A man who sees another man on the street corner with only a stump for an arm will be so shocked the first time he’ll give him sixpence. But the second time it’ll only be a three penny bit. And if he sees him a third time, he’ll have him cold-bloodedly handed over to the police.
—Bertolt Brecht (German Poet)
If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse. You may be dead.
—Gelett Burgess
We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
—Unknown
The greater the obstacle, the more glory we have in overcoming it; the difficulties with which we are met are the maids of honor which set off virtue.
—Moliere (French Playwright)
I am in the present. I cannot know what tomorrow will bring forth. I can know only what the truth is for me today. That is what I am called upon to serve, and I serve it in all lucidity.
—Igor Stravinsky (Russian-born American Composer)
The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world, is to be in reality what we would appear to be; and if we observe, we shall find, that all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.
—Socrates (Anceient Greek Philosopher)
Life is like music, it must be composed by ear, feeling and instinct, not by rule. Nevertheless one had better know the rules, for they sometimes guide in doubtful cases, though not often.
—Samuel Butler
You do not succeed because you do not know what you want, or you don’t want it intensely enough.
—Frank Hall Crane
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but a little want of knowledge is also a dangerous thing.
—Samuel Butler
We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure—all your life.
—John W. Gardner (American Government Official)