Quotes arranged by Author, A

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a Kempis, Thomas, see, Thomas a Kempis


Aaronovitch, Ben

  • Every great decision creates ripples--like a huge boulder dropped in a lake. The ripples merge, rebound off the banks in unforseeable ways. The heavier the decision, the larger the waves, the more uncertain the consequences. (Remembrance of the Daleks)

  • In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams away the cold.


Abbey, Edward

  • The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders.

  • Every man, every woman carries in heart and mind the image of the ideal place, the right place, the one true home, known or unknown, actual or visionary.

  • Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell. (The Journey Home: Some Words in Defense of the American West)

  • That which today calls itself science gives us more and more information, and indigestible glut of information, and less and less understanding. ("Down the River with Henry Thoreau" Words from the Land)


Abdul-Baha

  • Man is not intended to see through the eyes of another, hear through another's ears nor comprehend with another's brain. Each human creature has individual endowment, power and responsibility in the creative plan of God.

  • Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it...


Abel, Bree

  • You never know what happiness a simple act of kindness will bring about.


Abelard, Peter

  • Constant and frequent questioning is the first key to wisdom … For through doubting we are led to inquire, and by inquiry we perceive the truth.

  • The first key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning ... for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.


Abelson, Philip Hauge

  • Part of the strength of science is that it has tended to attract individuals who love knowledge and the creation of it. ("The Roots of Scientific Integrity" Science 1963)


Aberjhani

  • Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory. (The River of Winged Dreams)

  • Love is our most unifying and empowering common spiritual denominator. The more we ignore its potential to bring greater balance and deeper meaning to human existence, the more likely we are to continue to define history as one long inglorious record of man’s inhumanity to man. (Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry


Abert, Geoffrey F.

  • The most important thing about having goals is having one.

  • Prosperity depends more on wanting what you have than having what you want.

  • When you take charge of your life, there is no longer need to ask permission of other people or society at large. When you ask permission, you give someone veto power over your life.


Achad, Frater

  • Beauty is everywhere to he or she who would behold it. When God reigns supreme in the consciousness of man, the tiniest blade of grass speaks of God's beauty.

  • God's beauty is expressed whenever man of earth so desires to seek for it. It shall not be difficult for man to behold beauty, when he beholds the beauty of God within his own consciousness.


Achebe, Chinua

  • Storytellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control, they frighten usurpers of the right-to-freedom of the human spirit. New! as of 04/01/17


Acheson, Dean

  • The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.

  • It is worse than immoral, it's a mistake.


Achor, Shawn

  • Habits are like financial capital – forming one today is an investment that will automatically give out returns for years to come. (The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work)

  • Successful people see adversity as a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block.


Ackerman, Diane

  • I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

  • Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.


Acosta, Mercerdes de

  • Nothing that is beautiful is easy, but everything is possible.


Acton, John Dalberg

  • Guard against the prestige of great names; see that your judgments are your own; and do not shrink from disagreement; no trusting without testing. ("Inaugural Lecture on The Study of History," Cambridge, June 11, 1895)

  • If the past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and the surest emancipation.


Adair, John

  • The chief executive who knows his strengths and weaknesses as a leader is likely to be far more effective than the one who remains blind to them. He also is on the road to humility - that priceless attitude of openness to life that can help a manager absorb mistakes, failures, or personal shortcomings.

  • Effective leaders treat individuals differently but equally. (Develop Your Leadership Skills) New! as of 04/01/17

  • Humble people know their limitations: they know what they know, and they know what they do not know; they know what they can do or be, and they know what they cannot do or be (The Leadership of Muhammad) New! as of 04/01/17

  • Those occupying leadership roles who completely lack integrity are what we call "Blind shepherds." They are not really "bad" leaders, because they are not leaders at all: they are misleaders. (The Leadership of Muhammad) New! as of 04/01/17


Adam, Juliette

  • Death is the opening of a more subtle life. In the flower, it sets free the perfume; in the chrysalis, the butterfly; in man, the soul.


Adams, Abigail

  • Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence. (Letter to John Adams, May 8, 1780)

  • We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them. (letter to John Adams, Oct. 16, 1774)


Adams, Ansel

  • I believe the approach of the artist and the approach of the environmentalist are fairly close in that both are, to a rather impressive degree, concerned with the affirmation of life. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful - an endless prospect of magic and wonder. New! as of 04/01/17

  • In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. (in Older & Wiser, ed. by Hofmayer)

  • Let us leave a splendid legacy for our children...let us turn to them and say, this you inherit: guard it well, for it is far more precious than money...and once destroyed, nature's beauty cannot be repurchased at any price. New! as of 04/01/17

  • No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. New! as of 04/01/17


Adams, Bryan

  • Difficulties are opportunities to better things; they are stepping-stones to greater experience...When one door closes, another always opens; as a natural law it has to, to balance. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I like the idea of helping people help people. New! as of 04/01/17

  • It's the time of year when everyone's together
    we'll celebrate here on Christmas day
    when the ones you love are there
    you can feel the magic in the air - you know it's everywhere
    There's something about Christmas time... (with Jim Vallance) ("Christmas Time")

  • Thoughts of doubt and fear are pathways to failure. When you conquer negative attitudes of doubt and fear you conquer failure. New! as of 04/01/17


Adams, Douglas

  • A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof was to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

  • First we thought the PC was a calculator. Then we found out how to turn numbers into letters with ASCII--and we thought it was a typewriter. Then we discovered graphics, and we thought it was a television. With the World Wide Web, we've realized it's a brochure.

  • Human being, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

  • The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.

  • It is a rare mind indeed that can render the hitherto non-existent blindingly obvious. The cry 'I could have thought of that' is a very popular and misleading one, for the fact is that they didn't, and a very significant and revealing fact it is too. (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency)


Adams, Franklin P.

  • I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.

  • Our notion of an optimist is a man who, knowing that each year was worse than the preceding, thinks next year will be better. And a pessimist is a man who knows the next year can't be any worse than the last one. (Nods and Becks)


Adams, George Matthew

  • Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant the pouring into a sick world the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years... Underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart. (The Christmas Heart)

  • There is no such thing as a "self-made" man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.

  • There are high spots in all of our lives and most of them have come about through encouragement from someone else. I don't care how great, how famous or successful a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause.

  • To praise is an investment in happiness.


Adams, Henry Brooks

  • Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.

  • A friend in power is a friend lost. (The Education of Henry Adams)

  • He too serves a certain purpose who only stands and cheers.

  • In plain words, Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man. (The Education of Henry Adams)

  • One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible. (Education)

  • A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

  • Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops.

  • They know enough who know how to learn. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)

  • We combat obstacles in order to get repose, and, when got, the repose is insupportable. (Education)


Adams, John

  • Let us dare to read, think, speak and write

  • The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.


Adams, John Quincy

  • Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

  • There is such seduction in a library of good books that I cannot resist the temptation to luxuriate in reading. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Try and fail, but don't fail to try. New! as of 04/01/17


Adams, Marilyn Jager

  • If the processes don't transfer, they cannot even be called thinking. They can be called learning, memory, or habit, but not thinking. The purpose of a course on thinking is to enhance student's abilities to face new challenges and to attack novel problems confidently, rationally and productively. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read.--Marilyn Jager Adams


Adams, Mary

  • The great crises of life are not, I think, necessarily those which are in themselves the hardest to bear, but those for which we are least prepared.

  • Happiness is a tide: it carries you only a little way at a time; but you have covered a vast space before you know that you are moving at all. (Confessions of a Wife) New! as of 04/01/17

  • ... it is the greatest mistake, both in life and in literature, to suppose that love is the difficult, the complicated thing. It is not love, it is friendship, which is the great problem of civilized society. The other is quite elemental beside it. (Confessions of a Wife) New! as of 04/01/17


Adams, Patch

  • I think the most revolutionary act that you can commit in our society is to be happy.

  • When a dream takes hold of you, what can you do? You can run with it, let it run your life, or let it go and think for the rest of your life about what might have been. (Gesundheit!)


Adams, Phillip

  • Fame often comes to those who are thinking about something else, whereas celebrity comes to those who think about nothing else. Celebrity is, if you like, a forgery of fame: it has the form but lacks the content. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don't. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever.

  • Unless you are willing to try, fail miserable, and try again, success won't happen. New! as of 04/01/17


Adams, Scott

  • Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

  • I'm slowly becoming a convert to the principle that you can't motivate people to do things, you can only demotivate them. The primary job of the manager is not to empower but to remove obstacles.

