Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
—Calvin Coolidge (American Head of State)
The spirit of politeness is a desire to bring about by our words and manners, that others may be pleased with us and with themselves.
—Montesquieu (French Political Philosopher)
The human condition is such that pain and effort are not just symptoms which can be removed without changing life itself; they are the modes in which life itself, together with the necessity to which it is bound, makes itself felt. For mortals, the “easy life of the gods” would be a lifeless life.
—Hannah Arendt (German-American Political Theorist)
Hope is a very unruly emotion.
—Gloria Steinem (American Feminist)
Life is life – whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man’s own advantage.
—Sri Aurobindo (Indian Mystic, Philosopher, Poet)
It’s easy to be liked: listen more than talk, praise often, and disagree rarely. The question is, is it worth the loss of integrity?
—Marty Nemko (American Career Coach, Author)
Healing yourself is connected with healing others.
—Yoko Ono (Japanese Artist, Musician)
Anything whatsoever may become the subject of a novel, provided only that it happens in this mundane life and not in some fairyland beyond our human ken.
—Murasaki Shikibu (Japanese Diarist, Novelist)
All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.
—John Kenneth Galbraith (American Economist)
Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.
—John Stuart Mill (English Philosopher, Economist)
Happy those who here on earth have dreamt of a higher vision! They will the sooner be able to endure the glories of the world to come.
—Novalis (German Romantic Poet)
The finest fury is the most controlled.
—Christopher Hitchens (Anglo-American Social Critic)
Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (Roman Stoic Philosopher)
There is no greater sorrow than to recall a happy time in the midst of wretchedness.
—Dante Alighieri (Italian Poet, Philosopher)