“That perfect tranquility of life, which is nowhere to be found but in retreat, a faithful friend and a good library.”
| — | Aphra Behn, The Lucky Chance, Or, the Alderman’s Bargain |
“There are thousands of wines that can take over our minds. Don’t think all ecstasies are the same!”
| — | Rumi |
“Be humble for you are made of earth.
Be noble for you are made of stars.”
| — | Serbian Proverb |
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
| — | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe |
“It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.”
| — | Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre |
“If what is seen and experienced is portrayed in the language of logic, we are engaged in science. If it is communicated through forms whose connections are not accessible to the conscious mind but are recognized intuitively as meaningful, then we are engaged in art.”
| — | Albert Einstein |
“If the possibility of the spiritual development of all individuals is to be secured, a second kind of outward freedom is necessary. The development of science and of the creative activities of the spirit in general requires still another kind of freedom, which may be characterised as inward freedom. It is this freedom of the spirit which consists in the interdependence of thought from the restrictions of authoritarian and social prejudices as well as from unphilosophical routinizing and habit in general. This inward freedom is an infrequent gift of nature and a worthy object for the individual.”
| — | Albert Einstein |
“Always do what you are afraid to do.”
| — | R.W. Emerson |
“All the thoughts of a turtle are turtle.”
| — | R.W. Emerson |
“All our progress is an unfolding, like the vegetable bud. You have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root, bud and fruit. Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason.”
| — | R.W. Emerson |
“All persons, all things which we have known, are here present, and many more than we see; the world is full.”
| — | R.W. Emerson |
“But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
falling like dew, upon a thought, produces
that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.”
| — | from Don Juan, Canto III.88, George Gordon, Lord Byron |
“All the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal. … But with each passing year, and with each whimsical purchase, our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are, whether we read the books or not.”
| — | Nick Hornby, The Polysyllabic Spree |
“The splendor of the rose and the whitness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its lovliness.”
| — | St. Therese of Lisieux |
“A little consideration of what takes place around us every day would show us that a higher law than that of our will regulates events; that our painful labours are unnecessary and fruitless; that only in our easy, simple, spontaneous action are we strong… Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right, and a perfect contentment.”
| — | R.W. Emerson |
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
| — | R.W. Emerson |
“All great masters are chiefly distinguished by the power of adding a second, a third, and perhaps a fourth step in a continuous line. Many a (wo)man had taken the first step. With every additional step you enhance immensely the value of your first.”
| — | R.W. Emerson |
” The technology does not take away the man from the great problems of nature but forces him to study them in more detail. “
| – | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry |
“Stop insisting on clearing your head — clear your fucking heart instead.”
| — | Charles Bukowski |
“A man’s action is only a picture book of his creed.”
| — | R.W. Emerson |
