Jules Verne: 45 Selected Quotes
Jules Verne (born February 8, 1828, in Nantes, France – died March 24, 1905, in Amiens, France) was a 19th-century French author known for his adventure novels and strong influence on the literary genre of science fiction.
Although trained to be a lawyer like his father, Verne showed more interest in writing and theatre. In 1851, he completed his law studies in Paris and began writing plays and short stories. After a few not-so-successful years as a playwright, Verne’s luck changed when he met Pierre-Jules Hetzel.
Their collaboration resulted in a series of popular adventure novels called Voyages Extraordinaires, which include titles such as The Mysterious Island (1874), Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863), Master of the World (1904), Off on a Comet (1877), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).
Often referred to as the “Father of Science Fiction,” Jules Verne wrote over 70 books (mainly 54 novels belonging to the Voyages Extraordinaires) and many memorable characters. He is the second most translated author in the world after Agatha Christie.
His writings did not inspire only writers but also generations of scientists, inventors, and explorers.
Table of Contents
Best Jules Verne Quotes
All that is within the limits of possibility may and shall be accomplished.The Steam House (1880), (ed. 1911), Part II, Chapter I, Page 260
Our principle is, that books, instead of growing mouldy behind an iron grating, should be worn out under the eyes of many readers.Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), (Ward, Lock & Co., ed. 1876), Chapter X, Page 78
Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which it was good to fall into, for they led to the truth.Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), (Ward, Lock & Co., ed. 1876), Chapter XXXI, Page 231
In spite of the opinions of certain narrow-minded people, who would shut up the human race upon this globe, as within some magic circle which it must never outstep, we shall one day travel to the moon, the planets, and the stars, with the same facility, rapidity, and, certainty as we now make the voyage from Liverpool to New York!From the Earth to the Moon (1865), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1874), Chapter XIX, Page 93
Liberty is worth paying for.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1925), Part II, Chapter VIII, Page 260
I thought my last hour was approaching; and yet imagination is such a strong thing that even in this supreme hour I was occupied with strange and almost childish speculations. But I was the victim, not the master, of my own thoughts.Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), (Ward, Lock & Co., ed. 1876), Chapter XLIII, Page 331
Before all masters, necessity is the one most listened to, and who teaches the best.The Mysterious Island (1874), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1918), Part I, Chapter XVII, Page 125
When the mind once allows a doubt to gain entrance, the value of deeds performed grow less, their character changes, we forget the past and dread the future.The Steam House (1880), (ed. 1911), Part II, Chapter X, Page 364
Reality provides us with facts so romantic that imagination itself could add nothing to them.The Mutineers of the Bounty (1879), Footnote, Jules Verne and his work (1965), Chapter XVII, Page 127
Trains, like time and tide, stop for no one.Around the World in Eighty Days (1872), (ed. 1873), Chapter XXVII, Page 229
The possession of wealth leads almost inevitably to its abuse. It is the chief, if not the only, cause of evils which desolate this world below. The thirst for gold is responsible for the most regrettable lapses into sin.Captain Antifer (1894), (R. F. Fenno & Co., ed. 1895) Chapter XXVII, Page 263
I have noticed that many who do not believe in God believe in everything else, even in the evil eye.A Floating City (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1904), Chapter VIII, Page 43
You cannot oppose reasoning to pride, the principal of all the vices, since, by its very nature, the proud man refuses to listen to it.The Watch's Soul or Master Zacharius (1854), Chapter V, Works of Jules Verne (ed. 1911), Volume 1, Page 46
Put two ships in the open sea, without wind or tide, and, at last, they will come together. Throw two planets into space, and they will fall one on the other. Place two enemies in the midst of a crowd, and they will inevitably meet; it is a fatality, a question of time; that is all.A Floating City (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1904), Chapter XVI, Page 83
Though sleep is called our best friend, it is a friend who often keeps us waiting!The Steam House (1880), (ed. 1911), Part II, Chapter V, Page 308
External objects produce decided effects upon the brain.Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), (Ward, Lock & Co., ed. 1876), Chapter XXVI, Page 193
It is said that the night brings counsel, but it is not said that the counsel is necessarily good.Captain Antifer (1894), (R. F. Fenno & Co., ed. 1895) Chapter XX, Page 197
It is always a vulgar and often an unhealthy pastime, and it is a vice which does not go alone; the man who gambles will find himself capable of any evil.A Floating City (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1904), Chapter XXVI, Page 131
