Great Throughts Treasury

"Who can grasp Thy wonders? For Thou hast appointed him to furnish light to the stars Of high or low degree, And to the Moon, "If that white bright spot stays in its place" And according as she moves away to stand opposite the Sun, She receiveth his shining Until his light is at the full when she stands before him, And it irradiates her whole face. And when that she draws nigh in the latter half of the month, And declineth from him And is far from standing opposite him And proceedeth to the side of him, In that degree waneth her splendour, Till the end of her month and her circuit, And she declineth to her extreme rim. And when she is in conjunction with him She is hid in secret places For a day and half an hour And some numbered moments, And after that she is renewed and returneth to her prior self And "issueth forth as a bridegroom from his chamber."" - Salomon ibn Gabirol, aka Solomon ben Judah or Avicebron

"O Lord, who can unroll Thy mysteries? For Thou hast made in the Height chambers and store-houses, Some of them awesome to tell of, a tale of mighty doings, And some treasuries of life for the pure and the clean. For some are treasures of salvation to those who have returned from iniquity, And some are treasures of fire, And rivers of brimstone For the breakers of the covenant. And there is a provision of deep pits whose fire is never quenched. "He that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein." And there are caverns of storm-winds and tempests And congelation and cold, And treasures of hail and ice and snow and drought, Also of heat and flowing channels And of thick smoke and hoar-frost and of clouds and thick cloud, And darkness and gloom. The whole hast Thou prepared in its due season, "Thou hast ordained it for mercy or judgment, And established it, O Rock, for correction!"" - Salomon ibn Gabirol, aka Solomon ben Judah or Avicebron

"O Lord, who can reach Thy wisdom? For Thou gavest the soul the faculty of knowledge that is fixed therein, And knowledge is the fount of her glory. Therefore hath destruction no power over her, But she maintaineth herself by the stability of her foundation, For such is her nature and secret; The soul with her wisdom shall not see death. Nevertheless shall her punishment be visited upon her, A punishment bitterer than death, Though be she pure she shall obtain favour And shall laugh on the last day. But if she hath been defiled, She shall wander to and fro for a space in wrath and anger, And all the days of her uncleanness Shall she dwell vagabond and outcast; "She shall touch no hallowed thing, And to the sanctuary she shall not come Till the days of her purification be fulfilled."" - Salomon ibn Gabirol, aka Solomon ben Judah or Avicebron

"O my God, If my iniquity is too great to be borne, What wilt Thou do for Thy great name’s sake? And if I do not wait on Thy mercies, Who will have pity on me but Thee? Therefore though Thou shouldst slay me, yet will I trust in Thee. For if Thou shouldst pursue my iniquity, I will flee from Thee to Thyself, And I will shelter myself from Thy wrath in Thy shadow, And to the skirts of Thy mercies I will lay hold until Thou hast had mercy on me, And I will not let Thee go till Thou hast blessed me. Remember, I pray Thee, that of slime Thou hast made me, And by all these hardships tried me, Therefore visit me not according to my wanton dealings, Nor feed me on the fruit of my deeds, But prolong Thy patience, nor bring near my day, Until I shall have prepared provision for returning to my eternal home, Nor rage against me to send me hastily from the earth, With my sins bound up in the kneading-trough on my shoulder. And when Thou placest my sins in the balance Place Thou in the other scale my sorrows, And while recalling my depravity and frowardness, Remember my affliction and my harrying, And place these against the others. And remember, I pray Thee, O my God, That Thou hast driven me rolling and wandering like Cain, And in the furnace of exile hast tried me, And from the mass of my wickedness refined me, And I know ’tis for my good Thou hast proved me, And in faithfulness afflicted me, And that it is to profit me at my latter end That Thou hast brought me through this testing by troubles. Therefore, O God, let Thy mercies be moved toward me, And do not exhaust Thy wrath upon me, Nor reward me according to my works, But cry to the Destroying Angel: Enough! For what height or advantage have I attained That Thou shouldst pursue me for my iniquity, And shouldst post a watch over me, And trap me like an antelope in a snare? Is not the bulk of my days past and vanished? Shall the rest consume in their iniquity? And if I am here to-day before Thee, "To-morrow Thine eyes are upon me and I am not." "And now wherefore should I die And this Thy great fire devour me?" O my God, turn Thine eyes favourably upon me For the remainder of my brief days, Pursue not their escaping survivors, Nor let the remnant of the crops that the hail hath spared Be finished off by the locust for my sins. For am I not the creation of Thy hands, And what shall it avail Thee That the worm shall take me for its meal And feed on the product of Thy hands?" - Salomon ibn Gabirol, aka Solomon ben Judah or Avicebron

