Hope is like a hairball trembling from its birth…
—Christina Rossetti (1830–94) English Poet, Hymn Writer
To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
Hope: desire and expectation rolled into one.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
Hope means believing in spite of the evidence, and then watching the evidence change.
—Jim Wallis (b.1948) American Christian Writer, Social Activist
Hope writes the poetry of the boy, but memory that of the man. Man looks forward with smiles, but backward with sighs. Such is the wise providence of God. The cup of life is sweetness at the brim—the flavor is impaired as we drink deeper, and the dregs are made bitter that we may not struggle when it is taken from our lips.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
We do not raise our hands to the void for things beyond hope.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali Poet, Polymath
To give a generous hope to a man of his own nature, is to enrich him immeasurably.
—William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) American Unitarian Theologian, Poet
Ten thousand men possess ten thousand hopes.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Before you give up hope, turn back and read the attacks that were made upon Lincoln.
—Bruce Fairchild Barton (1886–1967) American Author, Advertising Executive, Politician
Hope and patience are two sovereign remedies for all, the surest reposals, the softest cushions to lean on in adversity.
—Robert Burton (1577–1640) English Scholar, Clergyman
Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances which we know to be desperate.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still.
—Thales of Miletus (c.624–c.545 BCE) Greek Philosopher, Mathematician
To all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Hope knows not if fear speaks truth, nor fear whether hope be blind as she.
—Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) English Poet, Novelist
Hope, like the gleaming taper’s light
Adorns and cheers our way;
And still, as darker grows the night,
Emits a brighter ray.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
Hope is a waking dream.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
I am not an optimist, because I am not sure that everything ends well. Nor am I a pessimist, because I am not sure that everything ends badly. I just carry hope in my heart.
Hope is the feeling that life and work have a meaning. You either have it or you don’t, regardless of the state of the world that surrounds you.
Life without hope is an empty, boring, and useless life. I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me.
I am thankful to God for this gift. It is as big as life itself.
—Vaclav Havel (1936–2011) Czech Dramatist, Statesman
Hope works in these ways: it looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst; it discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot; it regards problems, large or small, as opportunities; it pushes ahead when it would be easy to quit; it “lights the candle” instead of “cursing the darkness”.
—Unknown
Hope unbelieved is always considered nonsense. But hope believed is history in the process of being changed.
—Jim Wallis (b.1948) American Christian Writer, Social Activist
Quit not certainty for hope.
—Common Proverb
It is the around-the-corner brand of hope that prompts people to action, while the distant hope acts as an opiate.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
When the world says, “Give up,” hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”
—Unknown
Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
People who build hope into their own lives and who share hope with others become powerful people.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
From the withered tree, a flower blooms.
—Zen Proverb Japanese School of Mahayana Buddhism
Hope never abandons you, you abandon it.
—George Weinberg (1929–2017) American Clinical Psychologist
The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is unchangeable or certain.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
Man partly is and wholly hopes to be.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
The mighty hopes that make us men.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
Life without idealism is empty indeed. We just hope or starve to death.
—Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) American Novelist, Human Rights Activist
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