Unless we give part of ourselves away, unless we can live with other people and understand them and help them, we are missing the most essential part of our own lives.
—Harold Taylor
An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves.
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer
You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.
—Amy Carmichael (1867–1951) British Protestant Missionary
Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock.
—Walter Benjamin
To give is to receive…
—Gerald Jampolsky (b.1925) American Psychiatrist
A man who gives his children habits of industry provides for them better than by giving them a fortune.
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
We do not quite forgive a giver. The hand that feeds us is in some danger of being bitten.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
We must give more in order to get more, It is the generous giving of ourselves that produce the generous harvest.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
Fragrance clings to the hand that gives the rose.
—Unknown
A hug is the perfect gift—one size fits all, and nobody minds if you exchange it.
—Ivern Ball (1926–92) American Writer, Aphorist
So, in the infinitely nobler battle in which you are engaged against error and wrong, if ever repulsed or stricken down, may you always be solaced and cheered by the exulting cry of triumph over some abuse in Church or State, some vice or folly in society, some false opinion or cruelty or guilt which you have overcome! And I beseech you to treasure up in your hearts these my parting words: Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
—Horace Mann (1796–1859) American Educator, Politician, Educationalist
Every charitable act is a stepping stone towards heaven.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
God has given to all men free agency and has granted us the privilege to serve Him or serve Him not, to do that which is right or that which is wrong, but he will hold us strictly to an account for the use that we make of this agency.
—Unknown
The greatest happiness in the world is to make others happy.
—Luther Burbank (1849–1926) American Botanist, Scientist
I as little fear that God will damn a man that has charity as I hope that the priests can save one who has not.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
What I know for sure is that if you want success, you can’t make success your goal. The key is not to worry about being successful, but to instead work toward being significant, and the success will naturally follow.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like a tree that sows seed every spring and never counts the loss, because it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree’s way of being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the wind.
—May Sarton (1912–95) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Novelist
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.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
The Lord shall open unto you his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shall lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even in the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to life.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Give, and it shall be given unto you.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Sow good services; sweet remembrances will grow from them.
—Anne Louise Germaine de Stael (1766–1817) French Woman of Letters
Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
In giving, a man receives more than he gives; and the more is in proportion to the worth of the thing given.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Novelist, Lecturer, Poet
Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
The gifts that one receives for giving are so immeasurable that it is almost an injustice to accept them.
—Rod McKuen (1933–2015) American Poet, Singer-songwriter, Actor
To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.
—Max Beerbohm (1872–1956) British Essayist, Caricaturist, Novelist
Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though it were his own.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of oneself to others.
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) French Jesuit Philosopher, Paleontologist