"Three things remind me of You, the heavens who are a witness to Your name the earth which expands my thought and is the thing on which I stand and the musing of my heart when I look within." - Salomon ibn Gabirol, aka Solomon ben Judah or Avicebron

" In eddying course when leaves began to fly, And Autumn in her lap the store to strew, As ’mid wild scenes I chanced the Muse to woo Through glens untrod, and woods that frowned on high, Two sleeping Nymphs with wonder mute I spy! 5 And lo, she ’s gone! In robe of dark green hue, ’T was Echo from her sister Silence flew; For quick the hunter’s horn resounded to the sky! In shade affrighted Silence melts away; Not so her sister:—hark! for onward still 10 With far heard step she takes her listening way, Bounding from rock to rock, and hill to hill! Ah, mark the merry maid in mockful play With thousand mimic tones the laughing forest fill." - Samuel Egerton Brydges

"The government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." - Ronald Reagan, fully Ronald Wilson Reagan

"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, border, nor breed, nor birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth! . . . . But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth when two strong men stand face to face, tho' they come from the ends of the earth." - Rudyard Kipling

"There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays, / And - every - single - one - of- them - is - right!" - Rudyard Kipling

"For me to praise is interrupting praise. Gamble everything for love, if you are a true human being." - Rumi, fully Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rumi NULL

"Here is a relationship booster that is guaranteed to work: Every time your spouse or lover says something stupid make your eyes light up as if you just heard something brilliant." - Rumi, fully Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rumi NULL

"If things created are so full of loveliness, how resplendent with beauty must be the One who made them!" - Saint Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, born Fernando Martins de Bulhões NULL

"The One so good and so great desires you to embrace him and is waiting to embrace you." - Saint Bonaventure, born John of Fidanza Bonaventure

"This divine knowledge of God never deals with particular things. This sublime knowledge can be received only by a person who has arrived at union with God, for it is itself that very union. It consists in a certain touch of the divinity produced in the soul, and thus it is God Himself who is experienced and tasted there… This knowledge savors of the divine essence and of eternal life. They are so sensible that they sometimes cause not only the soul but also the body to tremble. Yet at other times with a sudden feeling of spiritual delight and refreshment, and without any trembling, they occur very tranquilly in the spirit. Since this knowledge is imparted to the soul suddenly, without exercise of free will, a person does not have to be concerned about desiring it or not. He should simply remain humble and resigned about it, for God will do His work at the time and in the manner he wishes. God does not bestow these favors on a possessive soul, since He gives them out of a very special love for the recipient. For the individual receiving them is one who loves God with great detachment." - Saint John of the Cross, born Juan de Yepes Álvarez NULL

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." - Saint Paul, aka The Apostle Paul, Paul the Apostle or Saul of Tarsus NULL

"Rejoice in the Lord always." - Saint Paul, aka The Apostle Paul, Paul the Apostle or Saul of Tarsus NULL

"Great faith merits great rewards. And wherever you set down the foot of hope among the goods of the Lord, they will be yours." - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux NULL

"‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?" - John Chrysostom, fully Saint John Chrysostom

"Let the mouth also fast from disgraceful speeches and railings. For what does it profit if we abstain from fish and fowl and yet bite and devour our brothers and sisters? The evil speaker eats the flesh of his brother and bites the body of his neighbor." - John Chrysostom, fully Saint John Chrysostom

"There is no service more agreeable to God than helping to save souls. To employ one’s life in this blessed labor is more pleasing to God than to suffer martyrdom!" - John Chrysostom, fully Saint John Chrysostom

"By nature all men are equal in liberty, but not in other endowments." - Saint Thomas Aquinas, aka Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis or Doctor Universalis

"Even if the whole world should rise up to destroy us, nothing will happen except that God, in whom we have put our hope, will allow." - Saint Vincent de Paul

"I beseech the Divine Goodness to bless you by bestowing on you the gentle kindness of true Daughters of Charity, mutual forbearance in your weaknesses, the grace of reconciliation with one another, if any little difficulties arise amongst you." - Saint Vincent de Paul

"I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your difficulties. It is in such circumstances that we acquire virtue; where there is no suffering, there is little merit. My wish is that God may grant us great indifference with regard to duties. O Monsieur, how sure we would then be of doing His Holy Will, which is our sole aspiration, and how much peace and contentment we would enjoy, or so it seems to me!" - Saint Vincent de Paul

"May you be more advanced in the school of solid virtue, which is practiced in an excellent way in the midst of suffering, and which keeps good servants of God in fear when they have nothing to suffer!" - Saint Vincent de Paul

"Omit nothing which can advance his work, and not blame others for the delay." - Saint Vincent de Paul

"He's simply got the instinct for being unhappy highly developed." - Saki, pen name for Hector Hugh Munro or H.H. Munro NULL

