Beauty is a harmonious relation between something in our nature and the quality of the object which delights us.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
There are nine hundred and ninety-nine patrons of virtue to one virtuous man.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Virtue is the only true nobility.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he who loses his courage loses all.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
Sell not virtue to purchase wealth.
—English Proverb
Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
There are in every man, always, two simultaneous allegiances, one to God, the other to Satan. Invocation of God, or Spirituality, is a desire to climb higher; that of Satan, or animality, is delight in descent.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
In my stars I am above thee, but be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness; thrust upon em.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Beauty as we feel it is something indescribable; what it is or what it means can never be said.
—George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American Poet, Philosopher
Virtue craves a steep and thorny path.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed … The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues.
—Abigail Adams (1744–1818) American First Lady
To a superior race of being the pretensions of mankind to extraordinary sanctity and virtue must seem… ridiculous.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
The chief assertion of religious morality is that white is a color. Virtue is not the absence of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers; virtue is a vivid and separate thing, like pain or a particular smell.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
You can buy education, but wisdom is a gift from God.
—Unknown
That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as another s. We see so much only as we possess.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow.
—Chinese Proverb
Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like remaining faithful when nobody’s looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you’re misunderstood.
—Unknown
When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes.
—Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
It is better to be beautiful than to be good, but it is better to be good than to be ugly.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
The next best thing to knowing something is knowing where to find it.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain’t so.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Of all the varieties of virtue, liberality is the most beloved.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
I cannot love anyone if I hate myself. That is the reason why we feel so extremely uncomfortable in the presence of people who are noted for their special virtuousness, for they radiate an atmosphere of the torture they inflict on themselves. That is not a virtue but a vice.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments.
—Gustave Flaubert (1821–80) French Novelist, Playwright, Short Story Writer
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