling

Sing for faith and hope are high - None so true as you and I - Sing the Lovers' Litany: "Love like ours can never die! " Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it And - which is more - you'll be a man my son! Rudyard Kipling

Though I've belted you and flayed you By the livin' Gawd that made you You're a better man than I am Gunga Din. Rudyard Kipling

Make ye no truce with Adam-zad - the Bear that walks like a man. Rudyard Kipling

If I were hanged on the highest hill Mother o' mine O mother o' mine! I know whose love would follow me still Mother o' mine O mother o' mine! Rudyard Kipling

I keep six honest serving-men they taught me all I know their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who Rudyard Kipling

There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays and every single one of them is right. Rudyard Kipling

Nations have passed away and left no traces And history gives the naked cause of it - One single simple reason in all cases They fell because their peoples were not fit. Rudyard Kipling

The sin they do by two and two they must pay for one by one. Rudyard Kipling

All the people like us are We And everyone else is They. Rudyard Kipling

For it's Tommy this an' Tommy that and "Chuck 'im out the brute." But it's "Savior of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot. Rudyard Kipling

But that is another story. Rudyard Kipling

No one thinks of Winter when the grass is green. Rudyard Kipling

Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run. Rudyard Kipling

A woman is only a woman but a good cigar is a smoke. Rudyard Kipling

Down to Gehenna or up to the throne He travels the fastest who travels alone. Rudyard Kipling