Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character, and character, hope.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
He that can’t endure the bad will not live to see the good.
—Yiddish Proverb
Men do not fail; they stop trying.
—Elihu Root (1845–1937) American Jurist, Statesman
Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
—John Ruskin (1819–1900) English Writer, Art Critic
When we see ourselves in a situation which must be endured and gone through, it is best to make up our minds to meet it with firmness, and accommodate everything to it in the best way practical. This lessons the evil, while fretting and fuming only serve to increase your own torments.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
The difficulties and struggles of today are but the price we must pay for the accomplishments and victories of tomorrow.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
Be like a postage stamp – stick to one thing until you get there.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it,—but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
Be strong!
It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong
How hard the battle goes, the day how long
Faint not – fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.
—Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858–1901) American Presbyterian Minister, Writer
Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
Gnaw your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, gnaw it still.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you till it seems as if you could n’t hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that ‘s just the place and time that the tide ‘ll turn. Never trust to prayer without using every means in your power, and never use the means without trusting in prayer.
—Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–96) American Abolitionist, Author
If you stop struggling, then you stop life.
—Huey P. Newton (1942–89) American Political Activist
If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
—Dolly Parton (b.1946) American Musician, Actress
Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Inventor, Architect
For me at least there came moments when faith wavered. But there is the great lesson and the great triumph: keep the fire burning until, by and by, out of the mass of sordid details there comes some result.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American Jurist, Author
The great thing and the hard thing is to stick to things when you have outlived the first interest, and not yet got the second, which comes with a sort of mastery.
—Janet Erskine Stuart (1857–1914) English Catholic Nun, Educationalist
God helps those who persevere.
—The Holy Quran Sacred Scripture of Islam
Don’t leave before the miracle happens.
—Unknown
Victory belongs to the most persevering.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Persistence is the master virtue. Without it, there is no other.
—Unknown
Wisely and slow;—they stumble that run fast.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
This man Wellington is so stupid he does not know when he is beaten and goes on fighting.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Any man can work when every stroke of his hand brings down the fruit rattling from the tree to the ground; but to labor in season and out of season, under every discouragement, by the power of truth … that requires a heroism which is transcendent.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
I can remember walking as a child. It was not customary to say you were fatigued. It was customary to complete the goal of the expedition.
—Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) American Actor, TV Personality
In the clutch of circumstance, I have not winced or cried aloud; under the bludgeoning of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed.
—William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) English Poet, Critic, Editor
By perseverance the snail reached the Ark.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
Let no one till his death
Be called unhappy. Measure not the work
Until the day’s out and the labor done:
Then bring your gauges.
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–61) English Poet