Quotations are the fundamental distillation of a writer’s life and thinking as recorded in words and phrases for posterity. Through them the reader is afforded the unique opportunity to share in the thoughts, the life and the experiences of the writer. In a special way, they offer the reader a window into the mind of the author and hopefully an inducement to read further and learn more about the author and the story he relates.


On a wider scale, they are, as William Feather wrote, “the wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages preserved into perpetuity“, and as such they are available for the enrichment and enhancement of humanity, regardless of age, sex, race, educational or economic status. They are indeed, as the Talmud states, “food for the famished”.

The collection of quotations presented in this blog, have been chosen by me because of their special impact upon me. They have been published so that you too, may experience the joy I have had over the years reading them and getting to know the authors.


I trust that you will come to know the feeling of deep satisfaction possible from reading them, searching out the author and meditating upon their meaning and their impact on your life.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Authority

New faces have more Authority than accustomed ones. ……Euripides

If you wish to know what a man is,
Place him in Authority. …….Yogoslav Proverb

All Authority must be out of a man's self,
Turned, either upon an art, or upon a man. …….Francis Bacon

A man in Authority is but as a candle in the wind,
sooner wasted or blown out than under a bushel. ……..John Fletcher

An argument from Authority is but a weak kind of proof;
It being but a topical probation, and an inartificial argument
depending on naked asseveration.. ……Sir Thomas Browne

To punish me for my contempt for Authority,
fate made me an Authority myself. …….Albert Einstein

All Authority belongs to the people. ……Thomas Jefferson

Self-possession is the backbone of Authority. ……Thomas Chandler

The reason why the simpler sort are moved by Authority,
is the consciousness of their own ignorance. …….Richard Hooker

How long would Authority exist,
if not for the willingness of the mass to become soldiers, policemen, jailers, and hangmen. …….Emma Goldman

Every great advance in natural knowledge
has involved the absolute rejection of Authority. ……Thomas Huxley

A position of Authority is neither necessary or sufficient
For the exercise of leadership. ……Eric Werkowitz

The faith that stands on Authority; is not faith. ……Ralph Waldo Emerson

Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to Authority,
is not using his intelligence, he is just using his memory. …….Leonardo Da Vinci

The disappearance of a sense of responsibility,
is the most far-reaching consequence of submission to Authority. ……Stanley Milgram

Friday, January 30, 2009

TOLERANCE

Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs
Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. …….John F. Kennedy

Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue;
it makes it a requirement for survival. ……Bene Dubos

No human trait deserves less Tolerance in everyday life,
and gets less, than intolerance. ………Giacomo Leopardi

Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. …….Gilbert K. Chesterton

Anger and Intolerance are the twin enemies of correct understanding. Mohandas Candhi

Tolerance is composed of nine parts of apathy to one of brotherly love. ……Frank Love

Tolerance is the price we pay for living in a free, pluralistic society. ……Robert Casey

The value of tolerance is central to living in today's world. ……Jose Serrano

Thursday, January 29, 2009

TEMPTATION

Blessed is the man that endures Temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life. ……James 1:12

Good habits result from resisting temptation. ……Ancient Proverb

Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God. ……..John Quincy Adams

Tempt not a desperate man. …….William Shakespeare

We usually know what we can do,
But Temptation tells us who we are. …….Thomas A. Kempis

We usually know what we can do, but temptation shows us who we are.
Most people would like to be delivered from Temptation,
but would like it to keep in touch. ……..Robert Orben

The last Temptation is the greatest treason:
to do the right deed for the wrong reason. ………T. S. Eliot

Those who flee Temptation,
generally leave a forwarding address. ………Lane Olinghouse

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

DESIRE

Desire is individual. Happiness is common. ……Julian Casablancas

He who desires is always poor. ……Clauianus

To Desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve. ……James Allen

There are two tragedies in life.
One is not to get your heart's Desire;
The other is to get it. ……George Bernard Shaw

My desire is to walk with God every day …….Janine Turner

Those who restrain desire,
do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained. ……William Blake

