Great Throughts Treasury

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

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"Unhappiness lies in not knowing what we want out of life and killing ourselves to get it."

"Trouble comes to him who seeks it."

"I do not make success or failure the criteria by which I live. I like to take chances and I am impressed by others who do so with a freedom of spirit. Those who dare to try also dare to fail. This is a wonderful thing! If we limit ourselves to what is risk-free, we may be missing out on the most rewarding adventures in life."

"Unwelcome are the loiterer, who makes appointments he never keeps; the consulter, who asks advice he never follows; the boaster, who seeks for praise he does not merit; the complainer, who whines only to be pitied; the talker, who talks only because he loves to talk always; the profane and obscene jester, whose words defile; the drunkard, whose insanity has tot the better of his reason; and the tobacco-chewer and smoker, who poisons the atmosphere and nauseates others."

"We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

"What we are is God's gift to us; what we become is our gift to God."

"We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause."

"When Abraham Lincoln was a young man he ran for the Legislature in Illinois and was badly swamped. Next he entered business, failed and spent seventeen years of his life paying up the debts of a worthless partner. He was in love with a beautiful young woman to whom he became engagedand then, she died. Later he married a woman who was a constant burden to him. Entering politics again, he was badly defeated for Congress. He failed to get an appointment to the U.S. Land Office. He was badly defeated for the U.S. Senate. In 1856 he became a candidate for the Vice-Presidency and was again defeated. In 1858 he was defeated by Douglas. One failure after another, bad failures, great setbacks. In the face of all this he eventually became one of the country's greatest men, if not the greatest. When you think of a series of setbacks like this, doesn't it make you feel small to become discouraged, just because you think that you're having a hard time in life?"

"What roots are to a tree, belief is to the soul. Great oak trees have great roots. Great souls have great faith. However, the faith that holds has spiritual qualities. The stable man has that intangible confidence in himself with capacities to be and to do, a recognition of God who may transform and empower his life, and a determined effort to realize man's highest ideals."

"What man is there whom contact with a great soul will not exalt? A drop of water upon the petal of a lotus glistens with the splendors of the pearl."

"When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost!"

"Work is the only capital that never misses dividends."

"When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that three of his fingers are pointing at himself."

"When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving advice, you have not done what I asked."

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late."

"Worrying is a form of atheism."

"Worrying is the interest paid on a debt you may not owe."

"You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give."

"Your education has been a failure, no matter how much it has done for your mind, if it has failed to open your heart."

"A bend in the road, is not the end of the road . . . unless you fail to make the turn."

"There is no They, Only Us."

"A great war always creates more scoundrels than it kills."

"If you can read this, thank a teacher."

"A fact merely marks the point where we have agreed to let investigation cease."

"A little push in the right direction can make a big difference."

"A man dies as often as he loses his friends."

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of can I drove . . . but the world m ay be different because I was important in the life of a child."

"A person who does nothing never has time to do anything."

"All progress requires change but all change is not progress."

"A person who wants to lead the orchestra must be willing to face the music."

"Anything which parents have not learned from experience they can now learn from their children."

"Believe it or not, every fool you meet is the end result of millions of years of evolution."

"Appeasement invites aggression; reconciliation invites peace."

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."

"Beyond is within."

"Attitudes are contagious . . . is yours worth catching."

"Civilization is a slow process of adopting the ideas of minorities."

"Children spend too little time listening to their elders but too much time attempting to imitate them."

"Confess that you were wrong yesterday; it will show that you are wise today."

"Death is nature's was of telling you to slow down."

"Dedication is not what others expect of you, it is what you can give to others."

"Discretion is being able to raise your eyebrow instead of your voice."

"Doctors will get off their pedestals when patients get off their knees."

"Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world. It beats money and power and influence."

"Everyone should sweep before their own door."

"– Each man has a choice in life: he may approach it as a creator or a critic, a love or a hater, a giver or a taker."

"Expectations tend to be self-fulfilling."

"Everything you do or say is public relations."

"Every time history repeats itself the price goes up."

"Everyone can put to good use their own little bits of time, talent, influence, ambition, energy, and weave them into lives of beauty and goodness and rare value."