Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Ray Lyman Wilbur

American Medical Doctor, President of Stanford University and United States Secretary of the Interior

"Unless we think of others and do something for them, we miss one of the greatest sources of happiness."

"If you know a better place to live right now than this country, get a ticket and try to get there."

"It is common talk that every individual is entitled to economic security. The only animals and birds I know that have economic security are those that have been domesticated--and the economic security they have is controlled by the barbed-wire fence, the butcher's knife and the desire of others. They are milked, skinned, egged or eaten up by their protectors."

"It is not how much you know about life but how you live your life that counts. Those who can avoid mistakes by observing the mistakes of others are most apt to keep free from sorrow. In a world full of uncertainties, the record of what has gone before-human experience-is as sure and reliable as anything of which we know."

"It is not how much you know about life but how you live your life that counts. Those who can avoid mistakes by observing the mistakes of others are most apt to keep free from sorrow. In a world full of uncertainties, the record of what has gone before human experience is as sure and reliable as anything of which we know."

"We must get rid of the silly, sloppy idea that all people are equal in capacity."