  • You don't have to be a "person of influence" to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they've taught me.


Adams, Thomas

  • Grace comes into the soul, as the morning sun into the world: first a dawning, then a light, and at last the sun in his full and excellent brightness.

  • He who demands mercy and shows none ruins the bridge over which he himself is to pass. New! as of 04/01/17

  • He who reforms himself, has done much toward reforming others; and one reason why the world is not reformed, is, because each would have others make a beginning, and never thinks of himself doing it. New! as of 04/01/17


Adams, William

  • Faith is a continuation of reason.


Addams, Jane

  • Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.

  • Civilization is a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men.


Addison, Joseph

  • Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.

  • A good conscience is to the soul what health is to the body; it preserves constant ease and serenity within us; and more than countervails all the calamities and afflictions which can befall us from without.

  • The greatest sweetener of human life is Friendship. To raise this to the highest pitch of enjoyment, is a secret which but few discover.

  • I consider an human soul without education like marble in the quarry, which shows none of its inherent beauties till the skill of the polisher fetches out the colours, makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot and vein that runs through the body of it.

  • To be perfectly just is an attribute of the divine nature: to be so to the utmost of our agilities is the glory of man.

  • The transition from cause to effect, from event to event, is often carried on by secret steps, which our foresight cannot divine, and our sagacity is unable to trace.

  • What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.

  • What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

  • When we ask advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.


Ade, George

  • Anybody can win - unless there happens to be a second entry. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense. New! as of 04/01/17

  • One cannot rest except after steady practice. (Forty Modern Fables)

  • Scatter seeds of kindness. New! as of 04/01/17

  • The wealthy have nothing left except money. New! as of 04/01/17


Adenauer, Konrad

  • Experiences are the seeds out of which wisdom grows. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I do not ask to be young again; all I want is to go on getting older. New! as of 04/01/17

  • In an instant age, perhaps we must relearn the ancient truth that patience, too, has its victories. New! as of 04/01/17

  • In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that He did not also limit his stupidity.

  • To look back into the past only makes sense if it serves the future. New! as of 04/01/17

  • When the world seems large and complex, we need to remember that great world ideals all begin in some home neighborhood. New! as of 04/01/17


Adjani, Isabelle

  • Life is worth being lived, but not being discussed all the time.

  • To change, that is the most difficult thing to accomplish. New! as of 04/01/17

  • You must take the risk to disclose yourself in order to become more real, more human. And even if the price is high. New! as of 04/01/17


Adler, Alfred

  • The educator must believe in the potential power of his pupil, and he must employ all his art in seeking to bring his pupil to experience this power. New! as of 04/01/17

  • It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.

  • It is very obvious that we are not influenced by "facts" but by our interpretation of the facts. New! as of 04/01/17

  • It is well known that those who do not trust themselves never trust others. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Life is just the same as learning to swim. Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live! New! as of 04/01/17

  • Overcoming difficulties leads to courage, self-respect, and knowing yourself. New! as of 04/01/17


Adler, Felix

  • The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by.

  • An optimist is a person who sees only the lights in the picture, whereas a pessimist sees only the shadows. An idealist, however, is one who sees the light and the shadows, but in addition sees something else: the possibility of changing the picture, of making the lights prevail over the shadows.


Adier, Judi

  • Champions know there are no shortcuts to the top. They climb the mountain one step at a time. They have no use for helicopters!


Adler, Mortimer J.

  • All genuine learning is active, not passive. It involves the use of the mind, not just the memory. It is a process of discovery, in which the student is the main agent, not the teacher. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Education is the sum total of one's experience, and the purpose of higher education is to widen our experiences beyond the circumscribed existence or our own daily lives. New! as of 04/01/17

  • In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you. New! as of 04/01/17

  • The telephone book is full of facts, but it doesn't contain a single idea.

  • To agree without understanding is inane. To disagree without understanding is impudent. New! as of 04/01/17

  • True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline. New! as of 04/01/17


Adler, Shannon L.

  • Choose to let go.
    Choose dignity.
    Choose to forgive yourself.
    Choose to forgive others.
    Choose to see your value.
    Choose to show the world you’re not a victim.
    Choose to make us proud.

  • If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you're allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind.

  • You will face your greatest opposition when you are closest to your biggest miracle.


Aeschylus

  • It is an easy thing for one whose foot/is on the outside of calamity/to give advice and to rebuke the sufferer.

  • It is easy when we are in prosperity to give advice to the afflicted.

  • The wisest of the wise may err.


Aesop

  • Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in.

  • Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin.

  • Example is the best precept. ("The Two Crabs" Fables)

  • No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)

  • Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth.

  • Plodding wins the race.


Agather, Elaine

  • The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it.


Agee, James

  • In every child who is born, under no matter what circumstances, and of no matter what parents, the potentiality of the human race is born again.

  • It is the middle and pure height and whole of summer and a summer night, the held breath of a planet's year; high shored sleeps the crested tide: what day of the month I do not know, which day of the week I am not sure, far less what hour of the night. (Let Us Now Praise Famous Men)


Agee, Jonis

  • There's a lot of true things that happen in our life. I think we see them at the very moment they happen too, then we try to forget about them. (A .38 Special and a Broken Heart) New! as of 04/01/17

  • We all need the waters of the Mercy River. Though they don't run deep, there's usually enough, just enough, for the extravagance of our lives. (Sweet Eyes)


Ahern, Cecelia

  • Her silence was worth more to her than a thousand words. In that silence, she had peace and clarity. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I believe in the magic of books. I believe that during certain periods in our lives we are drawn to particular books-whether it's strolling down the aisles of a bookshop with no idea whatsoever of what it is that we want to read and suddenly finding the most perfect, most wonderfully suitable book staring us right in the face. Unblinking. Or a chance meeting with a stranger or friend who recommends a book we would never ordinarily reach for. Books have the ability to find their own way into our lives.

  • Life has a way of getting what it wants when it really knows what it wants. New! as of 04/01/17

  • The more you try to simplify things the more you complicate them. You create rules, build walls, push people away, lie to yourself and ignore true feelings. That is not simplifying things. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Time is more precious than gold, more precious than diamonds, more precious than oil or any valuable treasures. It is time that we do not have enough of... New! as of 04/01/17


Aiken, Howard Hathaway

  • At the present time there exist problems beyond our ability to solve, not because of theoretical difficulties, but because of insufficient means of mechanical computation. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good you'll have to ram them down people's throats.


Aiken, Joan

  • As cows need milking and sweet peas need picking, so writers must continually exercise their mental muscles by a daily stint. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Children read to learn--even when they are reading fantasy, nonsense, light verse, comics or the copy on cereal packets, they are expanding their minds all the time, enlarging their vocabulary, making discoveries: it is all new to them.

  • Why do we want to have alternate worlds? It's a way of making progress. You have to imagine something before you do it. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Words are like spices. Too many is worse than too few. New! as of 04/01/17


an Air Force motte

  • The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer.


Aitchison, Steven

  • If you have the courage to be honest with everyone, including yourself, you may hurt a few people's feelings, but they will forever value your opinion more than your half truths.

  • The most important thing you can do in a relationship is sit down and talk to each other, not with the TV on, or at the cinema, or over a meal, but just you and the other person where you can truly be heard and truly listen to each other. (100 Ways to Develop Your Mind: The Psychology of the Mind and How to Develop Your Mind to Change Your Life

  • Most people know the physical senses, but a lot of people don’t know the soul’s senses: empathy, trust, intuition, love and harmony.

  • People with good intentions make Promises but people with good Character keep them.

  • Those who really know and care about you can hear you even when you haven’t spoken a word.


Aivanhov, Omraam Mikhael

  • The day I acquired the habit of consciously pronouncing the words "thank you," I felt I had gained possession of a magic wand capable of transforming everything. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Gratitude is what opens the spiritual doors to all the blessings. Everything becomes clear, you see, you feel, you live.

  • Peace is the result of an inner state of harmony. It is not obtained by eliminating anything external, it is inside ourselves that we must find and suppress the causes of war. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Strive each day to make your life purer, richer, and more luminous. You will subtly and imperceptibly lead all of creation heavenward. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Whatever your trials, remind yourself that you are a spirit and are capable of changing your destiny New! as of 04/01/17


Akers, John F.

  • Set your expectations high; find men and women whose integrity and values you respect; get their agreement on a course of action; and give them your ultimate trust.

