Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate. — Sun Tzu
The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer. — Billy Wilder
Train yourself to be in awe of the subtle, and you will live in a world of beauty and ease. — Rodney Yee
O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands. — Sun Tzu
the voice of beauty speaks softly; it creeps only into the most fully awakened souls — Friedrich Nietzsche
Religions are like pills, which must be swallowed whole without chewing. — Thomas Hobbes
In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality. — Alfred Stieglitz
The works of 'abstract' art are subtle creations of order out of simple contrasting elements. — Jan Tschichold
Sometimes I wish I was poetic and subtle. I write very bold and blunt and tell it like it is. — Pink
Sexual harassment is complex, subtle, and highly subjective. — Kathie Lee Gifford
Some people are more expressive in worship. Some people more subtle and it's all good — Tim Hawkins
This is a subtle truth. Whatever you love, you are. — Rumi
Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. — J. R. R. Tolkien
God is subtle, but He is not malicious. I cannot believe that God plays dice with the world. — Albert Einstein
Subtle Image Quotes
Being Subtle Quotes
O YOU whom I often and silently come where you are, that I may be with you; As I walk by your side, or sit near, or remain in the same room with you, Little you know the subtle electric fire that for your sake is playing within me. — Walt Whitman
One’s visual language is not something that manifests overnight. It develops organically over a life-time. The shifts can be so subtle as to be virtually imperceptible and, at times, will come to fruition so rapidly, and with such force, that the profundity is all-consuming. That is life’s work. — Dan Winters
It's a really subtle kind of thing. It makes me feel like Randy Harrison is not a human being to them. — Randy Harrison
Make the subtle shift from pushing ourselves to be the best in the world, to allowing ourselves to be the best for the world. — Dewitt Jones
To be a genuine individualist requires a great deal of strength and courage. It is never easy to chart new territory, to cross new frontiers, or to introduce subtle shadings to an established color. — Toller Cranston
I want an intelligent girl whom I can talk about everything. I want her to be my friend, to be partners. I don't like when a girl is rough, but delicate and subtle. I like good manners and not rudeness nor arrogance. — Bill Kaulitz
Autumn truly is what summer pretends to be: the best of all seasons. It is as glorious as summer is tedious; as subtle as summer is obvious; as refreshing as summer is wearying. Autumn seems like paradise. — Gregg Easterbrook
She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum. — Jonathan Safran Foer
Everything you do, every thought you have, every word you say creates a memory that you will hold in your body. It's imprinted on you and affects you in subtle ways - ways you are not always aware of. With that in mind, be very conscious and selective. — Phylicia Rashad
They can romanticize us so, mirrors, and that is their secret: what a subtle torture it would be to destroy all the mirrors in the world: where then could we look for reassurance of our identities? — Truman Capote
Subtle Atheist Quotes
Why do humans exist? A major part of the answer: because Pikaia Gracilens survived the Burgess decimation. — Christopher Hitchens
How dismal it is to see present day Americans yearning for the very orthodoxy that their country was founded to escape. — Christopher Hitchens
To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation - is that good for the world? — Christopher Hitchens
In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken..." — Carl Sagan
One must state it plainly. Religion comes from the period of human pre-history where nobody - not even the mighty Democritus who concluded that all matter was made from atoms - had the smallest idea what was going on. — Christopher Hitchens
Thus, though I dislike to differ with such a great man, Voltaire was simply ludicrous when he said that if god did not exist it would be necessary to invent him. The human invention of god is the problem to begin with. — Christopher Hitchens
The only position that leaves me with no cognitive dissonance is atheism. — Christopher Hitchens
How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant? — Carl Sagan
I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. — Carl Sagan
Subtlety Quotes
Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous. — Leonardo da Vinci
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety. — Isaac Asimov
In a way, you are poetry material; You are full of cloudy subtleties I am willing to spend a lifetime figuring out. Words burst in your essence and you carry their dust in the pores of your ethereal individuality. — Franz Kafka
He who can be killed by sugar should not be killed by poison. — Afghan Proverbs
If we do not appreciate the sensitivity and subtlety of the human heart, how can we appreciate the sensitivity and subtlety of the natural world? — Sakyong Mipham
A commodity appears at first sight an extremely obvious, trivial thing. But its analysis brings out that it is a very strange thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties. — Karl Marx
Prime ministers require the hide of a rhinoceros, the morals of St. Francis, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the leadership of Napoleon, the magnetism of a Beatle and the subtlety of Machiavelli. — Lester B. Pearson
The interior landscape responds to the character and subtlety of the exterior landscape; the shape of the individual mind is affected by the land as it is by genes. — Barry Lopez
For me, the subtlety of black and white inspires the imagination of the individual viewer to complete the picture in the mind's eye. It doesn't attempt to compete with the outside world. I believe it is calmer and gentler than colour, and persists longer in our visual memory. — Michael Kenna
The difference between stupid and intelligent people - and this is true whether or not they are well-educated - is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. — Neal Stephenson
Imperialism is a system of exploitation that occurs not only in the brutal form of those who come with guns to conquer territory. Imperialism often occurs in more subtle forms, a loan, food aid, blackmail . We are fighting this system that allows a handful of men on earth to rule all of humanity. — Thomas Sankara
Fear is the destructive energy in man. It withers the mind, it distorts thought, it leads to all kinds of extraordinarily clever and subtle theories, absurd superstitions, dogmas, and beliefs. — Jiddu Krishnamurti
