There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is...
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of the intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
to know that one life has breathed easier
because you li...
People seem not to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
The deterioration of decency has accompanied quite proportionately the deterioration of society's interest in and support of religion. Historically and traditionally, the temple and church have been the schools of virtue. Not so necessarily as places of organizational denomination, but as places that teach children to replace selfishness with unselfishness, dishonesty with honesty, sensuality wit...
381. Variations on a Theme
Illustration
Ralph Waldo Emerson
To laugh often amid much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived.
This is to have succeede...
You have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root, bud and fruit. Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason.