When sages commend excess, Desire is sick. ……Mason Cooley

We Desire nothing so much as what we ought not to have. ……Publilius Syrus

The consuming Desire of most human beings is deliberately
to plant their whole life in the hands of some other person. ……Quentin Crisp

Saturday, January 24, 2009

VICE

11/01/08
Idleness is the beginning of all vices. …..Ancient Proverb

Nothing is as certain as that the Vices of leisure
Are gotten rid of by being busy. ……Seneca

The vices of the rich and great are mistaken for error;
and those of the poor and lowly, for crimes. ……..Lady Marguerite Blessington

Every Vice is only an exaggeration of a necessary and virtuous function. …….Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are more inclined to regret our virtues than our Vices;
but only the very honest will admit this. ……….Holbrook Jackson

When virtue is at liberty,
so to some extent is Vice. ………..Barbara Amiel

The vilest of what is evil is Vice. …………Abu Bakr

It is the function of Vice to keep virtue within reasonable bounds. ……..Samuel Butler

Thursday, January 22, 2009

SUFFERING

Suffering produces endurance,
And endurance produces character,
And character produces hope. ……… Romans 5:3-4

Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness,
not through insensibility but through greatness of mind. ……..Aristotle

Suffering is the substance of life and the root of personality,
for it is only suffering that makes us persons. ……Miguel de Unamuno

Suffering is part of the divine idea. ……..Henry Ward Beecher

Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts;
not amid joy. ……..Sir Arthur Helps

We cannot live, suffer or die for somebody else,
for Suffering is too precious to be shared. ……..Edward Dahlberg

We are never so defensless against Suffering as when we love. ……..Sigmund Freud

It is a glorious thing to be indifferent to Suffering,
but only to one's own suffering. …….Robert Lynd

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

EMOTION

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm …….Ralph Waldo Emerson

The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men
the conviction and the will to carry on. …..Walter Lippmann

It is the perpetual dread of fear, the fear of fear,
that shapes the face of a brave man. …..Georges Bernanos

Let's not forget that the little Emotions are the great captains of our lives;
and we obey them without realizing it. …….Vincent Van Gogh

Emotion turning back on itself, and not leading on to thought or action,
is the element of madness. ……..John Sterling

The finest Emotion of which we are capable
is the mystic emotion. …..Albert Einstein

Any Emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary. ……..Mark Twain

I use Emotion for the many;
and reserve reason for the few. ……..Adolf Hitler

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic,
-but creatures of Emotion. …….Dale Carnegie

The essential difference between Emotion and reason is
that emotion leads to action, while reason leads to conclusions. Donald Calne

Wit is the epitaph of an Emotion. ………Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Friday, January 16, 2009

SELFISHNESS

An unfriendly man pursues Selfish ends;
he defies all sound judgment. …….Proverbs 18:1

He who lives only to benefit himself confers on the world
a benefit when he dies. …….Tertullian
Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race. …….William E. Gladstone

Glory built on Selfish principles is shame and guilt. ……..William Cowper

Selfishness is that detestable vice which no one will forgive in others,
and no one is without himself. ………..Henry Ward Beecher

Selfishness is one of the qualities apt to inspire love. ………Nathaniel Hawthorne

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism,
or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. ……..Martin Luther King, Jr.

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live,
it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. ……..Oscar Wilde

Thursday, January 15, 2009

FLOWERS

Take time to smell the roses. …….Author Unknown

Bread feeds the body, indeed,
but Flowers feed also the soul. …….The Holy Koran

When you have only two pennies left in the world,
buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. …….Chinese Proverb

Where Flowers bloom, so does hope. ……Lady Bird Johnson

Each Flower is a soul opening to nature. …….Gerald De Nerval

The flower is the poetry of reproduction.
It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life …….Jean Giraudoux

Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made,
and forgot to put a soul into. …….Henry Beecher

Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty
out-values all the utilities of the world. ……Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

SKEPTICISM

Large skepticism leads to large understanding.
Small skepticism leads to small understanding.
No skepticism leads to no understanding. ……..Xi Zhi

There is a kind of courtesy in Skepticism.
It would be an offense against polite conventions to press our doubts too far. ……..George Santayana