  • The people who are playing it totally safe are never going to have either the fun or the reward of the people who decide to take some risk, stick out, do it differently. New! as of 04/01/17


Akhenaton

  • Honor is the inner garment of the Soul; the first thing put on by it with the flesh, and the last it layeth down at its separation from it.

  • To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and he that increaseth his riches, increaseth his cares; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not.


Akita, Lailah Gifty

  • Each day brings new life, new strength, new dreams and new hope. May you find courage, confidence and hope to reach out for your dreams. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I am never alone, the pages of a book keeps me my mind occupied. (Think Great: Be Great!) New! as of 04/01/17

  • The light in your soul is far greater than the darkness. Shine your light. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Listen to your heart.
    Listen to your instincts.
    Listen to inner voice.
    It is your true self.
    It will guide you to make the right choices. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Live with passion. Live with enthusiasm. Live your best life. New! as of 04/01/17

  • May the Creator ignite the spark of light within our soul. (Pearls of Wisdom: Great Mind

  • The thoughtfulness and goodwill messages from loved ones brighten my Christmas day. (Pearls of Wisdom: Great Mind)



Alain, see, Chartier, Emile


Albee, Edward

  • Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it. A good writer turns fact into truth; a bad writer will, more often than not, accomplish the opposite.

  • Remember one thing about democracy. We can have anything we want and at the same time, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.


Albert, Eddie

  • I don't really care how I am remembered as long as I bring happiness and joy to people. (in Success Secrets of Super Achievers by Stovall)


Albert, Susan Wittig

  • Every American is governed only by the principle of personal responsibility and that his or her most important freedom is the absolute freedom to flourish or fail. (A Wilder Rose) New! as of 04/01/17

  • Music keeps time and defies time, simultaneously. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Our stories arise from our hearts and out souls. In this sense, telling our stories becomes a sacred gesture opening a clear way to that deep, ecstatic center where we are most uniquely our selves, individual and unique, and yet are ourselves, joined together at the heart. Once we understand this, we see that the stories of our daily lives, so rich with the experiences of trial and error, so deeply rooted in the here-and-now, so embodied and real and various - our ordinary stories are extraordinarily spirit filled. The routine exchanges, the daily duties, the everyday work: these become the heart-rich, soul-filled liturgies that sustain us. reminding us over and over that we are spiritual beings temporarily at home in human bodies, students working through a lifelong curriculum that teaches us to be human, each assigned her own daily lessons. (Writing from Life : Telling Your Soul's Story)

  • Sharing our stories can also be a means of healing. Grief and loss may isolate us, and anger may alienate us. Shared with others, these emotions can be powerfully uniting, as we see that we are not alone, and realize that others weep with us. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Writing isn’t magic, it’s work; earning a living as a writer means showing up at the typewriter every day, whether you feel like it or not. (A Wilder Rose) New! as of 04/01/17


Albom, Mitch

  • Accept who you are; and revel in it. (Tuesdays with Morrie)

  • But behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begin. (For One More Day)

  • Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe. (Have a Little Faith: a True Story)

  • I don't know what it is about food your mother makes for you, especially when it's something that anyone can make - pancakes, meat loaf, tuna salad - but it carries a certain taste of memory.


Albright, Herm

  • A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.


Albright, Madeleine

  • As you go along your own road in life, you will, if you aim high enough, also meet resistance... But no matter how tough the opposition may seem, have courage still - and persevere.

  • Embrace the faith that every challenge surmounted by your energy; every problem solved by your wisdom; every soul stirred by your passion; and every barrier to justice brought down by your determination will ennoble your life, inspire others, serve your country, and explode outward the boundaries of what is achievable on this earth. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Our collective experience has shown that when women have the power to make their own choices, good things happen. New! as of 04/01/17

  • What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change. New! as of 04/01/17


Alcott, Amos Bronson

  • Strengthen me by sympathizing with my strength, not my weakness.

  • Thought means life, since those who do not think do not live in any high or real sense.


Alcott, Louisa May

  • Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.

  • I like good strong words that mean something. (Little Women)

  • Let my name stand among those who are willing to bear ridicule and reproach for the truth's sake, and so earn some right to rejoice when the victory is won.

  • "Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary.

  • What do girls do who haven't any mothers to help them through their troubles?


Alda, Alan

  • Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can't get there by bus, only by hard work, risking, and by not quite knowing what you're doing. What you'll discover will be wonderful: yourself.

  • Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.

  • Listening is being able to be changed by the other person.

  • No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.

  • Originality is unexplored territory. You get there by carrying a canoe--you can't take a taxi.


Alden, Andrew

  • Before speaking, consider the interpretation of your words as well as their intent.


Alder, Shannon L.

  • There is more fulfillment in life knowing that you tried, rather than settled without a fight.

  • When you think yours is the only true path you forever chain yourself to judging others and narrow the vision of God. The road to righteousness and arrogance is a parallel road ... What makes them different is the road to righteousness is paved with the love of humanity. The road to arrogance is paved with the love of self.


Alderson, Eric

  • Data becomes information when it becomes relevant to what you are doing. Information becomes knowledge when it is used in the successful completion of tasks. (Chronicle Technologies)


Aldrich, Bess Streeter

  • Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever. (Song of Years)

  • The life of every man is a diary, in which he means to write one story, and writes another. (Cheers For Miss Bishop (movie based on the novel Miss Bishop))


Alexander (the Great)

  • I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion. (in "Alexander" Plutarch's Lives)

  • In the end, when it's over, all that matters is what you've done. New! as of 04/01/17

  • With the right attitude, self imposed limitations vanish. New! as of 04/01/17


Alexander, Lloyd

  • Life's a forge! Yes, and hammer and anvil, too! You'll be roasted, smelted, and pounded, and you'll scarce know what's happening to you. But stand boldly to it! Metal's worthless till it's shaped and tempered! (Taran Wanderer)

  • We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.


Alexander, Mary Ann

  • Teaching is a calling, not a choice. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)


Alexander, Scott

  • All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy.

  • You concentrate on getting your first target and then you fix your concentration on your next goal. Never spread yourself thin. A magnifying glass will not start a fire until it remains in one spot continuously for a certain length of time. If it is constantly moved from spot to spot, nothing will get warmed up, much less start a fire. (Rhinoceros Success)


Alexander, Shana

  • The paradox of reality is that no image is as compelling as the one which exists only in the mind's eye. (Talking Woman)

  • The sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous. ("Neglected Kids--The Bright Ones" in The Feminist Eye)


Alexander, Thea

  • Great things are only possible with outrageous requests.


Ali, Muhammad

  • Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.

  • To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are.


Allen, Adela A. (Dr.)

  • We should acknowledge differences, we should greet differences, until difference makes no difference anymore.


Allen, Ed

  • Right now we're not going to cut anything back, because the schedules are already set. Sports participation is an important part of the whole educational concept, and if you don't have extracurricular things to do, some kids just don't make it. New! as of 04/01/17

  • To change is difficult. Not to change is fatal.


Allen, George

  • For a good life: Work like a dog. Eat like a horse. Think like a fox. And play like a rabbit.

  • People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.


Allen, Gracie

  • Every man is born with the ability to do something well. This is what the Lord intended him to do. Using that ability - what life is all about. New! as of 04/01/17

  • They laughed at Joan of Arc, but she went right ahead and built it anyway.

  • This recipe is certainly silly. It says to separate two eggs, but it doesn't say how far to separate them. New! as of 04/01/17


Allen, James

  • The aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is," embraces the whole of man's being. It is so comprehensive that it reaches out to every condition and circumstance of life. A man is literally what he thinks. His character is the sum of his thoughts.

  • All that a man achieves and all that he falls to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.

  • Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.

  • Dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trails and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the visions of their solitary dreamers.

  • Fixedness of purpose is at the root of all successful efforts, whether in things worldly or spiritual.

  • Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruit.

  • He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Dream lofty dreams and as you dream so shall you become... (Your Achievement Ezine - Issue No. 153)

  • If there is no peace, there must be strength; if there is to be security, there must be stability; if there is to be lasting joy, there must be no leaning upon things which at any moment may be snatched away for ever. (Byways of Blessedness)

  • Justice, not confusion, is the soul and substance of life. (As A Man Thinketh)

  • The key to happiness is having dreams; the key to success is making them come true!

  • To begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment.

  • The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart--this you will build your life by, and this you will become.

  • Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results.


Allen, Pat B.