"The glory that goes with wealth is fleeting and fragile; virtue is a possession glorious and eternal.[ The glory of riches and of beauty is frail and transitory; virtue remains bright and eternal.]" - Sallust, full name Carus Valerius Sailustius Crispus NULL

"The golden age is before us, not behind us." - Sallust, full name Carus Valerius Sailustius Crispus NULL

"The purpose of food is to relieve hunger and thirst, not to minister to caprice and luxury." - Sallust, full name Carus Valerius Sailustius Crispus NULL

"We forget that by hurrying to impose the yoke of the materialistic, or, as we like to put it euphemistically, the practical aims of life upon the dawn and springtime of childhood and early youth, we only deprive our children prematurely of the bloom of flowering youth and nip our children's spiritual yearnings in the bud. Instead of encouraging our children to get wisdom for its own sake, we raise them to become only clever and shrewd, judging everything in the light of self-interest and respecting only those intellectual and spiritual pursuits that are likely to yield the highest dividends in terms of material gain. A generation raised on such a philosophy of life will never be able to experience that true joy of learning, which regards knowledge itself as the supreme reward." - Samson Raphael Hirsch

"The extremes of vice and virtue are alike detestable; absolute virtue is as sure to kill a man as absolute vice is, let alone the dullnesses of it and the pomposities of it." - Samuel Butler

"Pleasures are not, if they last; in their passing is their best: glory is more bright and gay in a flash, and so away." - Samuel Daniel

"Princes in this case do hate the traitor, though they love the treason." - Samuel Daniel

"Striving to tell his woes, words would not come; tor light cares speak, when mighty griefs are dumb." - Samuel Daniel

"The wise are above books" - Samuel Daniel

"Disease is a physical process that generally begins that equality which death completes." - Samuel Johnson, aka Doctor Johnson

"The common people do not accurately adapt their thoughts to objects; nor, secondly, do they accurately adapt their words to their thoughts; they do not mean to lie; but, taking no pains to be exact, they give you very false accounts. A great part of their language is proverbial; if anything rocks at all, they say it rocks like a cradle; and in this way they go on." - Samuel Johnson, aka Doctor Johnson

"If the education and studies of children were suited to their inclinations and capacities, many would be made useful members of society that otherwise would make no figure in it." - Samuel Richardson

"Grace will ever speak for itself and be fruitful in well-doing; the sanctified, cross is a fruitful tree." - Samuel Rutherford

"It is not the way to convert a sinner to knock him down first and then reason with him." - Samuel I. Prime, fully Samuel Irenaeus Prime

"O Dweller in the body and Bestower of happiness, make benign that arrow which Thou holdest in Thy hand ready to shoot, O Protector of the body! Do not injure man or the world!" - Shvetashvatara Upanishad

"Away with delay; the chance of great fortune is short-lived." - Silius Italicus, fully Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus

"No human being escapes the necessity of conceiving some good outside himself towards which his thought turns in a movement of desire, supplication, and hope. consequently, the only choice is between worshipping the true God or an idol. Every atheist is an idolater — unless he is worshipping the true God in his impersonal aspect. The majority of the pious are idolaters." - Simone Weil

"Time is but a shadow, a dream; already God sees us in glory and takes joy in our eternal beatitude. How this thought helps my soul! I understand then why He lets us suffer..." - Thérèse de Lisieux, fully Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin NULL

"To ask to be drawn is to will intimate union with the object which holds the heart captive. If fire and iron were gifted with reason, and that the latter said to the fire: "Draw me," would not this prove that it desired to become identified with the fire even so far as to share its substance? Well, that is exactly my prayer. I beg of Jesus to draw me into the flames of His Love, to unite me so closely to Himself that He may live and act in me. I feel that the more the fire of love inflames my heart, the more I shall say: "Draw me," the more also will the souls who draw near to mine run swiftly in the fragrant odors of the Well-Beloved." - Thérèse de Lisieux, fully Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin NULL

"[A doctor] preserves, if it already exists, the health and good habit of the flesh, or if absent, recalls it… But the scope of our art is to provide the soul with wings, to rescue it from the world and give it to God." - Gregory Nazianzen, aka Saint Gregory of Nazianzus or Gregory the Theologian

"An angel fell from Heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues." - John Climacus, fully Saint John Climacus, aka John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus and John Sinaites

"There are many ways of piety and perdition. That is why it often happens that a way that is unsuitable for one just fits another; and the intention of both is acceptable to the Lord." - John Climacus, fully Saint John Climacus, aka John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus and John Sinaites

"What I admired in its presumption that differ from other rural boys! Well, I lived it enough to see that difference bears hatred." - Stendhal, pen name of Marie Henn Beyle or Marie-Henri Beyle NULL