Skepticism is a barren coast,
without a harbor or lighthouse. …….Henry Ward Beecher

Do not let yourself be tainted with a barren skepticism. …….. Louis Pasteur

It is men of faith, not Skeptics,
who have made the world aware that they were in it.. …….William Ellery Channing

Skepticism: the mark and even the pose of the educated mind. ……. John Dewey

Skepticism has never founded empires, established principles,
or changed the world's heart;

The great doers in history have always been men of faith. ……Edwin Hubbell Chapin

Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion,
by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense. …….Carl Sagan

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

SINCERITY

I want to test the Sincerity of your love,
by comparing it with the ernestness of others. ......2 Corinthians 8:8

Sincerity gives wings to power. ………Author Unknown

Sincerity and truth are the basis of every virtue. ……….Confucius

Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value
than the most talented hypocrite. ……..Charles Spurgeon

Sincerity may be humble but she cannot be servile. …….,Lord Byron

Sincerity is the highest compliment you can pay. …….. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution, experience life's deepest joy; -True fulfillment. .......Tony Robbins

Sincerity is impossible, unless it pervade the whole being. …….James Russell Lowell

A Sincere man who is wrong, is the most dangerous of opponents. ……. Sevareid

Sincerity is the way of Heaven …….Mencius

It is dangerous to be Sincere unless you are also stupid ……..George Bernard Shaw

Judge thyself with the judgment of Sincerity,
and thou will judge others with the judgment of charity. ……John Mitchell Mason

I should say Sincerity, a deep, great, genuine Sincerity,
is the first characteristic of all men in any way heroic. ……..Thomas Carlyle

A silent address is the genuine eloquence of Sincerity. ……Oliver Goldsmith

Sincerity is an openness of heart; it is found in a very few people;
And that which we see commonly is not it,
but a subtle dissimulation, to gain the confidence of others. …….Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld

The secret of success is Sincerity.
Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made. …….Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux*

Saturday, January 10, 2009

REVENGE

Do not seek Revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people,
but love your neighbor as yourself. ……..Leviticus 19:18

Revenge converts a little right into a great wrong. ………German Proverb

Live well; It is the greatest Revenge. ……..The Talmud

Before you embark on a journey of Revenge, dig two graves. ……Confucius

There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness. ……….Josh Billings

Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind. …….Juvenal

Revenge is the naked idol of the worship of a semi-barbarous age. ……Percy Bysshe Shelley

In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy;
But in passing it over, he is superior. ……..Francis Bacon

Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time;
as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing, warm and racy: its after-flavor, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation
as if I had been poisoned. …….Charlotte Bronte

Thursday, January 8, 2009

REPUTATION

He must also have a good Reputation with outsiders,
so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. …..Timothy 3:7

When a door opens without your knocking,
consider your Reputation. …….Arabian Proverb

Reputation is the shell a man discards
when he leaves life for immortality. …….Author Unknown

How difficult it is to save the bark of Reputation
from the rocks of ignorance. ……. Petrach*

Character is like a tree and Reputation its shadow.
The shadow is what we think it is; the tree is the real thing. ……Abraham Lincoln

You can't build a Reputation on what you're going to do. …….Henry Ford

Glass, China and Reputation are easily cracked,
and never mended well. …….Benjamin Franklin

Reputation is only a candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out;
But it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit. …….James Russell Lowell

Saturday, January 3, 2009

SECURITY

- My son, if you have put up Security for your neighbor,
you have struck hands in pledge for another, ……Proverbs 6:1

- There is no Security on this earth;
There is only opportunity. ……. Gen. Douglas McArthur

- Too many people are thinking of Security instead of opportunity;
They seem to be more afraid of Life than of death. ……..James F. Byrnes

- Security is a kind of death ……Tennessee Williams

- Security is mostly superstitious, it does not exist in nature.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. …….Helen Keller

- Better be despised for too anxious apprehension,
Than ruined by too confident Security. …….Edmund Burke

- They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security,
deserve neither liberty or security. …….Benjamin Franklin

- True individual freedom cannot exist without economic Security and Independence.
…..Franklin Delano Roosevelt