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QUOTATIONS
pertaining "The
wisdom of the wise and the experience of ages may be preserved by quotations" ABILITY
"A human
being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog,
conn [control] a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts,
build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take order, give orders,
cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure,
program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, and die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects!"
"If you
can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be the sun, be a star.
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail, It’s by being the best of whatever
you are." "Everyone
has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark
places where it leads. "Everyone
must row with the oars he has." "The
same man cannot well be skilled in everything; each has his own excellence." "Skill
and confidence are an unconquered army." "He is
able who thinks he is able." ABOUT
BEING ONESELF "Do
just once what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay attention
to their limitations again." "If a
million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." "When
all think alike, no one is thinking very much." "Do
not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe
in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and
elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down
for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find
that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit
of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." "The
man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd.
The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has
ever been." "Only
a dead fish goes with the flow." "Bloom
where you are planted." "Do not
try to imitate the lark or the nightingale if you can’t do it. If it’s
your destiny to croak like a toad, then go ahead! And with all your might!
Make them hear you!" "One
can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar." "Be yourself,
who else is better qualified?" "Every
single one of us can do things that no one else can do - can love things
that no one else can love. We are like violins. We can be used for doorstops,
or we can make music. You know what to do." ACHIEVEMENT
"Begin
somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do." "Conviction
is worthless unless it is converted into conduct." ADMIRATION ASPIRATION
"First,
say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." "An aspiration
is a joy forever, a possession as solid as a landed estate, a fortune
which we can never exhaust and which gives us year by year a revenue of
pleasurable activity." "Tis
but a base, ignoble mind that mounts no higher than a bird can soar."
"Great
hopes make great men."
CARING/LOVING
"Goodness
is the only investment that never fails." "In this
world of extremes, we can only love too little." "Love
is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition." "To fear
love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts
dead." "To hide
the key to your heart is to risk forgetting where you placed it." "True
love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells,
get your ears checked." "Love
many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much
performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well
done." "Love,
above all, the gift of oneself." "Love
transforms: it simultaneously makes us larger and limits our possibilities.
It changes our history even as it breaks a new path through the present." "In order
to love simply, it is necessary to know how to show love." "Love
is all we have, the only way / that each can help the other." CHARACTER
"Keep
in mind that the true measure of an individual is how he treats a person
who can do him absolutely no good." "Character
is tested by true sentiments more than by conduct. A man is seldom better
than his word." "In necessary
things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity." "Happiness
is not the end of life; character is." "As he
thinketh in his heart, so is he." "People
seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of
character." "Genius
is formed in quiet; character in the stream of human life." "A man’s
character is his guardian divinity." "Character
cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial
and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired,
and success achieved." "Character
is much easier kept than recovered." "Character
is the sum and total of a person’s choices." "We should
be too big to take offense and too noble to give it." "Good
character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents
are, to some extent, a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given
to us. We have to build it piece by piece - by thought, choice, courage
and determination." "When
men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them" CHARITY "We should
give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation;
for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers." "If
you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart."
"He that
has no charity deserves no mercy." "In faith
and hope the world will disagree, / But all mankind’s concern is charity." "Do all the good you
can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever
you can." CITIZENSHIP
"All
the citizens of a state cannot be equally powerful, but they may be equally
free." "The
most important office...that of private citizen." "Citizenship
comes first today in our crowded world...No man can enjoy the privileges
of education and thereafter with a clear conscience break his contract
with society. To respect that contract is to be mature, to strengthen
it is to be a good citizen, to do more than your share under it is noble." "Every
good citizen makes his country’s honor his own, and cherishes it not only
as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense
and is conscious that he gains protection while he gives it." "Let
us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a
common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal feeling." "The
first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he
should be able and willing to pull his weight." "Citizenship
consists in the service of the country." "Teach
me to feel another’s woe, / To hide the fault I see; / That mercy I to
others show, / That mercy show to me." "Clemency
is the support of justice." "Sweet
mercy is nobility’s true badge." "The
quality of mercy is not strained; / It droppeth as the gentle rain from
heaven / Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed–/ It blesseth him
that gives, and him that takes." "By compassion
we make others’ misery our own, and so by relieving them, we relieve ourselves
also." "The
value of compassion cannot be over-emphasized. Anyone can criticize. It
takes a true believer to be compassionate. No greater burden can be borne
by an individual than to know no one cares or understands." "All
government - indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and
every prudent act - is founded on compromise and barter." "A lean
compromise is better than a fat lawsuit." "It
is better to lose the saddle than the horse." CONCILIATION
"Blessed
are the peacemakers, / For they have freed themselves from sinful wrath." "Be
swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." COURAGE "To dare
is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself." "You
can’t test courage cautiously." "Courage
is fear that’s said its prayers." "Problems
call forth our courage and our wisdom, indeed they create our courage
and wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow. It is for this
reason that wise people learn not to dread but actually welcome problems." "Courage
is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else
is more important than fear." "Difficulties
are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong
by conflict." "Remember,
you can’t steal second if you don’t take your foot off first." COMMUNITY "Rain
does not fall on one roof alone." "No
man is an island, entire of itself; every man is as piece of the continent." "I am
part of all that I have met." COURTESY "Never
underestimate the power of simple courtesy. Your courtesy may not be returned
or remembered, but discourtesy will." "Treat
your superior as a father, your equal as a brother, and your inferior
as a son." "Nothing
is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of the pleasures; costs nothing
and conveys much. It pleases him who gives and him who receives, and thus,
like mercy, it is twice blessed" DISCIPLINE "Self-respect
is the root of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability
to say no to oneself." "He who
lives without discipline dies without honor." DUTY
"God
obligeth no man to more than he hath given him ability to perform." "Duty
then is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things.
