If you ask me which is the real hereditary sin of human nature, do you imagine I shall answer pride, or luxury, or ambition, or egotism? No; I shall answer indolence. Who conquers indolence will conquer all the rest. Indeed, all good principles must stagnate without mental activity.
—Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann (Public Domain)
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Patience is a noble Virtue, and, when rightly exercised, does not fail of its Reward. —General George Washington (Excerpt from 1783 letter to Reverend John Rodgers; Image licensed) Patience does...
It is a military maxim that ‘fortune may fail us, but a prudent conduct never will.’ At the same time, some of the most brilliant victories have been obtained by a daring stroke. —Maj Gen William...
Never seem wiser or more learned than the company you are with. Treat your knowledge like a watch and keep it hidden. Do not pull it out to count the hours, but give the time when you are asked....
You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. —C.S. Lewis (Image licensed by Penn Wealth Pub.)
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. —Marcus Aurelius (Image licensed by Penn Wealth Pub.)
A thought can often make us hotter than a fire. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1868, by Julia Margaret Cameron; Public Domain) We all find ourselves stuck in a rut from time to time. When this...
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of being. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1828, by Joseph Karl Stieler; Public Domain)
The world is but a canvas to the imagination. —Henry David Thoreau (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth Pub.)
The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. —William Makepeace Thackeray (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth Pub.) The wonderful implication being that we...
Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of voluntary spies. —Jane Austen (1810, by Cassandra Austen; Public domain)
Ignorance of one’s misfortunes is clear gain. —Euripides (480-406 B.C.; Public domain)
Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall. —Ray Bradbury (Photo licensed by Penn Wealth Pub.) It is easy to get stuck in the preparation phase, trying to get everything...
Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it…with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present. —Marcus Aurelius (Photo licensed by Penn Wealth Pub.)
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. —John Pierpont Morgan (Image licensed by Penn Wealth Pub.)
I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal. —Jane Austen (1810; by Jane’s sister, Cassandra; Public Domain)
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the...
A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world. —Joseph Addison (Image licensed by Penn Wealth Pub.)
Our patience will achieve more than our force. —Edmund Burke (1771, by Joshua Reynolds; Public Domain) Patience does not equate, in any manner, to standing still. Patience means taking constant,...
Leisure for men of business, and business for men of leisure, would cure many complaints. —Hester Thrale (1777, by Joshua Reynolds; Public Domain)
Those who do not complain are never pitied. —Jane Austen (1810, by Jane’s sister, Cassandra Austen; Public Domain)
