Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Talk not of genius baffled. Genius is master of man. Genius does what it must, and Talent does what it can.
We must remember how apt man is to extremes--rushing from credulity and weakness to suspicion and distrust.
What men want is not talent, it is purpose; in other words, not the power to achieve, but the will to labor.
A friend who stands with you in pressure is more valuable than a hundred ones who stand with you in pleasure.
Man must be disappointed with the lesser things of life before he can comprehend the full value of the greater.
The haughty woman who can stand alone, and requires no leaning-place in our hearts, loses the spell of her sex.
To find what you seek in the road of life, the best proverb of all is that which says: Leave no stone unturned.
What is past is past, there is a future left to all men, who have the virtue to repent and the energy to atone.
The bold sympathize with the bold; and in great hearts, there is always a certain friendship for a gallant foe.
Centuries roll, customs change, but, ever since the time of the earliest mother, woman yearns to be the soother.
It is difficult to say who do you the most mischief, enemies with the worst intentions, or friends with the best.
Say what we will, we may be sure that ambition is an error. Its wear and tear on the heart are never recompensed.
The Italians have voices like peacocks - German gives me a cold in the head - and Russian is nothing but sneezing
Some have the temperament and tastes of genius, without its creative power. They feel acutely, but express tamely.
Toil to some is happiness, and rest to others. This man can only breathe in crowds, and that man only in solitudes.
You know There are moments when silence, prolonged and unbroken, More expressive may be than all words ever spoken.
People who are very vain are usually equally susceptible; and they who feel one thing acutely, will so feel another.
No author ever drew a character consistent to human nature, but he was forced to ascribe to it many inconsistencies.
Happy is the man who hath never known what it is to taste of fame - to have it is a purgatory, to want it is a hell.
Earnestness is the best gift of mental power, and deficiency of heart is the cause of many men never becoming great.
To judge human character rightly, a man may sometimes have very small experience, provided he has a very large heart.
Happiness and virtue rest upon each other; the best are not only the happiest, but the happiest are usually the best.
There is certainly something of exquisite kindness and thoughtful benevolence in that rarest of gifts,--fine breeding.
The desire of excellence is the necessary attribute of those who excel. We work little for a thing unless we wish for it.
The astronomer who catalogues the stars cannot add one atom to the universe; the poet can call an universe from the atom.
In all cases of heart-ache, the application of another man's disappointment draws out the pain and allays the irritation.
If aught be worse than failure from overstress of a life's prime purpose, it is to sit down content with a little success.
The object of ambition, unlike that of love, never being wholly possessed, ambition is the more durable passion of the two.
The more the merely human part of the poet remains a mystery, the more willing is the reverence given to his divine mission.
There is no such thing as luck. It's a fancy name for being always at our duty, and so sure to be ready when good time comes.
The circle of life is cut up into segments. All lines are equal if they are drawn from the centre and touch the circumference.
In how large a proportion of creatures is existence composed of one ruling passion, the most agonizing of all sensations--fear.
Common sense is only a modification of talent. Genius is an exaltation of it. The difference is, therefore, in degree, not nature.
The worst part of an eminent man's conversation is, nine times out of ten, to be found in that part by which he means to be clever.
Men of strong affections are jealous of their own genius. They fear lest they should be loved for a quality, and not for themselves.
It is destiny phrase of the weak human heart! 'It is destiny' dark apology for every error! The strong and virtuous admit no destiny
Death is the only monastery; the tomb is the only cell, and the grave that adjoins the convent is the bitterest mock of its futility.
Fine natures are like fine poems; a glance at the first two lines suffices for a guess into the beauty that waits you if you read on.
People praise us behind our backs, but we hear them not; few before our faces, and who is not suspicious of the truth of such praise?
Our glories float between the earth and heaven Like clouds which seem pavilions of the sun, And are the playthings of the casual wind.
Not in the knowledge of things without, but in the perfection of the soul within, lies the empire of man aspiring to be more than man.
In life, as in whist, hope nothing from the way cards may be dealt to you. Play the cards, whatever they be, to the best of your skill.
Fate! There is no fate. Between the thought and the success God is the only agent. Fate is not the ruler, but the servant of Providence.
The brave man wants no charms to encourage him to his duty, and the good man scorns all warnings that would deter him from fulfilling it.
How little praise warms out of a man the good that is in him, as the sneer of contempt which he feels is unjust chill the ardor to excel.
Curse away! And let me tell thee, Beausant, a wise proverb The Arabs have,-"Curses are like young chickens, And still come home to roost."
If you are in doubt whether to write a letter or not, don't. And the advice applies to many doubts in life besides that of letter writing.
He who doth not smoke hath either known no great griefs, or refuseth himself the softest consolation, next to that which comes from heaven.
More is got from one book on which the thought settles for a definite end in knowledge, than from libraries skimmed over by a wandering eye.
If thou be industrious to procure wealth, be generous in the disposal of it. Man never is so happy as when he giveth happiness unto another.