40 Dove Quotes About Our Peaceful Feathered Friends
As white doves glide across the sky, they paint a picture of peace and purity, embodying the many symbolisms we value. Countless dove quotes echo the birds' timeless messages throughout the ages. Explore the wisdom in these phrases and let their profound meanings uplift your spirit.
Related Read: Dove Facts, Types of Birds.
Quick links to our selection of dove quotes:
Dove Quotes About Peace
Doves have long been symbols of peace in Christian tradition, dating back to biblical times when a dove returned to Noah with an olive branch. This signaled the end of the flood and the restoration of peace on Earth.
The world embraced the enduring emblem during International Peace Day celebrations. Moreover, Pablo Picasso immortalized it with his renowned "Dove of Peace," created for the First International Peace Conference in Paris. Clearly, the bird continues to represent a universal aspiration for harmony across nations.
Here are quotes from authors and activists using dove imagery to express peace.
"Peace is better than war. There’s too much glorification of war and not enough glorification of peace, and especially not enough glorification of the importance of the doves."
- Jo Walton
"Don't kill doves in the garden. You kill one and the others won't come."
- Malala Yousafzai
"After the sharp-eyed jay and the roaring lion, peace will come on the dove's gentle wing."
- Erin Hunter
"It takes more than one dove to make peace in the Middle East."
- Madeleine Albright
"Love is the dove of peace, the spirit of brotherhood. It is tenderness and compassion, forgiveness and tolerance."
- Wilferd Peterson
"Greet each man with peace, and leave each man with love. Ask yourself—one more enemy, or one more dove?"
- Suzy Kassem
"Doves oppose war on the grounds that the risks exceed the gains. War with Iraq could be very costly, possibly degenerating into urban warfare."
- Charles Krauthammer
"Perhaps then, if we listen attentively, we shall hear amid the uproar of empires and nations, a faint flutter of wings, the gentle stirring of life and hope."
- Albert Camus
Quotes About The Dove's Purity
Doves are often associated with purity due to their white feathers. However, various dove species actually possess other colors. Take, for example, the vibrant green of the Emerald Dove or the Rose-crowned Fruit Dove with its shades of pink and purple.
Check out the quotes below reflecting this dove symbolism.
"The simplicity of the dove denotes purity of action."
- Syncletica Of Alexandria
"We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I say love, and the world populates itself with doves."
- Pablo Neruda
"When a dove begins to associate with crows , its feathers remain white but its heart grows black."
- Unknown
"A song fluttered down in the form of a dove, And it bore me a message, the one word-Love!"
- Paul Laurence Dunbar
"A dove will never nest in a burning tree, nor will love ever reside in an unforgiving heart."
- Jason Versey
"See how that pair of billing doves With open murmurs own their loves And, heedless of censorious eyes, Pursue their unpolluted joys: No fears of future want molest The downy quiet of their nest."
- Mary Wortley Montagu
"No doves come from ravens’ eggs"
- Hannah Kent
More Deep Meaningful Dove Quotes To Reflect On
Doves have inspired a wealth of metaphorical expressions that reflect their nature. Consider the first quote below by Augustine of Hippo. He highlights a dove's inherent gentleness, even in conflict, contrasting with a wolf's deceptive calmness.
Such an analogy illustrates human behavior and character, using the dove's calm disposition as a reference. Check out other ways the following people use the bird as a figure of speech.
"The dove loves when it quarrels; the wolf hates when it flatters."
- Augustine of Hippo
"Managing is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it; not hard enough and it flies away."
- Tommy Lasorda
"A dove struggling in a storm grows stronger than an eagle soaring in sunshine."
- Matshona Dhliwayo
"Only in the first hour of the night can I become human, while the male dove is busy with the twelve dead."
- Carl Gustav Jung
"Seagulls were the souls of dead soldiers. Owls were the souls of women. Doves were the recently departed souls of unmarried girls."
- Ruta Sepetys
"Sharp and mild, dull and keen, well known and strange, dirty and clean, where both the fool and wise are seen. All this am I, have ever been, in me dove, snake , and swine convene!"
- Friedrich Nietzsche
"People want you to be happy. Don’t keep serving them your pain! If you could untie your wings and free your soul of jealousy, you and everyone around you would fly up like doves."
- Rumi
"To this day, I still think ‘Lonesome Dove' is my best part."
- Robert Duvall
Notable Dove Quotes In Literature
Doves in literature often embody nature's tranquil and tender aspects—qualities that authors and poets like John Clare skillfully weave into their works. In his imagery, the dove represents true love, retreating from the world into a 'beautiful green solitude' away from the prying eyes of eagles.
Interpret the other quotes to uncover more dove symbolisms.
"Expand Thy wings, celestial Dove, brood o'er our nature's night; on our disordered spirits move, and let there now be light."
- Charles Wesley
"I had a dove and the sweet dove died; and I have thought it died of grieving. O, what could it grieve for? Its feet were tied, with a silken thread of my own hands' weaving."
- John Keats
"So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows."
- William Shakespeare
"For nature is love, and finds haunts for true love , where nothing can hear or intrude; it hides from the eagle and joins with the dove, in beautiful green solitude."
- John Clare
"Not half so swift the trembling doves can fly, When the fierce eagle cleaves the liquid sky; Not half so swiftly the fierce eagle moves, When thro' the clouds he drives the trembling doves."
- Alexander Pope
"Listen, sweet dove, unto my song, and spread thy golden wings in me; hatching my tender heart so long, till it gets wings, and fly away with thee."
- George Herbert
"And there my little doves did sit, with feathers softly brown and glittering eyes that showed their right to general nature's deep delight."
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Short And Insightful Dove Sayings To Post Online
Dove imagery also graces the shortest captions that are perfect for sharing online. For instance, Debasish Mridha's quote below suits moments when you search for inner tranquility. Posting such a message can glimpse your quest for calmness, inspiring others to seek peace.
"Fierce eagles breed not the tender dove."
- Horace
"As the hawk is wont to pursue the trembling doves."
- Ovid
"Today, I will fly in the peaceful blue sky with a flight of doves."
- Debasish Mridha
"But remember when I moved in you And the holy dove was moving too And every breath we drew was Hallelujah."
- Leonard Cohen
"The dove, on silver pinions, winged her peaceful way."
- James Montgomery
"Be wise as a serpent and wary as a dove!"
- Mark Twain
"We are single doves—wingless messengers of peace, sent without a script."
- Nanette L. Avery
"In the animal world no creature born to be a dove turns into a scavenger. This happens only among men."
- Victor Hugo
"The sacred dove a quill did lend from her high-soaring wing."
- F. Nethersole
Isabela is a determined millennial passionate about continuously seeking out ways to make an impact. With a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering with honors, Isabela’s research expertise and interest in artistic works, coupled with a creative mindset, offers readers a fresh take on different environmental, social, and personal development topics.
