Quotes to inspire and reflect

Though the wisdom or virtue of one can very rarely make many happy, the folly or vice of one man often make many miserable.

To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible.

Responsibility, n. A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or ones neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star.

Man’s responsibility increases as that of the gods decreases.

That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it.

No man is inherently respectable, but all women are by nature.

Respectability, n. The offspring of a liaison between a bald head and a bank account.

Concerning great things one should either be silent or speak loftily.

The honor we receive from those that fear us, is not honor; those respects are paid to royalty and not to me.

If you have any shame, forbear to pluck the beard of a dead lion.

Reverence makes it possible to be whole, though ignorant. It is the wholeness of understanding.

Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?

Reverence is a good thing, and part of its value is that the more we revere a man, the more sharply are we struck by anything in him (and there is always much) that is incongruous with his greatness.

Good resolutions are useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight in the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old.

A calm despair, without angry convulsions or reproaches directed at heaven, is the essence of wisdom.

It’s the great soul that surrenders itself to fate, but a puny degenerate thing that struggles.

What cannot be altered must be borne, not blamed.

Teach us to care and not to care / Teach us to sit still.

The doctrine of Necessity or Destiny is the doctrine of Toleration.

Not to ask is not to be denied.

Resignation, not mystic, not detached, but resignation open-eyed, conscious, and informed by love, is the only one of our feelings for which it is impossible to become a sham.

Posterity is always just.

To be happy with human beings, we should not ask them for what they cannot give.

We do not content ourselves with the life we have in ourselves and in our own being; we desire to live an imaginary life in the mind of others, and for this purpose we endeavour to shine.

Who has not, for the sake of his good reputation—sacrificed himself once?

Some men seem remarkable to the world in whom neither their wives nor their valets saw anything extraordinary. Few men have been admired by their servants.

But what do I care whether or not I receive attention during my lifetime, if I am not certain that the world will remember me until its last darkest winter, marveling like Ronsard’s old woman?

When we are dead we are praised by those who survive us, though we frequently have no other merit than that of being no longer alive.

Be it true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.

When the man is at home, his standing in society is well known and quietly taken; but when he is abroad, it is problematical, and is dependent on the success of his manners.

Reputation is commonly measured by the acre.

A man’s real life is that accorded to him in the thoughts of other men by reason of respect or natural love.

If you would not be known to do anything, never do it.

Shall I be remembered after death? I sometimes think and hope so. But I trust 1 may not be found out before my death.

Be thou, in rebuking evil, / Conscious of thine own.

Better a little chiding than a great deal of heartbreak.

The correction of silence is what kills; when you know you have transgressed, and your friend says nothing and avoids your eye.

Fear not the anger of the wise to raise; / Those best can bear reproof who merit praise.

I wonder how anyone can have the face to condemn others when he reflects upon his own thoughts.

The man who acts the least, upbraids the most.

Rash and incessant scolding runs into custom and renders itself despised.

There is no defence against reproach, but obscurity; it is a kind of concomitant to greatness.

The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.

After people have repeated a phrase a great number of times, they begin to realize it has meaning and may even be true.

The love of posterity is the consequence of the necessity of death. If a man were sure of living forever here, he would not care about his offspring.

Renunciation—is a piercing Virtue—/The letting go / A Presence—for an Expectation—.

How seek the way which leadeth to our wishes? By renouncing our wishes. The crown of excellence is renunciation.