You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less." "Do your
duty and leave the rest to heaven." EXCELLENCE
"We are
what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit." "The
reward of a thing well done is having done it." ENTHUSIASM "Every
memorable act in the history of the world is a triumph of enthusiasm.
Nothing great was ever achieved without it because it gives any challenge
or any occupation, no matter how frightening or difficult, a new meaning.
Without enthusiasm you are doomed to a life of mediocrity but with it
you can accomplish miracles." "There
is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity
and accomplishment." "Be ENTHUSIASTIC
as a leader. You can’t light a fire with a wet match! "Failure
is success if you learn from it." "Defeat
is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."
"Being
defeated is a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent." "If
thou art a man, admire those who attempt great things, even though they
fail." "Not
failure, but low aim is crime." "He
that lieth on the ground cannot fall." "Flops
are a part of life’s menu and I’ve never been a girl to miss out on any
of the courses." "Failure
is an event, never a person." "You
don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there." "My
great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content
with your failure." "Do not
look where you fell, but where you slipped." FAIRNESS/JUSTICE
"A long
line of cases shows that it is not merely of some importance, but is of
fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should
manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." "...for
as thou urgest justice, be assured thou shalt have justice, more than
thou desir’st." Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (1596-8) act 4, sc.
1. l. [315] @ "All virtue is summed up in dealing justly." "A man
who deals in fairness with his own, / he can make manifest justice in
the state." "I am
the inferior of any man whose rights I trample under foot." "It
is impossible to be just if one is not generous." "Justice
is the crowning glory of the virtues." "An
honest man nearly always thinks justly." "In
giving rights to others which belong to them, we give rights to ourselves
and to our country." FRIENDS/FRIENDSHIP
"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." -Walter Winchell. "A true
friend is someone who is there for you when they would rather be someplace
else." "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" -Abraham Lincoln. "A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth." -Charles Darwin. "Be a
friend to yourself; then others will." "The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you are in the wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you are in the right." -Mark Twain. "Even
the best of friends cannot attend each other’s funeral." "Instead
of loving your enemies, treat your friends a little better." "Hold
a true friend with both hands." "A new
friend is like new wine; when it has aged you will drink it with pleasure." "One
loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives." GRATITUDE
"When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them." -Chinese proverb. "Do not refuse a wing to the person who gave you the whole chicken." -R.G.H. Siu "Let
never day nor night unhallowed pass, But still remember what the Lord
hath done." "Gratitude
is the most exquisite form of courtesy." "One
can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay "in kind" somewhere else
in life." "Unthankfulness
is theft." "Appreciation
is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us
as well." "Gratitude
is the heart’s memory." HONESTY
"Always
do right. This will gratify some and astonish the rest." "An
excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded." "An
honest man’s word is as good as his bond." "To make
your children capable of honesty is the beginning of education." "An
honest man’s the noblest work of God." "Honesty
is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." HONOR
"Be honorable yourself if you wish to associate with honorable people." -Welsh proverb. "Run
away from dishonor, but don’t run after honors." "A man
has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient,
unprofitable, or dangerous to do so." "When
faith is lost, when honor dies, the man is dead!" HOPE "Hope
is a risk that must be run." "Hope
springs eternal in the human breast: / Man never is, but always to be
blest." HUMOR "A jest
often decides matters of importance more effectually and happily than
seriousness." INTEGRITY "Never
compromise yourself–it’s all you got." "There
are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the
credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there." "That
you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people
by doing what you know is right than to temporarily please them by doing
what you know is wrong." "Be
more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character
is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think
you are." "A man
who permits his honor to be taken, permits his life to be taken." "Honor
is like a steep island without a shore: one cannot return once one is
outside." "Wisdom
and virtue are like the two wheels of a cart." INTIMACY "Intimacy
begins with oneself. It does not good to try to find intimacy with friends,
lovers, and family if you are starting out from alienation and division
within yourself." KINDNESS "Never
lose a chance of saying a kind word." "Kindness
can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind." "One
who knows how to show and accept kindness / will be a friend better than
any possession. "Benevolence
is the characteristic element of humanity, and the great exercise of it
is in loving relatives." "That
best portion of a good man’s life, / His little, nameless, unremembered
acts /Of kindness and of love." LAUGHTER
"As long
as you can laugh at yourself you will never cease to be amused." "Laughter
is the shortest distance between two people." "The
human race has only one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."
"He
who laughs, lasts." "Men
show their character in nothing more clearly than by what they find laughable."