  • Art is a little subversive, very subversive; it gets underneath the surface and reveals what is there; it is a Geiger counter for truth. (Art Is a Spiritual Path)


Allen, Sarah Adison

  • Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people's legs like house cats. It was magical, this snow globe world. (The Sugar Queen) New! as of 04/01/17


Allen, Tim

  • All men like to think that they can do it alone, but a real man knows that there no substitute for support , encouragement or a pit crew. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Dads need to show an incredible amount of respect and humor and friendship toward their mate so the kids understand their parents are passionate, they're fun, they do things together, they're best friends. Kids learn by example. If I respect Mom, they're going to respect Mom.

  • If you don't decide where you're going, life will decide for you. New! as of 04/01/17

  • If you want to condemn yourself for the mistakes you've made, let's be fair, that means you've got to congratulate yourself for all the good things you've done. It's okay to say, "God, I wish I'd done this; yeah, but I did do that." Then it kind of balances out. New! as of 04/01/17

  • We became parents so we could tell our kids what to do. Otherwise we're just the tallest people living here. New! as of 04/01/17

  • When you're 6 or 7, your father becomes this wonderful presence in your life. I really responded to my father. And then, the very moment I realized that I loved him unconditionally, that life was going to be great just because he was in it, he was gone. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Why go to a church to worship God? A church is man made. God never said, "And let there be aluminum siding." Climbing a tree to talk to God sounds like a better idea since only God can make a tree. And if that tree's on a golf course, all the better. New! as of 04/01/17


Allen, W. H.

  • Choice of attention--to pay attention to this and ignore that--is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both choices man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences.


Allen, Woody

  • Eighty percent of success is showing up.

  • If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.


Alley, Kirstie

  • If we worried half as much what others are doing for us and spent twice as much time helping others, we would all be exponentially happier. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I've learned that you'll never be disappointed if you always keep an eye on uncharted territory, where you'll be challenged and growing and having fun.

  • No matter what parents do, kids retain their uniqueness. New! as of 04/01/17

  • The thing about me is, I don't care what religion you are. If someone is attacking your religion, I will have your back, and I will defend you. I think that is the most repulsive thing a person can do, attack another person's faith. New! as of 04/01/17


Ally, Carl

  • The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things -- ancient history, 19th century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later, or six months, or six years. But he has faith that it will happen.


Almond, David

  • "Everybody's got the seam of goodness in them, Kit," said Grandpa. "Just a matter of whether it can be found and brought out into the light." New! as of 04/01/17

  • Sometimes we just have to accept there are things we can’t know. Why is your sister ill? Why did my father die?…Sometimes we think we should be able to know everything. But we can’t. we have to allow ourselves to see what there is to see, and we have to imagine. (Skellig) New! as of 04/01/17

  • Sometimes we think we should be able to know everything. But we can't. We have to allow ourselves to see what there is to see, and we have imagine. (Skellig)


Alther, Lisa

  • Any mother could perform the jobs of several air-traffic controllers with ease. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Dying was apparently a weaning process; all the attachments to familiar people and objects have to be undone. New! as of 04/01/17

  • That's the risk you take if you change: that people you've been involved with won't like the new you. But other people who do will come along.


Amadon, Art

  • I get my way more often now that I have more than one way.


Amatt, John

  • Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day to day obstacles of life -- facing new challenges, seizing new opportunities, testing our resources against the unknown and in the process, discovering our own unique potential.

  • Face new challenges, seize new opportunities, test your resources against the unknown and in the process, discover your own unique potential. New! as of 04/01/17


Ambrosino, Brandon

  • What Easter teaches is this: Even in the midst of the kingdom you’re living in, it’s possible to actually pledge loyalty to a different one. By feeding the hungry, forgiving your enemies, and providing shelter for the homeless, you can actually choose to live in the kingdom Jesus established. ("Jesus’ radical politics")


Amiel, Henri Frederic

  • Almost everything comes from nothing.

  • Analysis kills spontaneity. The grain once ground into flour springs and germinates no more.

  • Learn to ... be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.

  • Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark way with us.

  • Life is short. Be swift to love! Make haste to be kind!

  • A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from the detail in which it is enwrapped, for everything cannot be equally considered; in a word, he must be able to simplify his duties, his business and his life.

  • The man who has no inner life is a slave of his surroundings, as the barometer is the obedient servant of the air.

  • The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. Accept life and you must accept regret.

  • To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.

  • To know where one is going and what one wishes – this is order ... to organize one’s life to distribute one’s time ... all this belong to and is included in the word order.

  • To know how to suggest is the art of teaching. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)

  • To learn new habits is everything, for it is to reach the substance of life. Life is but a tissue of habits.

  • True humility is contentment. (Journal)

  • We are all visionaries, and what we see is our soul in things. (Journal)

  • Whenever conscience speaks with a divided, uncertain, and disputed voice, it is not the voice of God. Descend still deeper into yourself, until you hear nothing but a clear, undivided voice, a voice which does away with doubt and brings with it persuasion, light, and serenity.


Ammianus Marcellinus

  • Truth is simple, requiring neither study nor art.


Amos, Tori

  • Getting people to go above and beyond the call of duty can be achieved but only if you, the artist, are willing to go above and beyond any and all calls of duty yourself. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I believe in rainbows and all of that. But there are darker colors ... and it's the shade that defines the light.

  • Our world is a huge mess right now, and not big enough for masses of intolerant people. New! as of 04/01/17

  • There is value in everybody's gift. No matter how hard to find or strange it is. New! as of 04/01/17


Anacharsis

  • Play so that you may be serious. (Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle)

  • Wise men argue causes; fools decide them. New! as of 04/01/17


Ananthan, Sanjeeva

  • At times your lives seem like that of a tranquil island in a sea of chaos. The battle is to keep this sea of chaos at bay and not let it wash us away into utter chaos.

  • When in a hole, stop digging.


Anders, Valerie

  • Giving thanks is one course from which we never graduate.


Andersen, Hans Christian

  • Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan's egg.

  • I covet honour in the same way as a miser covets gold. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Nothing is too high for a man to reach, but he must climb with care and confidence New! as of 04/01/17

  • To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
    To gain all while you give,
    To roam the roads of lands remote,
    To travel is to live. New! as of 04/01/17

  • The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to them we call them ordinary things. New! as of 04/01/17


Andersen, Uell Stanley

  • The cynic is his own worst enemy. It requires far less skill to run a wrecking company than it does to be an architect. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Pessimists are second rate people. They do not believe in life. ... All they want to do is drag you down and appease their own feelings of mediocrity and fear.


Anderson, Beverly

  • There's a feeling of goodwill and peace,
    It's a time of joyous giving
    And love is everywhere.
    What a wonderful time is Christmas! ("What a Wonderful Time Is Christmas")


Anderson, Cheryl B.

  • A patriarchal system, since it elevates one group [male] by subordinating another [female], has an obsession with control because "men maintain their privilege by controlling women and anyone else who might threaten it." (Ancient Laws & Contemporary Controversies: the Need for Inclusive Biblical Interpretation (material in quotes from The Gender Knot by Allan G. Johnson)


Anderson, Dave

  • I don't pretend to tell people how to live their lives other than to do the right thing and work hard. Everything else should take care of itself. (in Success Secrets of Super Achievers by Stovall)


Anderson, Ernestine

  • Nobody can teach you to sing the blues, you have to feel the blues.


Anderson, Greg

  • Living a life of integrity is one of the greatest missions we can undertake. New! as of 04/01/17

  • When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live.


Anderson, M. T.

  • A library is an adjustable wrench for opening the head.

  • There is no refreshment more gratifying to the soul than the sight of Nature in her summer finery, before the heat is at its most intense. She is soothing, but not soporific; intoxicating without inebriation. (The Pox Party) New! as of 04/01/17


Anderson, Marion

  • Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.

  • None of us is responsible for the complexion of his skin. This fact of nature offers no clue to the character or quality of the person underneath. New! as of 04/01/17

  • There are many persons ready to do what is right because in their hearts they know it is right. But they hesitate, waiting for the other fellow to make the make the first move - and he, in turn, waits for you. New! as of 04/01/17


Anderson, Poul

  • I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which when you looked at in the right way, did not become still more complicated. (in New Scientist, 9/25/69)

  • I think the first duty of all art, including fiction of any kind, is to entertain. That is to say, to hold interest. No matter how worthy the message of something, if it's dull, you're just not communicating. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Ninety-nine per cent of the human race, no matter how smart they are, will do the convenient thing instead of the wise thing, and kid themselves into thinking they can somehow escape the consequences. (Brain Wave) New! as of 04/01/17


Anderson, Sara E.

  • It takes great courage to faithfully follow what we know is true.


