FATHER QUOTES
quotations about fathers
Fathers are the geniuses of the house because only a person as intelligent as we could fake such stupidity.
BILL COSBY
Himself
I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.
SIGMUND FREUD
Civilization and Its Discontents
Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches. They are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it. But if we are honest with ourselves, we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.
BARACK OBAMA
speech, Jun. 15, 2008
It's not always easy for a father to understand the interests and ways of his son. It seems the songs of our children may be in keys we've never tried. The melody of each generation emerges from all that's gone before. Each one of us contributes in some unique way to the composition of life.
FRED ROGERS
The World According to Mister Rogers
The reservedness and distance that fathers keep, often deprive their sons of that refuge which would be of more advantage to them than an hundred rebukes or chidings.
JOHN LOCKE
Some Thoughts Concerning Education
Why does a dad matter so much to a daughter, in particular? A dad is the one who teaches a daughter what a male is all about. It's the first man in her life--the first man she loves, the first male she tries to please, the first man who says no to her, the first man to discipline her. In effect, he sets her up for success or failure with the opposite sex. Not only that, but she takes cues from how Dad treats Mom as she grows up about what to expect as a woman who is in a relationship with a man. So Dad sets up his daughter's marriage relationship too.
KEVIN LEMAN
Be the Dad She Needs You to Be
If only I could be freed of this quest for the father. Father? Savior? God?
ANAÏS NIN
The Diary of Anaïs Nin
Being a dad has made me more aware of myself. I can see all of my virtues and flaws. They become glaringly clear when my daughter communicates with me in the same ways that I communicate with her. I can really tell where and when I went wrong.
HAROLD PERRINEAU
TV Guide
Father's Day is like Mother's Day, except the gift is cheaper.
GERALD F. LIEBERMAN
attributed, Always Look on the Bright Side: Celebrating Each Day to the Fullest
One never knows anything about one's father. A father ... is a passageway immersed in the deepest darkness, where we stumble blindly seeking a way out.
ROBERTO BOLAÑO
2666
When I was 14 years old, I went with my father to visit some family. This guy said, "Sam, you have five sons -- which one of those sons do you like the best?" I thought my father would say me! He thought for a moment, and then he raised his hand, and said, "which one of those fingers do you like the best?"
TOMMY LASORDA
"A Thoughtful Sitdown with the Best. Manager. Ever.", Thrillist
You know how it is with fathers, you never escape the idea that maybe after all they're right.
JOHN UPDIKE
Rabbit
The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one – particularly if he plays golf, which he usually does.
BERTRAND RUSSELL
introduction, The New Generation
Being a father ... I can't help feeling that, by comparison with being a mother, being a father is a rather abstract business.
J. M. COETZEE
Disgrace
A woman can take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability. Not that a woman can't provide stability, I'm not saying that... It does take a father, though.
TOM DELAY
interview, Feb. 2004
The hardest part about parenting is when I have to be The Dad--aka the Fun-Sucker--as opposed to being a friend.
JAMES PATTERSON
Family Circle, Jul. 2011
A father is a man that has two or more souls to save or lose.
AUSTIN O'MALLEY
Keystones of Thought
See you spend your whole life fighting with your father and no time on making your own life. What will you do when he dies? Fight yourself?
CHRIS ABANI
Graceland
"Maternity," it has been said, "is a matter of fact, paternity is a matter of opinion."
WALTER BAGEHOT
Physics and Politics
It is hard for many people to give up the religion in which they were born; to admit that their fathers were utterly mistaken, and that the sacred records of their country are but collections of myths and fables.
ROBERT GREEN INGERSOLL
Some Mistakes of Moses