"It is equally a mistake to hold one's self too high, or to
rate one's self too cheap."
"Life is the childhood of our immortality."
"Many people take no care of their money till they come
nearly to the end of it. Others do just the same with
their time."
"On every mountain height is rest."
"To appreciate the noble is a gain which can never be
torn from us."
"He only earns his freedom and his life Who takes them every day by storm."
"What business is it of yours if I love you?"
"Enjoy what you can, endure what you must."
"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden."
"Age does not make us childish, as some say; it finds us true children."
"The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them."
"If you must tell me your opinions, tell me what you believe in. I have plenty of doubts of my own."
"We know accurately only when we know little; with knowledge doubt increases."
"Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do; and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension."
"The first and last thing required of genius is the love of truth."
"The phrases that men hear or repeat continually, end by becoming convictions and ossify the organs of intelligence."
"Whenever I hear people talking about "liberal ideas," I am always astounded that men should love to fool themselves with empty sounds. An idea should never be liberal; it must be vigorous, positive, and without loose ends so that it may fulfill its divine mission and be productive. The proper place for liberality is in the realm of the emotions."
"He who wishes to exert a useful influence must be careful to insult nothing. Let him not be troubled by what seems absurd, but concentrate his energies to the creation of what is good. He must not demolish, but build. He must raise temples where mankind may come and partake of the purest pleasure."
"What is not fully understood is not possessed."
"Nothing shows a man's character more than what he laughs at."
"Anecdotes and maxims are rich treasures to the man of the world, for he knows how to introduce the former at fit place in conversation."
"Trust yourself, then you will know how to live."
"All truly wise thoughts have been thoughts already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience."
"There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. From its springs the purest courtesy in the outward behavior."
"When ideas fail, words come in very handy."
"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with the ideal never goes unpunished."
"Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks."
"Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth--that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too."
"Men show their character in nothing more clearly than what they think laughable."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In Britain’s House of Commons, the government and opposition sides of the House are separated by two red lines. The distance between the lines is two swords’ lengths, a reminder of just how seriously the Brits used to take their politics.
Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.
In all things it is better to hope than to despair.
"Talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world's torrent."
If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise.
Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will.
"Nothing should be prized more highly than the value of each day."
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free.
The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection.
If you miss the first buttonhole, you will not succeed in buttoning up your coat.
Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
"The highest happiness of man ... is to have probed what is knowable and quietly to revere what is unknowable."
Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond your reach.
"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."
One ought, everyday, to hear a song, read a fine poem, and, if possible, to speak a few reasonable words
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.
To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.
The heights charm us, but the steps do not; with the mountain in our view we love to walk the plains.
Rest not! Life is sweeping by; go and dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time.
Give me the benefit of your convictions, if you have any, but keep your doubts to yourself, for I have enough of my own.
For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is.
To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed ~ That can make life a garden.
If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.
Each indecision brings its own delays and days are lost lamenting over lost days...What you can do or think you can do, begin it. For boldness has magic, power, and genius in it.
Lose this day loitering, 'Twill be the same story Tomorrow -- and the next more dilatory. Then indecision brings its own delays, and days are lost lamenting overdays! Are you ernest? Seize this very minute! What you can do, or dream you can - begin it! Courage has genius, power and magic in it. Only engage, and the mind grows heated. Begin it, and the work will be completed.
Nine requisites for contented living: Health enough to make work a pleasure. Wealth enough to support your needs. Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them. Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished. Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor. Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others. Faith enough to make real the things of God. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.
Nine requisites for contented living: Health enough to make work a pleasure. Wealth enough to support your needs. Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them. Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished. Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor. Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others. Faith enough to make real the things of God. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.
"I have come to the frightening conclusion.... that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that
decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."