Anderson, Sherry Ruth and Patricia Hopkins

  • I feel that most people have visions, dreams, and insight as the fruits of their spiritual practices... But we need to give ourselves permission to act out those dreams and visions ... even if it takes a lifetime. (The Feminine Face of God)

  • In essence, prayer is communion with mystery. And for that reason, there can be no one right way to do it, no prescription for prayer that will minister to everyone's needs. ... However, perhaps there is one requisite: that our heart be in it. (The Feminine Face of God)

  • Underneath the question of whether spiritual life is easy or difficult, far deeper than that question is the truth of how a woman actually lives her life. The important issue, one woman told us, is not how to develop spiritually, but how to live authentically. "I'm not the least bit interested in spirituality," another said emphatically. "I'm interested in reality." (The Feminine Face of God)


Anderson, Walter Inglis

  • My grandmother once told me to avoid colds and angry people whenever I could. It's sound advice. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Our lives improve only when we take chances--and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.


Andretti, Mario

  • Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal--a commitment to excellence--that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

  • Do it no matter what. If you believe in it, it is something very honorable. If somebody around you or your family does not understand it, then that's their problem. But if you do have a passion, an honest passion, just do it. (in "A Moment With A Legend" by Zino)

  • If everything's under control, you're going too slow.

  • Love what you do. Believe in your instincts. And you'd better be able to pick yourself up and brush yourself off every day.


Andrews, Julie

  • Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth.

  • Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.


Andrews, Robert

  • Books of quotations are an elemental model of how culture is perpetuated, the wisdom of the trite passed on to posterity, to be added to, edited, and modified by subsequent generations.


Andrus, Ethel Percy

  • The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.

  • Such to me is the new image of aging: growth in self and service for all mankind.


Angelou, Maya

  • The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.

  • Among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.

  • A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. (quoted in Mind Your Own Bizniche by Squire)

  • Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.

  • Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will no withdraw from us.

  • For a person who grew up in the '30s and '40s in the segregated South, with so many doors closed without explanation to me, libraries and books said, "Here I am, read me." Over time I have learned I am at my best around books. (on Facebook, Oct. 30. 2010)

  • How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

  • Into [a] climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
    Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
    And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
    The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
    Come the way of friendship. ("Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem") New! as of 04/01/17

  • I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

  • I've learned that you can tell a lot a person by the way he or she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas lights.

  • Laugh as much as possible, always laugh. It's the sweetest thing one can do for oneself & one's fellow human beings.

  • Live life as if it were created just for you.

  • My life has been one great big joke
    A dance that's walked
    A song that's spoke
    Sometimes I laugh until I choke
    When I think of myself.

  • My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try to understand each other, we may even become friends. ("Passports to Understanding" Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now)

  • Therefore we pledge to bind ourselves to one another, to embrace our lowliest, to keep company with our loneliest, to educate our illiterate, to feed our starving, to clothe our ragged, to do all good things, knowing that we are more than keepers of our brothers and sisters. We are our brothers and sisters.

  • There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth. (I Dream a World by Lanker)

  • While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation.
  • You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.


Anonymous

  • Adversity weakens the weak and strengthens the strong.

  • All mothers are physically handicapped. They have only two hands. (The Best of Bits and Pieces)

  • All movement is not progress, just as all motion is not forward.

  • All through life we must keep choosing. Destiny hangs on "yes" and "no." As we look back, it is to wonder what would have happened if we had gone the other way when the road forked. (Philadelphia Ledger, 1926)

  • An arrogant tycoon once told his minister that there really was no need for him to pray ever again. After all, he had everything--he was young, rich, and good-looking.
    After hearing this, the minister said, "Well, you might want to pray for humility." (Bits & Pieces)

  • As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks.

  • Attitude is the mind's paintbrush, it can color any situation.

  • Attitudes are contagious is yours worth catching?

  • Be careful of the words you say,
    Keep them short and sweet.
    You never know, from day to day,
    Which ones you'll have to eat.

  • Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.

  • The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had.

  • The best leaders are clear. They continually light the way, and in the process, let each person know that what they do makes a difference.

  • The best six doctors anywhere
    And no one can deny it
    Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
    Exercise and diet.
    These six will gladly you attend
    If only you are willing
    Your mind they'll ease
    Your will they'll mend
    And charge you not a shilling. (Nursery rhyme)

  • The best way out of a difficulty is through it.

  • Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.

  • Books are the shoes with which we tread the footsteps of great minds.

  • Bumper sticker: Auntie Em: Hate the farm, hate Kansas, taking the dog. Dorothy.

  • A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer.

  • Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)

  • Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.

  • The Christmas spirit that goes out with the dried-up Christmas tree is just as worthless.

  • A closed mouth gathers no foot.

  • Comparison is the thief of joy.

  • The decision doesn't have to be logical, it was unanimous.

  • Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how it remains so popular?

  • Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.

  • Don't aim to be an earthly saint, with eyes fixed on a star,
    Just try to be the fellow that your Mother thinks you are.

  • Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.

  • The door to opportunity is always labeled 'push'.

  • Due to budgetary restraints the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off. We apologize if this inconveniences you in any way.

  • The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

  • Early to bed and early to rise - till you get enough money to do otherwise. (Peter's Almanac)

  • Even a mosquito doesn't get a slap on the back until it starts to work.

  • Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.

  • Every man is enthusiastic at times. One man has enthusiasm for thirty minutes, another has it for thirty days--but it is the man that has it for thirty years who makes a success in life. (The Catholic Layman)

  • Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure?

  • Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory.

  • Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.

  • Excellence can be attained if you care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, and expect more than others think is possible.

  • Expect the people you love to be better. It helps them to become better. But don't get upset when they fail. It helps them keep trying.

  • Follow your dreams, for as you dream you shall become.

  • For heights and depths no words can reach, music is the soul's own speech.

  • Forgiveness is the fragrance that the flower leaves on the heel of the one that crushed it.

  • A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.

  • The future should be something we deserve, not something which is merely reached at the rate of 60 minutes per hour.

  • Given a sufficient number of people and an adequate amount of time you can create insurmountable opposition to the most inconsequential idea. New! as of 04/01/17

  • Go out and change the world. The more you study, the more you should have--
    A GOAL you should be pursuing;
    A DREAM your should be launching;
    A PLAN you should be executing;
    A PROJECT you should be starting;
    A POSSIBILITY you should be exploring;
    An OPPORTUNITY you should be grabbing;
    An IDEA you should be working;
    A PROBLEM you should be tackling;
    A DECISION you should be making.
    The greatest force in the world is a positive idea.

  • God gave us two ends. One to sit on and one to think with. Success depends on which one you use; head you win--tails, you lose.

  • Great people talk about great ideas; average people talk about average ideas; small people talk about other poeple.

  • Have courage for the great sorrows of life and for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.

  • He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree. (Sunshine Magazine)

  • Hell is a giant banquet room with tables filled with every possible good thing to eat and drink. The people are all seated at the banquet tables, but they are all starving, emaciated, skin on skeleton figures. They are chained in such a way that they can reach out and pick up the food, but the chains prevent them from bringing the food to their mouth. In the ultimate cruelty, they are dying of starvation with food in their hands.
    Surprisingly, the Heaven is also a giant banquet room with tables filled with all the same, wonderful, choices as before. And just as before, the people are all chained so that they can pick up the food, but can't bring it to their mouth. However, in this banquet room, the people are all healthy. They are laughing, singing and enjoying themselves. The difference? In Heaven, they have realized that although they cannot feed themselves, the chains allow them to feed each other.

  • Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel.

  • How do you treat ideas?
    Treat them TENDERLY--they can be killed quickly.
    Treat them GENTLY--they can be bruised in infancy.
    Treat them RESPECTFULLY--they could be the most valuable thing that ever came into your life.
    Treat them PROTECTIVELY--don't let them get away.
    Treat them NUTRITIONALLY--feed them and feed them well.
    Treat them ANTISEPTICALLY--don't let them get infected with the germs of negative thoughts.
    Treat them RESPONSIBLY--Respond! Act! Do something with them! Decide to decide!

  • How high could you go if you knew you wouldn't fall?

  • How many tech-support folks does it take to change a light-bulb?
    Answer: We have a light-bulb here, and it works fine. Can you tell me what kind of bulb you have? OK. There could be four or five things wrong. Now, have you turned the light switch off and on?

  • However much of Christmas giving, the real Christmas must be first in the heart.

  • I am never a failure until I begin blaming others.

  • I believe that none of us ever fails at anything. Every time we create something we are successful at creation. However, we do make some poor choices about what we create.

