Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter.
—Edwin Paxton Hood (English Nonconformist Divine)
Every one is the son of his own works.
—Miguel de Cervantes (Spanish Novelist)
Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end results of.
—Eric Hoffer (American Philosopher)
In giving, a man receives more than he gives; and the more is in proportion to the worth of the thing given.
—George MacDonald (Scottish Poet, Novelist)
That load becomes light which is cheerfully borne.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (Roman Poet)
He has no fault except that he has no fault.
—Pliny the Younger (Roman Senator, Writer)
Passions are merely ideas in their initial stage. They are the property of youth, and anyone who expects to feel their thrill throughout his life is a fool. Tranquil rivers often begin as roaring waterfalls, but no river leaps and foams all the way to the sea. Tranquility, however, is often a sign of great, if hidden, power. Intensity and depth of feeling and thought preclude wild outbursts of passion; in sorrow and joy the soul takes careful stock of every situation, and sees that so it must be.
—Mikhail Lermontov (Russian Novelist, Poet)
A grown man who can shed tears without embarrassment is like a yogi who has learned to expel toxic matter from his body by consciously speeding up the peristaltic rhythm. He can eliminate many of life’s poisons.
—Christopher Isherwood (Anglo-American Novelist, Playwright)
Drive thy business, let not that drive thee.
—Benjamin Franklin (American Founding Father, Inventor)
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
—Cecil Frances Alexander (Irish Hymn Writer)
Gunning for average is your best shot at finishing above average.
—John C. Bogle (American Mutual Fund Pioneer)