The chance which now seems lost may present itself at the last moment.Around the World in Eighty Days (1872), (ed. 1873), Chapter XXIII, Page 95
The human mind delights in grand conceptions of supernatural beings.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1925), Part I, Chapter II, Page 14
In the memory of the dead all chronological differences are effaced.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1925), Part I, Chapter X, Page 76
Poets are like proverbs: you can always find one to contradict another.The Survivors of the Chancellor (1875), (The Echo Librarym, ed. 2009), Chapter V, Page 13
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In friendship one friend is always sacrificed to the other.The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1864), (J. R. Osgood & Co., ed. 1876), Part I, Chapter XVIII, Page 129
He who is mistaken in an action which he sincerely believes to be right may be an enemy, but retains our esteem.The Mysterious Island (1874), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1918), Part III, Chapter XVI, Page 460
The body regulates the soul, and, like the balance-wheel, it is submitted to regular oscillations.The Watch's Soul or Master Zacharius (1854), Chapter II, Works of Jules Verne (ed. 1911), Volume 1, Page 34
The thunderbolt without the reverberations of thunder would frighten man but little, though the danger lies in the lightning, not in the noise.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1925), Part I, Chapter XXI, Page 167
Death, the commencement of joys eternal, is only the end of earthly cares.Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863), (Hurst &Co., ed. 1869) Chapter XXIII, Page 184
Jules Verne Quotes on Loneliness
Solitude, isolation, are painful things and beyond human endurance.The Mysterious Island (1874), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1918), Part III, Chapter XVII, Page 465
A man shut up between four walls soon loses the power to associate words and ideas together.Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), (Ward, Lock & Co., ed. 1876), Chapter XXVI, Page 193
It is a great misfortune to be alone, my friends; and it must be believed that solitude can quickly destroy reason.The Mysterious Island (1874), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1918), Part II, Chapter XV, Page 284
Jules Verne Quotes about Nature
The sea is everything. It covers seven-tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence. It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the ‘Living Infinite’.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1925), Part I, Chapter X, Page 72
We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1925), Part II, Chapter XV, Page 330
In presence of Nature’s grand convulsions, man is powerless.The Mysterious Island (1874), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1918), Part III, Chapter XIX, Page 482
The earth does not want new continents, but new men.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1925), Part I, Chapter XVIII, Page 133
Jules Verne Quotes about Man
An energetic man will succeed where an indolent one would vegetate and inevitably perish.The Mysterious Island (1874), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1918), Part I, Chapter XIX, Page 139
Man, a mere inhabitant of the earth, cannot overstep its boundaries! But though he is confined to its crust, he may penetrate into all its secrets.The Steam House (1880), (ed. 1911), Part II, Chapter I, Page 260
A man of merit owes himself to the homage of the rest of mankind who recognize his worth.The Watch's Soul or Master Zacharius (1854), Chapter II, Works of Jules Verne (ed. 1911), Volume 1, Page 30
Man is never perfect nor contented.The Mysterious Island (1874), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1918), Part I, Chapter XXII, Page 164
A learned man ought to know a little of everything.The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1864), (J. R. Osgood & Co., ed. 1876), Part I, Chapter V, Page 34
Jules Verne Quotes on Life and Civilization
‘Movement is life;’ and it is well to be able to forget the past, and kill the present by continual change.A Floating City (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1904), Chapter VI, Page 32
As long as the heart beats, as long as body and soul keep together, I cannot admit that any creature endowed with a will has need to despair of life.Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), (Ward, Lock & Co., ed. 1876), Chapter XLII, Page 324
Civilization never recedes; the law of necessity ever forces it onwards.The Mysterious Island (1874), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1918), Part III, Chapter XVI, Page 456
Civilization is like air or water. Wherever there is a passage open to it, be it only a fissure, it will penetrate and modify the conditions of a country.The Carpathian Castle (1893), (Associated Booksellers, ed. 1963) Chapter III, Page 31
Jules Verne Wisdom Quotes
The wisest man may be a blind father.The Begum's Fortune (1879), (J.B. Lippincott & Co., ed. 1879), Chapter II, Page 17
Perfume is the soul of the flower, and sea-flowers have no soul.Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), (Charles Scribner's Sons, ed. 1925), Part II, Chapter X, Page 286