  • "I can't" isn't a reason to give up, it's a reason to try harder.

  • I don't know about having too much zeal; but I think it is better the pot should boil over than not boil at all.

  • If a task is once begun
    Never leave it till it's done.
    Be the labor great or small
    Do it well or not at all.

  • If it weren't for the last minute, a lot of things wouldn't get done.

  • If language is as inextricably tied up with consciousness as it seems to be, then the continuing diminishment of our inclination to use it to express in letters the times in which we live could mean that an element of human consciousness itself is on the verge of disappearing.

  • If you are going to be original, you are going to be wrong a lot.

  • If you know someone who tries to drown their sorrows, you might tell them sorrows know how to swim.

  • If you love something, set it free.
    If it returns, it's yours forever.
    If it doesn't it was never your to begin with.

  • If you think that praise is due,
    Now's the time to show it,
    'cause a man can't read his tombstone when he's dead.

  • If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.

  • Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them . . . work, family, health, friends and spirit, and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls . . . family, health, friends and spirit . . . are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same.

  • In the book of life we are chapters in one another's stories.

  • In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.

  • In the game of life nothing is less important than the score at halftime.

  • Inspire yourself and others will be inspired. Motivate yourself and others will be motivated. Develop yourself and others will start to develop themselves. Be an example first and then the world changes around you.

  • It is a grand thing to live - to open the eyes in the morning and look out upon the world; to drink in the pure air and enjoy the sweet sunshine… It is a good world to line in, in spite of the abuse we are fond of giving it.

  • It is better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

  • It takes a little courage, and a little self-control. And some grim determination, If you want to reach the goal. It takes a deal of striving, and a firm and stern-set chin. No matter what the battle, If you really want to win. There's no easy path to glory, There's no road to fame. Life, however we may view it, Is no simple parlor game; But it's prizes call for fighting, For endurance and for grit; For a rugged disposition and don't know when to quit.

  • It takes years to build up trust, but only seconds to destroy it.
    You can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
    After that you'd better know something.
    Don't compare yourself to the best others can do,
    But to the best you can do.
    It's not what happens to people that's important.
    It's what they do about it.
    Always leave loved ones with loving words.
    It may be the last time you see them.
    You control your attitude or it controls you.
    It isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.
    Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
    Your background and circumstances may have influenced who you are,
    But you are responsible for who you become.
    Even if you do the right thing for the wrong reason,
    It's still the wrong thing to do.

  • It's beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.

  • It's easy to pick children whose mothers are good housekeepers; they are usually found in other yards.

  • It's true that everything that could be said has been said.
    It's also true that no one was listening.
    Therefore, I'll say again...

  • Kindness is the insignia of a loving heart.

  • Leadership is not the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It is a process ordinary people use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others.

  • Learning is like rowing upstream. Advance or lose all. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)

  • Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself.

  • Life is not measured by the breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away.

  • Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

  • Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege even to be alive. In spite of all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is. Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it!

  • Live your life as an exclamation--not an explanation.

  • Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. (attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby)

  • Man needs a day of rest from the cares, toils, and trials of the six days of work in the material realm. He needs to reflect, meditate, contemplate, and to turn his eyes inward, as it were, rather than outwards. (The Lookout)

  • The man on top of the mountain did not fall there.

  • A man walks through life painting a portrait, not of what he would have done, could have done, or should have done, but of what he did.

  • The man who never makes a mistake always takes orders from one who does.

  • The mathematics of high achievement--
    Begin with a dream.
    DIVIDE the problems and conquer them one by one.
    MULTIPLY the exciting possibilities in your mind.
    SUBTRACT all the negative thoughts to get started.
    ADD enthusiasm and determination.
    And the RESULT will be the attainment of your goal.

  • May there always be work for your hands to do,
    May your purse always hold a coin or two.
    May the sun always shine warm on your windowpane,
    May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
    May the hand of a friend always be near you,
    And my d fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

  • The miracles of nature do not seem miracles because they are so common. If no one had ever seen a flower, even a dandelion would be the most startling event in the world.

  • Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

  • Never let defeat have the last word.

  • Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.

  • No matter how difficult life can be the most important thing is to live it with hope.

  • The Northwest coast is a land of contrasts. At time it is wild and wave-battered, at other times quiet and restful. All along its length there is variety: long, sandy beaches, steep headlands, lush pasture, rocky covers, patches of deep forest. ... This is a place for photographers, hikers, picnickers, campers, and for those who want nothing more than a few relaxing moments in beautiful, unpeopled surroundings. (The Beautiful Northwest ed. by Krell)

  • Off in the distance, I see an old man sitting in a comfortable chair beside an open fireplace. No, this is not a picture of my father, or grandfather, facing life's sunset - it is myself. I have decided now, in my days of prime, to be kind to that old man... I am going to be kinder to the body he will have to use... I am going to be more kind to the mind the old man will have to use. Like my body, I will try to keep it agile. It is said that old folks live in the past. I have resolved to give the old man some pleasant memories, some pleasant scenes to gaze upon. I want him to be able to look back and see deeds of kindness done, cheer brought into lonely hearts. I want him to look back upon some outstanding achievement. I want to give the old man a quiet confidence in the future.

  • Old-timers said the local train was so slow that the cowcatcher should be on the back instead of up front to discourage cows from climbing aboard the last car. (example sentence, Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, 5/22/98)

  • One cannot change the past, but one can ruin the present by worrying over the future.

  • One of the nice things about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with a present.

  • The only thing I can change is myself, but sometimes that makes all of the difference.

  • Opportunity always looks bigger going than coming.

  • Optimists are nostalgic about the future. (Chicago Tribune)

  • Organize your life around your dreams - and watch them come true.

  • Our lives will always be full if our hearts are always giving.

  • 1. People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered (including me). Love them anyway.
    2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
    3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
    4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
    5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
    6. The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the littlest people with the littlest ideas. Think big anyway.
    7. People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
    8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
    9. People really need help, but may attack you if you do help them. Help them anyway.
    10. Give the world the best you have and you will get kicked in the teeth. Give the best you have anyway.

  • People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what you nag them to be.

  • People don't grow old. When they stop growing, they become old.

  • People with extraordinary minds, talk about ideas.
    People with average minds, talk about events.
    People with simple minds, talk about other people.

  • A Persian philosopher, being asked by what method he had acquired so much knowledge, answered, "By not being prevented by shame from asking questions where I was ignorant."

  • A person who sows seeds of kindness enjoys a perpetual harvest.

  • The problem with political jokes is that they get elected.

  • "Reality" is the only word in the English language that should always be used in quotes.

  • Remember, life is not what happens to you but what you make of what happens to you. Everyone dies, but not everyone fully lives. Too many people are having "near-life experiences."

  • Seeds of discouragement will not grow in the thankful heart.

  • Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.

  • Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.

  • The six most important words: I admit I made a mistake The five most important words: You did a good job The four most important words: What is your opinion? The three most important words: If you please The two most important words: Thank you The one least important word: I.

  • The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.

  • Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu,
    When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.
    I passed around the corner, and someone saw my grin--
    When he smiled I realized, I'd passed it on to him.
    I thought about that smile, then I realized its worth,
    A single smile, just like mine, could travel round the earth.
    So, if you feel a smile begin, don't leave it undetected--
    Let's start an epidemic quick and get the world infected!

  • So remember while December
    Brings the only Christmas day,
    In the year let there be Christmas
    In the things you do and say.

  • Some cannot sing, but the orchard is full of birds and we can all listen.

  • Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.

  • A somebody was once a nobody who wanted to and did.

  • Sometimes the best way to figure out who you are is to get to that place where you don't have to be anything else.

  • Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, faith looks up. (Guideposts)

  • Success stems from motivation, effort, and a commitment to excellence.

  • Sunday. Take it slow and give your soul a chance to catch up with your body.

  • Take life just as though it was--as it is--an earnest, vital and important affair. Take it as though you were born to the task of performing a merry part in it--as though, the world awaited your coming.

    Take it as though it was a grand opportunity to do and achieve, to carry forward great and good schemes, to help and cheer a suffering, weary, it may be heart-broken brother. Now and then a man stands aside from the crowd, labors earnestly, steadfastly, confidently, and straightway becomes famous for wisdom, intellect, skill, greatness of some sort. The world wonders, admires, idolizes, and it only illustrates what others may do if they take hold of life with a purpose.

    The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few, is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the promptings of a brave, determined spirit. (From a well-worn clipping preserved in an early note-book Belonging to Mark Twain)

  • Teachers who inspire know that teaching is like cultivating a garden, and those who would have nothing to do with thorns must never attempt to gather flowers.