"Frame
your mind to mirth and merriment, Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens
life." "One
inch of joy surmounts of grief a span, /Because to laugh is proper to
a man." "A man
isn’t poor if he can still laugh." "Time
spent laughing is time spent with the Gods." LOYALTY
"Only the person who has faith in himself is able to be faithful to others." -Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving (1956), 4 "To be
capable of steady friendship or lasting love, are the two greatest proofs,
not only of goodness of heart, but of strength of mind." PERSISTENCE/PERSEVERANCE "The
secret of success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching." "You
can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than
you think you can." "When
you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." "Ride
on! Rough-shod if need be, smooth-shod if that will do, but ride on! Ride
over all obstacles, and win the race!" "Diligence
is the mother of good luck." "A jug
fills drop by drop." "Persistence
is to the character of man as carbon is to steel." "It’s
a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired, you
quit when the gorilla is tired." "It’s
not so important who starts the game but who finishes it." "Energy
and persistence conquer all things." "Never
promise more than you can perform." "Magnificent
promises are always to be suspected." "Better
a friendly refusal than an unwilling promise." ".....the
world is divided into two classes of people: the few people who make good
on their promises (even if they don’t promise as much), and the many who
don’t. Get in Column A and stay there." You’ll be very valuable wherever
you are. "A promise
made is a debt unpaid." "The
secret of success is constancy to purpose." "Obstacles
cannot crush me/ Every obstacle yields to stern resolve/ He who is fixed
to a star does not change his mind." "The
soul that has no established aim loses itself." RESPECT "I must respect the opinions of others even if I disagree with them." -Herbert Henry Lehman "Men
are respectable only as they respect." "I haven’t
failed, I’ve found 10,000 things that don’t work." "No
person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the successes
of those under him." "It’s
kind of fun to do the impossible." "All
you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure." "I don’t
know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." "If
the dogs are barking at your heels, you know you’re leading the pack." "It
takes time to succeed because success is merely the natural reward of
taking time to do anything well." "The
man who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the man doing it." "One
important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence
is preparation." "Success
is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." "The
only place success comes before work is in the dictionary." "There
is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs." "Success
is the sum of small efforts–repeated day in and day out." "There
is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way, and
not to give others absurd maddening claims upon it." "If at
first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished." "Success
is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." "Success
lies not in being the best but in doing your best." "If
it’s stupid, but it works, it’s not stupid." Money
and success don’t change people; they merely amplify what is already there."
"It’s
not the going out of port, but the coming in, that determines the success
of a voyage." "Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open." -Sir James Dewar, Scientist (1877-1925). "Let
go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open.
You’re able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others without being
crippled by your own judgment." "Love
looks through a telescope; envy through a microscope." "One
sign of maturity is the ability to be comfortable with people who are
not like us." "The
more opinions you have, the less you see." "Beware,
as long as you live, of judging people by appearance." "If
you judge people you have not time to love them." "Truth
resides in the human heart, and one has to search for it there, and to
be guided by truth as one sees it. But no one has a right to coerce others
to act according to his own view of truth." "The
highest result of education is tolerance." "Resolve
to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic
with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in life
you will have been all of these." "There’s
good in every body. Boost. Don’t knock." Trust
men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show
themselves great." "A man
who doesn’t trust himself can never really trust anyone else." "Love
all, trust a few." "To
be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved." "Trust
men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show
themselves great." TRUSTWORTHINESS/RESPONSIBILITY "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." -Bible, Luke 12:48 "To be
a man is, precisely, to be responsible." "I am
only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can
do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do." "Success
on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility...in the final
analysis, the one quality that all successful people have...is the ability
to take on responsibility." "Responsibility
is the price of greatness." "You
will find men who want to be carried on the shoulders of others, who think
that the world owes them a living. The don’t seem to see that we must
all lift together and pull together." "The
buck stops here." "Our
youth we can have but today, We may always find time to grow old." "It is
better to waste one’s youth than to do nothing with it at all." "The
youth of a nation are the trustees of posterity." "Those
who love the young best stay young longest." "Wise
parents know that fighting a teenager, like fighting a riptide, is inviting
doom." "Young
people are thoughtless, as a rule." "Youth
is the time to go flashing from one end of the world to the other, both
in mind and body." "The
right way to begin is to pay attention to the young, and make them just
as good as possible." "Adolescence
can be a time of turmoil an d turbulence, of stress and storm. Rebellion
against authority and against convention is to be expected and tolerated
for the sake of learning and growth." "It
is not possible for civilization to flow backward while there is youth
in the world. Youth may be headstrong, but it will advance its allotted
length." "Young
people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for
counsel; and more fit for new projects than for settled business." "The
ripeness of adolescence is prodigal in pleasures, skittish, and in need
of a bridle." "Youth
smiles without any reason. It is one of its chiefest charms." "I go
to school with youth to learn the future." "Youth,
even in its sorrows, always has a brilliancy of its own." "It
is better to be a young June-bug than an old bird of paradise." "Youth
is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy
cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, the quality
of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the
deep springs of life." "Those
whom the gods love grow young." www.famous-quotations.com
Last updated: November 5, 2001 |
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