Door

It's a door, Sol. It's a door. ~Darren Aronofsky,inπ

If the doors ofperceptionwere cleansedeverythingwould appear to man as it is,infinite.~William Blake

Doorsare parts of structures which may be opened or closed in order to control and restrict access. A door may also metaphorically refer to portals and other non-physical entrances. In literature, doors often represent choices or outcomes which the principle actors can directly engage with.

Quotes

Alphabetized by author or source

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall besaved,and shall go in and out, and find pasture. Thethiefcometh not, but for tosteal,and tokill,and todestroy:I am come that they might havelife,and that they might have it moreabundantly.~Jesus

Yog-Sothothknowsthe gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is thekeyandguardianof the gate. ~H. P. Lovecraft

• Godnever shuts one door without opening another.
  • AnonymousIrish proverb, quoted inThe Search for God(1983) by David Manning White, p. 160

• The door was the way to... to... The Door was The Way.Good. Capital letters were always the best way of dealing with things you didn't have a good answer to.
  • Douglas Adams,inDirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency(1987)

• "SirIsaac Newton,renowned inventor of the milled-edge coin and the catflap! "
  "The what?" said Richard.
  "The catflap! A device of the utmost cunning, perspicuity and invention.It is a door within a door, you see,a... "
  "Yes," said Richard, "there was also the small matter of gravity."
  "Gravity," said Dirk with a slightly dismissive shrug, "yes, there was that as well, I suppose. Though that, of course, was merely a discovery. It was there to be discovered."…
  "You see?" he said dropping his cigarette butt, "They even keep it on at weekends. Someone was bound to notice sooner or later. But the catflap… ah, there is a very different matter. Invention, pure creative invention. It is a door within a door, you see."
  • Douglas Adams,inDirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency(1987)

• It's a door, Sol. It's a door.
  • Darren Aronofsky,Sean Gullette, and Eric Watson, in lines written for the character Maximillian Cohen, about the irrational numberπ,in the filmπ(1998).

• There are a great many doors open; but a door must be of a man's size or it is not meant for him.
  • Henry Ward Beecher,As quoted inHenry Ward Beecher: His Life and Work(1887) by J.T. Lloyd, p. 261

• If the doors ofperceptionwere cleansedeverythingwould appear to man as it is,infinite.
  • William Blake,in "A Memorable Fancy" inThe Marriage of Heaven and Hell(1790–1793)

• Alifeofloveis one of continualgrowth,where thedoorsand windows ofexperienceare always open to thewonderandmagicthat life offers.To love is to risk living fully.
  • Leo Buscaglia,ininterview with Veronica M. Hay, inA Magazine of People and Possibilities(1998)

• Well, if Ieatit, and if it makes megrowlarger, I can reach thekey;and if makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so either way I'll get into thegarden,and I don'tcarewhich happens!
  • Lewis Carroll,inAlice's Adventures in Wonderland;Alice speaking of a cake with "EAT ME" written upon it.

• there's a hell
  of a gooduniversenext door; let's go
  • E. E. Cummings,in "pity this busy monster, manunkind" in1 x 1(1944)

• WhenGodsends hisangelto thesoulit becomes the one whoknowsfor sure. Not for nothing did God give thekeysintoSt. Peter's keeping, for Peter stands for knowledge, andknowledge is the key that unlocks the door, presses forward and breaks in, to discover God as he is.
  • Meister Eckhart,in Sermon 9, as translated inThe Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church(1999) by Hughes Oliphant Old, Ch. 9: The German Mystics, p. 448

• Last thing I remember, I was running for the door. I had to find the passage back, to the place I was before.
  • Don Henley,"Hotel California"(1976),Hotel California,Asylum Records

• I am thedoor:by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.Thethiefcometh not, but for tosteal,and tokill,and todestroy:I am come that they might havelife,and that they might have it moreabundantly.I am thegoodshepherd: thegood shepherdgiveth his life for thesheep.
  • Jesus,as quoted in theGospel of John10:9-11

• When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
  • Helen KellerWe Bereaved(1929)

• Dave:Open the pod bay doors, HAL.

• Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke,2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

• Learning in the true sense of the word is possible only in that state of attention, in which there is no outer or inner compulsion. Right thinking can come about only when the mind is not enslaved by tradition and memory.It is attention that allows silence to come upon the mind, which is the opening of the door to creation.
  • Jiddu Krishnamurti,inLife Ahead(1963)

• In oneself lies the wholeworldand if you know how to look andlearn,the door is there and thekeyis in yourhand.Nobody onearthcan give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.
  • Jiddu Krishnamurti,as quoted inPerfecting Ourselves: Coordinating Body, Mind, and Spirit(2002) by Aaron Hoopes, p. 64

• Yog-Sothothknows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate.
  • H. P. Lovecraft,"The Dunwich Horror"- Written Summer 1928; first published inWeird Tales,13, No. 4, (April 1929).

• Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
  So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
  • Katy Perryamong other writers in the songFirework(2010)

• When people keep repeating
  That you'll never fall inlove
  When everybody keeps retreating
  But you can't seem to get enough
  Let my love open the door
  Let my love open the door
  Let my love open the door
  To yourheart.
  • Pete Townshend,in "Let My Love Open the Door"onEmpty Glass(1980)

• Remember, I have not appointed you as commanders and tyrants over thepeople.I have sent you asleadersinstead, so that thepeoplemay follow yourexample.Give the Muslims theirrightsand do not beat them lest they become abused. Do not praise them unduly, lest they fall into theerrorofconceit.Do not keep your doors shut in theirfaces,lest the morepowerfulof themeatup theweakerones. And do not behave as if you weresuperiorto them, for that istyrannyover them.
  • Umar,as quoted inOmar the Great: The Second Caliph Of Islam(1962) by Muhammad Shibli Numani, Vol. 2, p. 33