Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
No sooner met but they looked; no sooner looked but they loved; no sooner loved but they sighed; no sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason; no sooner knew the reason but they sought the remedy; and in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage, which they will climb incontinent, or else be incontinent before marriage.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress.
—Charles Dickens (1812–70) English Novelist
We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes—our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking around.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
Failure is nature’s plan to prepare you for great responsibilities.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
For if Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.
—Unknown
By nature man hates change; seldom will he quit his old home till it has actually fallen around his ears.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.
—Martin Luther (1483–1546) German Protestant Theologian
The mind’s direction is more important than its progress.
—Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French Writer, Moralist
We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) American Head of State
We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.
—Jimmy Carter (1924–2024) 39th US President, Humanitarian
A man lives not only his personal life as an individual but also, consciously or unconsciously, the life of his epoch and his contemporaries.
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955) German Novelist, Critic, Philanthropist, Essayist
Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make not only for our own happiness but that of the world at large.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
A name pronounced is the recognition of the individual to whom it belongs. He who can pronounce my name aright, he can call me, and is entitled to my love and service.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don’t have brains enough to be honest.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
—Anonymous
In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Slaves lose everything in their chains, even the desire of escaping from them.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
It all depends on how we look at things, and not on how things are in themselves. The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
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