Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right moment.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
Many men have been capable of doing a wise thing, more a cunning thing, but very few a generous thing.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous—not just to some people in some circumstances—but to everyone all the time.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr. (1874–1956) American Business Executive
Watch lest prosperity destroy generosity.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another, without helping himself.
—Gamaliel Bailey (1807–59) American Journalist
Favors cease to be favors when there are conditions attached to them.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
Generous gestures yield the most when that isn’t their purpose.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
True generosity does not consist in obeying every impulse of humanity, in following blind passion for our guide, and impairing our circumstances by present benefactions, so as to render us incapable of future ones.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
Generosity gives assistance, rather than advice.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
Of all virtues magnanimity is the rarest; there are a hundred persons of merit for one who willingly acknowledges it in another.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
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
If you’re a generous person you’ll have no trouble admitting that somebody else is good. If you’re a better person you’ll find it’s total impossibility.
—Unknown
How much easier is it to be generous than just.
—Junius Unidentified English Writer
All that is not given is lost.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali Poet, Polymath
I take as my guide the hope of a saint:
in crucial things, unity-
in important things, diversity-
in all things, generosity.
—George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) American Republican Statesman, 41st President
I can remember way back when a liberal was generous with his own money
—Will Rogers (1879–1935) American Actor, Rancher, Humorist
I want to be remembered as the girl who always smiles even when her heart is broken. And the one that could always brighten up your day even if she couldnt brighten her own.
—Anonymous
It is not enough to help the feeble up, but to support him after.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is giving me that which you need more than I do.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-American Philosopher, Poet, Sculptor
Generosity is the flower of justice.
—Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–64) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
The secret pleasure of a generous act is the great mind’s bribe.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Make a gift of your life and lift all mankind by being kind, considerate, forgiving, and compassionate at all times, in all places, and under all conditions, with everyone as well as yourself. This is the greatest gift anyone can give.
—David R. Hawkins (1927–2012) American Physician, Author
The return we reap from generous actions is not always evident.
—Francesco Guicciardini (1483–1540) Italian Historian, Statesman
Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who’ll never find out.
—Frank A. Clark
To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Giving is the business of the rich.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Generosity, wrong placed, becometh a vice; a princely mind will undo a private family.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
To generous souls every task is noble.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Every charitable act is a stepping stone towards heaven.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
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