  • There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.

  • There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all.

  • There are three ways you can get to the top of a tree: 1) sit on an acorn 2) make friends with a bird 3) climb it.

  • There is no danger of developing eyestrain from looking on the bright side of things.

  • There is no such thing as a happy perfectionist.

  • There is no such thing as a spiritual journey; what there is, is a spiritual awakening.

  • There's more, much more, to Christmas
    Than candlelight and cheer;
    It's the spirit of sweet friendship
    That brightens all year.
    It's thoughtfulness and kindness,
    It's hope reborn again,
    For peace, for understanding,
    And for goodwill to men!

  • Three phrases that sum up Christmas are: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, and Batteries not Included.

  • Three wise women would have...
    asked directions,
    arrived on time,
    helped deliver the baby,
    cleaned the stable,
    made a casserole,
    brought practical gifts,
    and there would be peace on Earth.

  • Time is like a snowflake--it melts away while we try to decide what to do with it.

  • To dream of the person you'd like to be, is a waste to the person you are.

  • To have a good friend is one of the highest delights in life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings.

  • To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
    To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
    To reach for another is to risk involvement.
    To expose your feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
    To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
    To love is to risk not being loved in return.
    To live is to risk dying.
    To believe is to risk despair.
    To try is to risk failure.
    But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
    The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
    They may avoid suffering an d sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
    Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom.
    Only a person who risks is free.

  • To love is not a part of things
    or a part of life.
    To love is the whole of things
    and the whole of life.
    In my heart is my love for you
    and in my love for you
    life whole is. (Essay On Love)

  • The trick to juggling is determining which balls are made of rubber and which ones are made of glass.

  • The trick to life is to not fear death, but not to welcome it either.

  • Truth is violated by falsehood, but outraged by silence.

  • Two goats are eating cans of film on the back lots of MGM Studios. One goat turns to the other and says, "This film is good." To which the other goat responds, "Not as good as the movie." (On Course Magazine)

  • Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas. All else is outward display--so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly, it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow. It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men when the Christmas spirit returns again. (Pipefuls)

  • War is not about what's right. It's about what's left.

  • We all need someone who inspires us to do better than we know how.

  • We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision.

  • We, the unwilling,
    led by the unknowing,
    are doing the impossible
    for the ungrateful.
    We have done so much,
    for so long,
    with so little,
    we are now qualified
    to do anything
    with nothing.

  • What I do today is important because I'm exchanging a day of my life for it.

  • What nobler profession than to touch the next generation--to see children hold your understanding in their eyes, your hope in their lives, your world in their hands. In their success, you find your own and so to them you give your all. ("The Essence of Teaching")

  • Whatever you do, do wisely, and think of the consequences. (Gesta Romanorum)

  • When friendships are real, they are not glass threads, or frostwork, but the solidest things we know. A friend is the first person who come in when the whole world has gone out.

  • When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels.

  • When the past calls, let it go to voicemail. Believe me, it has nothing new to say.

  • When the people we love are stolen from us, the only way to keep them is to never stop loving them. People die, buildings burn, but eternal love lasts forever.

  • When we have forgotten the language of gratitude, we are no longer on speaking terms with happiness. (Old Saying)

  • While winter is white and cold and human hearts are warm, Christmas must continue to be the universal festival of peace and good will, the sacred season of love, the holiday of kindness. (Good Housekeeping, December 1913)

  • Who am I?
    I am a little thing with a big meaning. I help everybody. I unlock doors, open hearts,
    dispel prejudice. I create friendship and goodwill. I inspire courtesy and admiration.
    Everybody loves me. I bore no one. I violate no law. I cost nothing. Many have praised me.
    No one has ever condemned me. I am pleasing to those of high and low degree.
    I am useful every moment of the day.
    I am Respect!

  • Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech. (Evangel)

  • Wise men count their blessings; fools their problems.

  • A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after a success.

  • Work like it is all up to you. Pray like it's all up to God.

  • A writer lives in awe of words for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you. They pick up flavors and odors like butter in a refrigerator.

  • Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have. Spend it wisely.

  • You and I, despite our accomplishments, abilities, pretensions, and sophistication, owe our existence to six inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains.

  • You are sowing the flowers of tomorrow in the seeds of today.

  • You can borrow a book but you get to keep the ideas.

  • You don't have to stay up nights to succeed; you have to stay awake days.

  • You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.

  • You may make mistakes, but you are not a failure until you start blaming someone else.

  • Your talk was simply superfluous. It should be published posthumously. And the sooner the better.


Anouilh, Jean

  • Beauty is one of the rare things that do not lead to doubt of God. (Becket)

  • Real miracles are created by men when they use their God-given courage and intelligence. (The Lark)

  • To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves and plunge both hands into life up to the elbows. It is easy to say no, even if saying no means death. (Antigone)


Ansari, Norman

  • As a new father, have to say it's worth it. One coo or one smile and your heart melts even at stupid o'clock in the morning. (on Twitter, March 1, 2016)


Anson, David

  • We define ourselves, in part, by the discriminations we make. The value of what we love is enriched by our understanding of what we dislike.


Anthony, Robert (Dr.)

  • If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?

  • Overcoming fear and worry can be accomplished by living a day at a time or even a moment at a time. Your worries will be cut down to nothing.

  • When it becomes more difficult to suffer than to change ... you will change.

  • When you blame others, you give up your power to change.


Anthony, Susan B.

  • Failure is impossible.

  • If all the rich and all of the church people should send their children to the public schools they would feel bound to concentrate their money on improving these schools until they met the highest ideals. ("Letter," 1900, to Dr. Sara R. Dolley)

  • Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.


Antisthenes

  • The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what it untrue.


Anzaldua, Gloria E.

  • The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.


Anzellotti, Sara

  • Back in time it seemed that having a sister were a tragedy. Instead it is one of the best presents my parents could have ever given me. (An unexpected Proposal)


Apocrypha - Ecclesiasticus

  • Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remember the end, and thou shalt never do amiss.


Apollinaire, Guillaume

  • "Come to the edge," He said. They said, "We are afraid." "Come to the edge," He said. They came. He pushed them...and they flew.

  • Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.


Appleman, John A.

  • I have heard it said that the first ingredient of success - the earliest spark in the dreaming youth - if this; dream a great dream.


Appleton, Edward Victor (Sir)

  • The history of science has proved that fundamental research is the lifeblood of individual progress and that the ideas that lead to spectacular advances spring from it. New! as of 04/01/17

  • I rate enthusiasm even above professional skill.


Aps, Jerold W.

  • For many, learning is a spiral, where important themes are visited again and again, each time at a deeper, more penetrating level. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)

  • Learning proceeds in fits and starts. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)


Aquilina, Mike

  • Everyone should be praised by the lips of his neighbor, and not by his own mouth. Everyone should be commended by the work he has done, not by what he wanted to do. (Roots of the Faith)

  • Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take pride in our accomplishment, and we find ourselves back at square one. (Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life)

  • Part of growing up spiritually is learning to be grateful for all things, even our difficulties, disappointments, failures and humiliations. (Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life)



Aquinas, Thomas, see, Thomas Aquinas


Arabian Nights

  • Then he said to Scheherazade: "Sister, for the sake of Allah, tell us a story that will help pass the night."


Arbus, Diane

  • My favorite thing is to go where I've never been.


Arendt, Hannah

  • By its very nature the beautiful is isolated from everything else. From beauty no road leads to reality.. (Rachel Varnhagen)

  • Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.

  • In order to go on living one must try to escape the death involved in perfectionism. (Rachel Varnhagen)

  • The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil.

  • Solitude is the human condition in which I keep myself company. Loneliness comes about when I am alone without being able to split up into the two-in-one, without being able to keep myself company.

  • There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is dangerous.


Aretino, Pietro

  • Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. (letter to Agostino Ricchi, July 10, 1537)


Aristophanes

  • Men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war.


Aristotle

  • The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inner significance.

  • All virtue is summed up in dealing justly.

  • All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.

  • Anyone can become angry--that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way--this is not easy.

  • Change in all things is sweet.

  • Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others.

  • The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead.

  • Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

  • Friends are an aid to the young, to guard them from error; to the elderly, to attend to their wants and to supplement their failing power of action; to those in the prime of life, to assist them to noble deeds.

  • Hope is a waking dream.

  • I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.

  • It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world. ("On the Heavens" in Manual of Greek Mathematics by Heath)

  • It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

  • The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.

