Quotations

Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark. Sir Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Indian mystic and poet

Pleasure is frail like a dewdrop, while it laughs it dies. Sir Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Indian mystic and poet

Hope is the only god that is common to all men. Thales (c.624 B.C) Greek philosopher

Nothing is said nowadays that has not been said before. Terence (C. 186-C. 159 B.C.) Latin poet

Untilled ground, however rich, will bring forth thistles and thorns; so also the mind of man. Saint Teresa Of Avila (1515-1582) Spanish mystic and originator of the Carmelite Reform

God himself would not permit evil in this world if good did not come of it. Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Italian Dominican Theologian

Art is simply a right method of doing things. The test of the artist does not lie in the will with which he goes to work, but in the excellence of the work he produces. Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Italian Dominican Theologian

Reason is the norm of the human will, according to which its goodness is measured, because reason derives from the eternal law which is the divine reason itself. Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Italian Dominican Theologian

The writing of History is to prevent virtuous actions from being forgotten, and that evil words and deeds should fear an infamous reputation with posterity. Tacitus (c.56-c.120) Roman Emperor

What difference does it make to you what someone else becomes, or says, or does? You do not need to answer for others, only for yourself. Thomas A Kempis (C. 1380-1471) Dutch theologian

Heaven's eternal wisdom has decreed that man should ever stand in need of man. Theocritus (C. 310-250 B.C.) Greek philosopher

The heavens are as deep as our aspirations are Henry Davld Thoreau (1817-1862) American essayist, poet and practical philosopher

It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American essayist, poet and practical philosopher

Make books your companions; let your bookshelves be your gardens: bask in their beauty, gather their fruit, pluck their roses, take their spices and myrrh Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon (1150-1230) French-Jewish translator and physician.

Still round the corner there may wait, A new road, or a secret gate. J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer

Let us be grateful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed. Mark Twain (1835-1910) American humorist and writer

All the vastness of astronomy and space and systems of suns, carried in their computation to the farthest that figures are able, and then multiplied in geometrical progression ten thousand billion fold, do no more than symbolize the reflection of the reflection, of the spark thrown off a spark, from some emanation of God. Mark Twain (1835-1910) American humorist and writer

I love nature partly because she is not man, but a retreat from him. None of his institutions control or pervade her. There is a different kind of right that prevails. In her midst I can be glad with an entire gladness. If this world were all man, I could not stretch myself, I should lose all hope. He is constraint, she is freedom to me. He makes me wish for another world. She makes me content with this. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American essays, poet and practical philosopher

Faith means being grasped by a power that is greater than we are, a power that shakes us and turns us, and transforms and heals us. Surrender to this power is faith. Paul Johannes Oskar Tillich (1886-1965) German-born U.S. theologian and philosopher

History is a view of events as they really happened and as they are very likely to repeat themselves at some future time - if not exactly the same, yet very similar. Thucydides (460-c.401 B.C.) Greek Historian

Reason does not prove to us that God exists, but neither does it prove he cannot exist Miguel De Unamuno (1864-1936) Spanish educator, poet, playwright and philosopher

Behind the cloud the starlight lurks, Through showers the sunbeams fall; For God, who loveth all his work Has left his hope with all! John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) U.S. Quaker poet and humanitarian

The tissue of the Life to be We weave with colors all our own And in the field of Destiny We reap as we have sown. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) U.S. Quaker poet and humanitarian

He left his Father's throne above so free, so infinite his grace! Emptied himself of all but love, And bled for Adam's helpless race. Charles Wesley (1707-1788) English Methodist clergyman and poet

He who governed the world before I was born shall take care of it likewise when I am dead. My part is to improve the present moment. John Wesley (1703-1791) English Methodist clergyman and poet

In vain our haughty reason swells, For nothing's found in thee But boundless inconceivables And vast eternity. Isaac Watts (1674-1748) English Nonconformist minister

Nature with open volume stands, To spread her Maker's praise abroad; And every labor of his hands Shows something worthy of a God. Isaac Watts (1674-1748) English Nonconformist minister

When from our better selves we have too long Been parted by the hurrying world, and droop, Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired, How gracious, how benign, is solitude. William Wordsworth (1770-1850) English poet

As much of heaven is visible as we have eyes to see. William Winter (1836-1917) American dramatic critic and poet

The princes among us are those who forget themselves and serve mankind. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) 28th President of the United States

Laugh and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone. Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) American Poet

The divine nature is perfection and to be nearest to the divine nature is to be nearest to perfection. Xenophon (C. 431-C. 352 B.C.) Greek political thinker

All empty souls tend to extreme opinion Wllliam Butler Yeats (1865-1939) Irish poet

We do not know a nation until we know its pleasures of life, just as we do not know a man until we know how he spends his leisure. It is when a man ceases to do the things he has to do and does the things he likes to do that the character is revealed. It is when the repressions of society and business are gone and when the goal of money and fame and ambition are lifted, that we see the inner man, his real self. Lin Yu-T'ang (1895-1976) Chinese writer