Creatures whose mainspring is curiosity enjoy the accumulating of facts far more than the pausing at times to reflect on those facts. (Clarence Day)
There are times when I think that the ideal library is composed solely of reference books. They are like understanding friends-always ready to meet your mood, always ready to change the subject when you have had enough of this or that. (Donald J. Adams)
Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. (Ronald Reagan)
Wealth and rank are what people desire, but unless they be obtained in the right way they may not be possessed. (Confucius)
Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it. (Woody Allen)
Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy. (Janet Long)
So far as modern science is concerned, we have to abandon completely the idea that by going into the realm of the small we shall reach the ultimate foundations of the universe. I believe we can abandon this idea without any regret. The universe is infinite in all directions, not only above us in the large but also below us in the small. (Emil Wiechert)
The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball, they fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in the arena are the doers. They make mistakes because they try many things. The man who makes no mistakes lacks boldness and the spirit of adventure. He is the one who never tries anything. His is the brake on the wheel of progress. And yet it cannot be truly said he makes no mistakes, because his biggest mistake is the very fact that he tries nothing, does nothing, except criticize those who do things. (David M. Shoup)
If you never budge, don't expect a push. (Malcolm Stevenson Forbes)
All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume. (Noam Chomsky)
Everybody, my friend, everybody lives for something better to come. That's why we want to be considerate of every man--Who knows what's in him, why he was born and what he can do (Maxim Gorky)
The most important thing in life is to see to it that you are never beaten. (Andre Malraux)
Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature, where the weaker individual is not secured against the violence of the stronger and as, in the latter state, even the individuals are prompted, by the uncertainty of their condition, to submit to a government which may protect the weak as well as themselves so, in the former state, will the more powerful factions or parties be gradually induced, by a like motive to wish for a government which will protect all parties, the weaker as well as the more powerful. (Alexander Hamilton)
The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them. (Sir William Bragg)
Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it. (Lao Tzu)
Never look for birds of this year in the nests of the last. (Miguel de Cervantes)
I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately triumph than to triumph in a cause that will ultimately fail. (Woodrow Wilson)
I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back. (Child Age 9)
Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win. (Jonathan Kozol)
It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end. (Ursula K. LeGuin)