  • One must learn by doing, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try. (from The Quotable Teacher, comp. by Howe)

  • One swallow does not make a spring; neither does one fine day. (Nichomachean Ethics)

  • The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

  • Teachers who educate children deserve more honor than parents who merely gave them birth; for bare life is furnished by the one, the other ensures a good life.

  • To enjoy the things we ought and hate the things we ought has the gretest bearing on excellence of character (Nicomacean Ethics)

  • The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.

  • We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.

  • What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.

  • Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods,


Armey, Richard K.

  • You cannot get ahead while you are getting even.


Armstrong, Edith

  • I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love and abundance. Then whenever doubt, anxiety, or fear try to call me, they keep getting a busy signal and soon they'll forget my number.


Armstrong, Karen

  • If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, of self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God's name, it was bad theology. (The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness)


Armstrong, Lance

  • Anything is possible. You can be told that you have a 90% chance or a 50% chance or a 1% chance, but you have to believe, and you have to fight.


Armstrong, Neil

  • Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand.


Armstrong, Richard

  • When fog prevents a small-boat sailor from seeing the buoy marking the course he wants, he turns his boat rapidly in small circles, knowing that the waves he makes will rock the buoy in the vicinity. Then he stops, listens and repeats the procedure until he hears the buoy clang. By making waves, he finds where his course lies... Often the price of finding these guides is a willingness to take a few risks, to "make a few waves." A boat that stays in the harbor never encounters dangers--but it also never gets anywhere.


Armstrong, T. Alan

  • If you are not getting better, you are getting left behind.


Arnauld, Angelique

  • Perfection does not exist in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.


Arnold, Eberhard

  • If we become completely whole-hearted we will have love for all people and will seek in each person what is most holy, what God has inspired in him or her. And only then will there be no danger of softening or twisting our witness. Why? Because the capacity of our faith will no longer be narrow. If we are not broadhearted, we have not yet grasped the meaning of faith. We must always be ready to be newly led in our faith, even through the tiniest atom of godliness we find in others. It is that which leads us to the kingdom of God. We affirm that there is something of God in all people - something of the light. It may only gleam now, but it will eventually lead to complete illumination.


Arnold, Matthew

  • All the live murmur of a summer's day. (Scholar Gypsy)

  • For the creation of a masterwork of literature two powers must concur, the power of the man and the power of the moment, and the man is not enough without the moment.

  • Is it so small a thing
    To have enjoyed the sun,
    To have lived light in the spring,
    To have loved, to have thought, to have done. (Empedocles on Etna)


Arnold, Oren

  • Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.

  • Don't expect too much of Christmas Day. You can't crowd into it any arrears of unselfishness and kindliness that may have accrued during the past twelve months.


Arnold, Stanley

  • Every problem contains within itself the seeds of its own solution.


Arnold, Thomas

  • The distinction between Christianity and all other systems of religion consists largely in this, that in these others, men are found seeking after God, while Christianity is God seeking after men.


Aron, Elaine N.

  • While it is wise to accept what we cannot change about ourselves, it is also good to remember that we are never too old to replace discouragement with bits and pieces of confidence and hope. (The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You)


Arons, Marsha

  • The only way to mitigate sadness is to help in some way.


Arora, Manoj

  • Coming out of your comfort zone is tough in the beginning, chaotic in the middle, and awesome in the end...because in the end, it shows you a whole new world Make an attempt. (From the Rat Race to Financial Freedom()


Arp, Jean

  • Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego.


Ascham, Roger

  • There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.


Aschbrenner, Joel

  • The jewel of Klamath Falls. That’s how Janet Larson describes Moore Park, with its lakefront picnic areas, grassy fields, tennis courts and a web of hiking, biking and cross-country ski trails that weave through tall ponderosa pine stands on Moore Mountain and boulder-laden fields above Link River Canyon. ("Neighborhood Guide: Moore Park" Herald and News, 3/3/12)


Ash, Mary Kay

  • Give yourself something to work toward--constantly.

  • A good goal is like a strenuous exercise - it makes you stretch.

  • A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go farther than a great idea that inspires no one. (On People Management)

  • Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.

  • People fail forward to success.

  • Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, "Make me feel important." Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.

  • The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang. (Mary Kay)


Ashe, Arthur

  • From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.

  • True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. ("Points to Ponder" Reader's Digest, Aug. 1994)

  • You are never really playing against an opponent. You are playing against yourself, your own highest standards. And when you reach your limits, that is real joy.


Ashford, Jan

  • There is no such thing as can't, only won't. If you're qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward, go backward. Whatever it takes! But you can't blame other people or society in general. It all comes from your mind. When we do the impossible we realize we are special people.


Asimov, Isaac

  • Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.

  • Congratulations on the new library, because it isn't just a library. It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you --- and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life. (Letter to Troy Michigan Library March 16, 1971)

  • It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be. ("My Own View" in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ed. by Holdstock)

  • [A library] is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you---and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life (Letter to Troy Michigan Library, March 16, 1971)

  • The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" ("I've found it!") but "That's funny..."

  • The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.


Asphasia

  • For it is impossible for a man to put forward fair and honest views about our affairs if he has not, like everyone else, children whose lives may be at stake. (from a speech given by Pericles which Asphasia wrote)


Astaire, Fred

  • Do it big, do it right and do it with style.


Astor, Brooke

  • Power is the ability to do good things for others.


Astor, Nancy (Lady)

  • The penalty of success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.

  • Real education should educate us out of self into something far finer--into a selflessness which links us with all humanity.


Atkinson, William W.

  • Imagination is the first step in creation whether in words or trifles. The mental pattern must always precede the material form.


Attenborough, David

  • But although denying that we have a special position in the natural world might seem becomingly modest in the eye of eternity, it might also be used as an excuse for evading our responsibilities. The fact is that no species has ever had such wholesale control over everything on earth, living or dead, as we now have. That lays upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility. In our hands now lies not only our own future, but that of all living creatures with whom we share the earth. (Life on Earth)


Atwood, Margaret

  • Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.

  • Beginnings are sudden, but also insidious. They creep up on you sideways, they keep to the shadows, they lurk unrecognized. Then, later, they spring. (The Blind Assassin)

  • If you knew what was going to happen, if you knew everything that was going to happen next—if you knew in advance the consequences of your own actions—you'd be doomed. You'd be ruined as God. You'd be a stone. You'd never eat or drink or laugh or get out of bed in the morning. You'd never love anyone, ever again. You'd never dare to. (The Blind Assassin)

  • Oppression involves a failure of the imagination: the failure to imagine the full humanity of other human beings.

  • Their mothers had finally caught up to them and been proven right. There were consequences after all; but they were the consequences to things you didn't even know you'd done. ("The Age of Lead" Wilderness Trips)


Auden, W. H.

  • It takes little talent to see what lies under one's nose, a good deal to know in what direction to point that organ.

  • No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the successes of those under him.
In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.


Auerback, Berthold

  • Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.


Augsburger, David

  • Since nothing we intend is ever faultless, and nothing we attempt ever without error, and nothing we achieve without some measure of finitude and fallibility we call humanness, we are saved by forgiveness.


Augustine, Norman R.

  • Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.


Augustine, Saint see Saint Augustine


Aurelius, Marcus see Marcus Aurelius


Ausonius

  • Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.


Austen, Jane

  • ...it is very well worthwhile to be tormented for two or three years of one's life, for the sake of being able to read all the rest of it.

  • The memory is sometimes so retentive, so serviceable, so obedient-at others so bewildered and weak-and at others again, so tyrannic, so beyond control! (Mansfield Park)

  • They are much to be pitied who have not been ... given a taste for nature early in life. (Mansfield Park)

  • Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!


Autermont, Harriet Du

  • No vision and you perish;
    No Ideal, and you're lost;
    Your heart must ever cherish
    Some faith at any cost.
    Some hope, some dream to cling to,
    Some rainbow in the sky,
    Some melody to sing to,
    Some service that is high.


Autry, James A.

  • I believe it is the nature of people to be heroes, given the chance.

  • The power of love and caring can change the world.


Auxier, Jonathan

  • Now, there is a wonderful thing in this world called 'foresight.' It is a gift treasured above all others because it allows one to know what the future holds. most people with foresight end up wielding immense power in life, often becoming great rulers or librarians. (Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes)


Avot, Pirkel

  • The more learning, the more life.


Ayivor, Israelmore

  • I have noticed that sometimes, our success, promotion and accomplishments become real when we say "no" to some things and act the right way. The potential that drives you to do that is called "self-discipline".

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