It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
Tariffs that save jobs in the steel industry mean higher steel prices, which in turn means fewer sales of American steel products around the world and losses of far more jobs than are saved.
All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike.
Social psychology is especially interested in the effect which the social group has in the determination of the experience and conduct of the individual member.
There is not a more repulsive spectacle than on old man who will not forsake the world, which has already forsaken him.
We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us.
A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.
It’s that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so ‘don’t fuss, dear; get on with it.’
The equal right of all citizens to health, education, work, food, security, culture, science, and wellbeing – that is, the same rights we proclaimed when we began our struggle, in addition to those which emerge from our dreams of justice and equality for all inhabitants of our world – is what I wish for all.
Nature is my manifestation of God. I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day’s work. I follow in building the principles which nature has used in its domain.
That which is not good for the bee-hive cannot be good for the bees.
The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.
It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.
I am sure of this: that no one can write a book which children will like unless he write it for himself first.
Life is not always easy to live, but the opportunity to do so is a blessing beyond comprehension. In the process of living, we will face struggles, many of which will cause us to suffer and to experience pain.
Though the sex to which I belong is considered weak you will nevertheless find me a rock that bends to no wind.
Let us reject violence and selfishness which could destroy our country’s unity.
The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.
There is no despair so absolute as that which comes with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and be healed, to have despaired and have recovered hope.
We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.
Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.
Freedom in art, freedom in society, this is the double goal towards which all consistent and logical minds must strive.
Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
We’re running the most dangerous experiment in history right now, which is to see how much carbon dioxide the atmosphere… can handle before there is an environmental catastrophe.
The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.
The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.
The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
Where there’s water on Earth, you find life as we know it. So if you find water somewhere else, it becomes a remarkable draw to look closer to see if life of any kind is there, even if it’s bacterial, which would be extraordinary for the field of biology.
Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which, before their union, were not perceived to have any relation.
The description of right lines and circles, upon which geometry is founded, belongs to mechanics. Geometry does not teach us to draw these lines, but requires them to be drawn.
Beauty is a manifestation of secret natural laws, which otherwise would have been hidden from us forever.
Virtuous people often revenge themselves for the constraints to which they submit by the boredom which they inspire.
It is the experiences, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found. God it’s great to be alive!
Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks.
Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.
I have brought myself, by long meditation, to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment.
A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.
There are things which a man is afraid to tell even to himself, and every decent man has a number of such things stored away in his mind.
The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in their turn speak of things. Without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts; therefore it is dumb.
Swimming is a confusing sport, because sometimes you do it for fun, and other times you do it to not die. And when I’m swimming, sometimes I’m not sure which one it is.
Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere.
We are seeing healing among the stolen generations, and initiatives which are enabling Indigenous people to make their distinctive contribution to our national life.
The value of biodiversity is that it makes our ecosystems more resilient, which is a prerequisite for stable societies; its wanton destruction is akin to setting fire to our lifeboat.
I suppose that every one of us hopes secretly for immortality; to leave, I mean, a name behind him which will live forever in this world, whatever he may be doing, himself, in the next.
Preparation for old age should begin not later than one’s teens. A life which is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become filled on retirement.
There is a kind of serenity in love which is almost a paradise.
The fundamental concept in social science is Power, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics.
The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.
For the only way in which a durable peace can be created is by world-wide restoration of economic activity and international trade.
We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.
Nothing is less important than which fork you use. Etiquette is the science of living. It embraces everything. It is ethics. It is honor.
That which is not just is not law.
There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you could become.
The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.
To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.
God tests and proves us by the common occurrences of life. It is the little things which reveal the chapters of the heart.
What kind of people do they think we are? Is it possible they do not realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget?
There is no real excellence in all of this world which can be separated from right living.
Love is a binding force, by which another is joined to me and cherished by myself.
He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.
Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.
To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind – this is a choice which is possible for all of us; and surely it is a good haven to sail for.