Healing does not come through intense affirmation of divinity, or by simply pouring out love and the expression of a vague mysticism.It comes through mastering an exact science of contact, impression, of invocation plus an understanding of the subtle apparatus of the etheric vehicle. — Alice Bailey
Sin does not leap upon us fully armed. It steals in through a look, a swift, silent suggestion or imagination, but love and loyalty to Jesus will make you watchful and swift to rise up and cast out the subtle enemy. Do this and you shall live, and live victoriously. — Samuel Logan Brengle
Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. — Patrick Lencioni
Strive each day to make your life purer, richer, and more luminous. You will subtly and imperceptibly lead all of creation heavenward. — Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
I think that for a lot of women there's a subtle but unfortunately effective discouragement of women pursuing the STEM fields. — Jennifer Doudna
To visit Morocco is still like turning the pages of some illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines. — Edith Wharton
We are all antennae for creative thought. Some transmissions come on strong, others are more faint. If your antenna isn’t sensitively tuned, you’re likely to lose the data in the noise. Particularly since the signals coming through are often more subtle than the content we collect through sensory awareness. They are energetic more than tactile, intuitively perceived more than consciously recorded. — Rick Rubin
Strategy-making is an immensely complex process involving the most sophisticated, subtle, and at times subconscious of human cognitive and social processes. — Henry Mintzberg
Of Love--may God exalt you! -the first part is jesting, and the last part is right earnestness. So majestic are its diverse aspects, they are too subtle to be described; their reality can only be apprehended by personal experience. Love is neither disapproved by Religion, nor prohibited by the Law; for every heart is in God's hands. — Ibn Hazm
The method of political science is the interpretation of life; its instrument is insight, a nice understanding of subtle, unformulated conditions. — Woodrow Wilson
Photography is a very subtle thing. You must let the camera take you by the hand, as it were, and lead you into your subject. — Margaret Bourke-White
The 'that's right' breakthrough usually doesn't come at the beginning of a negotiation. It's invisible to the counterpart when it occurs, and they embrace what you've said. To them, it's a subtle epiphany. — Chris Voss
The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder. — Jim Morrison
Re'lar Kvothe," he said seriously. "I am trying to wake your sleeping mind to the subtle language the world is whispering. I am trying to seduce you into understanding. I am trying to teach you." He leaned forward until his face was almost touching mine. "Quit grabbing at my tits. — Patrick Rothfuss
Patriarchy is not men. Patriarchy is a system in which both women and men participate. It privileges, inter alia, the interests of boys and men over the bodily integrity, autonomy, and dignity of girls and women. It is subtle, insidious, and never more dangerous than when women passionately deny that they themselves are engaging in it. — Ashley Judd
True magic therefore is the high knowledge of the more subtle powers that have not yet been acknowledged by science up to this date because the methods of scrutiny that have been applied so far do not suffice for their grasping, understanding and utilization, although the laws of magic are analogous to all official sciences of the world. — Franz Bardon
I think that one's art is a growth inside one. I do not think one can explain growth. It is silent and subtle. One does not keep digging up a plant to see how it grows. — Emily Carr
Positive energy brings good feelings, and dark energy often means harm. But the destruction in dark energy is also a subtle aspect of construction, like how even forest fires have their benefits. Sometimes enemies are our best teachers, people can learn from their mistakes, destruction sometimes means rebirth. — Keanu Reeves
There is no scent so pleasant to my nostrils as that faint, subtle reek which comes from an ancient book. — Arthur Conan Doyle
There are seven primary chakras located in the subtle physical body, the body of light and energy that is our awareness and that surrounds the physical. — Frederick Lenz
Film noir is not a genre. It is not defined, as are the western and gangster genres, by conventions of setting and conflict, but rather by the more subtle qualities of tone and mood. It is a film 'noir', as opposed to the possible variants of film gray or film off-white. — Paul Schrader
Your heart chakra is not in your physical body. It is in your subtle physical body, but it comes in contact with your physical body in this location. — Frederick Lenz
Charm is the enchanted dart, light and subtle as a hummingbird. But it is deceptive in one thing: like a sense of humor, if you think you've got it, you probably haven't. — Laurel Lea
It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. — Robert Louis Stevenson
Is it not true that your gloominess and bad temper are due to your lack of determination in breaking the subtle snares laid by your own disordered desires? The daily examination of conscience is an indispensible help if we are to follow our Lord with sincerity of heart and integrity of life. — Josemaria Escriva
Diabolical error decks itself out with ease in lying colors with some appearance of truth, so that the force of pronouncement is corrupted by a very brief addition or change, and the confession of faith which should have resulted in salvation, by a subtle transition leads to death! — Pope Clement XIII
I prefer to regard a dessert as I would imagine the perfect woman: subtle, a little bittersweet, not blowsy and extrovert. Delicately made up, not highly rouged. Holding back, not exposing everything and, of course, with a flavor that lasts. — Graham Kerr
The very sight of a teapot puts a smile on the face of most people. One cannot help but think of more serene and genteel times. From a whimsical child's teapot to an elegant English Teapot, to collectible teapots that adorn some homes, they are a subtle reminder of all that is good in this world. — Barbara Roberts
If a fish is the movement of water embodied, given shape, then cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air. — Doris Lessing
In Conclusion
Which quotation resonated with you best? Did you enjoy our collection of subtle quotes? Or may be you have a slogan about subtle to suggest. Let us know using our contact form.
Citation
Feel free to cite and use any of the quotes in this collection of subtle quotations. For popular citation styles(APA, Chicago, MLA), please use this citation page.