Poems List

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning anf a good ending; and have the two as close together as possible.

If you listened hard enough the first time, you might have heard what I meant to say.

When the inspiration comes, let everything else go!

One man envies the success in life of another, and hates him in secret; nor is he willing to give him good advice when he is consulted, except it be by some wonderful effort of good feeling, and there are, alas, few such men in the world. A real friend, on the other hand, exults in his friend?s happiness, rejoices in all his joys, and is ready to afford him the best advice.

He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.

To be a 'believer' does not make you superior to others; but to be a 'humanist' does make it so!

The man of affluence is not in fact more happy than the possessor of a bare competency, unless, in addition to his wealth, the end of his life be fortunate. We often see misery dwelling in the midst of splendour, whilst real happiness is found in humbler stations.

This is the challenge of writing. You have to be very emotionally engaged in what you're doing, or it comes out flat. You can't fake your way through this.

...[I] put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Don't let people's words bring you down

Those who are skilled in archery bend their bow only when they are prepared to use it; when they do not require it they allow it to remain unbent, for otherwise it would be unserviceable when the time for using it arrived. So it is with man. If he were to devote himself unceasingly to a dull round of business, without breaking the monotony by cheerful amusements, he would fall imperceptibly into idiotcy, or be struck with paralysis.

Within every adversity is an equal or greater opportunity.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

The Ecclesiastes of the Old Testament says there is no new thing under the sun. We can also say there is no new thing above the sun!

Who can tell Men?s hearts? The purest comprehend Such contradictions, and can blend The force to bear, the power to feel, The tender bud, the tempered steel.

If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into and understanding of many things.

What we think about, expands.

All that is old is not therefore necessarily excellent; all that is new is not despicable on that account alone. Let what is really meritorious be pronounced so by the candid judge after due investigation; blockheads alone are influenced by the opinion of others.

I don't eat for hunger, I eat for taste

You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered.

It has just been twenty-three years since I began to wander. In the next twenty-three years I wonder if there will come a time when life is no longer a wonderful adventure; when there is not some interesting experience in things or personalities waiting just around the corner. If that time does come, I hope that my release will be swift.

The worse the ill that fate on noble souls Inflicts, the more their firmness; and they arm Their spirits with adamant to meet the blow.

I don't for hunger, I eat for taste