9 Quotes That are More Famous Than the Books They Came From

“It was a dark and stormy night.” (Paul Clifford, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton)
Perhaps the most famous opening line in all literature is known, of course, for being terrible. Opinions differ (the line has its champions), but in general, Lytton’s main claim to fame is having composed the most purple line in a novel ever, despite the fact that almost no one has read or even heard of the novel which inspired it, 1830’s Paul Clifford. Coming in close second for Lytton’s claim to fame? “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” (The Picture of Dorian Grey, by Oscar Wilde)
Oscar Wilde’s writing remains fresh and perfectly suited for the modern world, and yet people aren’t talking about his only published novel nearly as much as they should. While everyone is familiar with the basic outlines of the plot of The Picture of Dorian Grey, it is, like all of Wilde’s work, stuffed full of juicy quotes like this—quotes we’re all familiar with, even if we don’t know why.

“Not all those who wander are lost.” (The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien)
If you ask someone to identify this quote (as well as “All that is gold does not glitter,” from the same poem) they will likely guess wrong. This is because many folks who love Tolkien’s fantasy classic skip the poems and songs, and those who don’t love fantasy haven’t read it. Outside of fantasy fandom, it’s likely Tolkien’s most famous quote.

“I wish I knew how to quit you.” (Brokeback Mountain, by Annie Proulx)
Thanks to the success of the film version and the easy meme-ability of Jake Gyllenhal’s line reading, this quote is plenty famous and often applied in ironic ways, but plenty of people think of it as a line from a movie, and not a line from Proulx’s O’Henry Award-winning short story of the same name.

“Stay Gold, Ponyboy.” (The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton)
While most of the folks who use the line as a hip farewell got it from the classic young adult book about rival gangs of kids in 1960s Oklahoma, it’s become such a standard that lots of people use it without being fully conscious of its origins, much less having read the actual novel that spawned it—a situation that will no doubt get worse as time marches on.

“My dear, I don’t give a damn.” (Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell)
A quick way to tell if someone using this quote has read the book is whether they add the “Frankly” from Clark Gable’s line reading. In fact, almost everyone who uses this quote is actually quoting the film version, which has overshadowed the massively-successful novel in just about every way.

“A drop in the bucket.” (The Bible)
This quote, from Isaiah 40:15, 17, has become such a common expression that almost no one outside of bible study classes realizes where it came from. While certainly not the only quote from the bible that has become ubiquitous, it’s one of the most popular, as well as one of the easiest to separate from its context.

“Get busy living or get busy dying.” (Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, by Stephen King)
Stephen King is a modern master of language, so it’s no surprise that he’s coined a few phrases (and even invented a word or two) that have become common parlance. Once again, many folks who know they’re quoting something when they use this phrase are thinking of the film adaptation instead of the novella that inspired it.

“Why, then the world’s mine oyster.” (The Merry Wives of Windsor, by William Shakespeare)
Shakespeare, seems to have more or less invented about 50 percent of the words and phrases we use today. But not all Shakespeare is created equal, and while The Merry Wives of Windsor is chock full of great lines, it’s widely considered a minor work, and isn’t often taught or referenced. The original quote is much more sinister than the modern version, as it implies violently taking what you want if it will not be given freely, but time has sanded off those rough edges.