Great Throughts Treasury

"I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say."

"Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil; our great hope lies in developing what is good."

"No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave."

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

"The danger to America is not in the direction of the failure to maintain its economic position, but in the direction of the failure to maintain its ideals."

"We do not need more national development, we need more spiritual development. We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character... We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen."

"All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work. Work is not a curse; it is the prerogative of intelligence, the only means to manhood, and the measure of civilization."

"Civilization and profits go hand in hand."

"It is only when men begin to worship that they begin to grow."

"Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity."

"No enterprise can exist for itself alone."

"No enterprise can exist for itself alone. It ministers to some great need. It performs some great service, not for itself, but for others or failing therein, it ceases to be profitable and ceases to exist."

"No man ever listened himself out of a job."

"No nation ever had an army large enough to guarantee it against attack in time of peace or insure it victory in time of war."

"One with the law is a majority."

"Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "Press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race"

"Prosperity cannot be divorced from humanity."

"Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped."

"Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance."

"We do not need more intellectual power; we need more spiritual power. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen."

"Four-fifths of all our troubles would disappear, if we would only sit down and keep still. "

"It takes a great man to be a good listener. "

"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important, as living within your means."

"Ultimately property rights and personal rights are the same thing."

"You can't know too much, but you can say too much."

"Don't hesitate to be as revolutionary as science. Don't hesitate to be as reactionary as the multiplication table. "

"There have been great men with little of what we call education. There have been many small men with a great deal of learning. There has never been a great people who did not possess great learning. "

"We live an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create the Declaration. Our Declaration created them."

"Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshiped."

"We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once."

"Advertising is the most potent influence in adapting and changing the habits and modes of life affecting what we eat, what we wear, and the work and play of a whole nation."

"America is not and must not be a country without ideals. They are useless if they are only visionary; they are only valuable if they are practical. A nation can not dwell constantly on the mountain tops. It has to be replenished and sustained through the ceaseless toil of the less inspiring valleys. But its face ought always to be turned upward; its vision ought always to be fixed on high."

"The right thing to do never requires any subterfuge; it is always simple and direct."

"Work is not a curse; it is the prerogative of intelligence, the only means of manhood, and the measure of civilization."

"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong"

"The fundamental precept of liberty is toleration. We can not permit any inquisition either within or without the law or apply any religious test to the holding of office. The mind of America must be forever free."

"The world has had enough of the curse of hatred and selfishness, of destruction and war. It has had enough of the wrongful use of material power. For the healing of the nations there must be good will and charity, confidence and peace. The time has come for a more practical use of moral power, and more reliance upon the principle that right makes its own might. Our authority among the nations must be represented by justice and mercy. It is necessary not only to have faith, but to make sacrifices for our faith. The spiritual forces of the world make all its final determinations. It is with these voices that America should speak. Whenever they declare a righteous purpose there need be no doubt that they will be heard. America has taken her place in the world as a Republic--free, independent, powerful. The best service that can be rendered to humanity is the assurance that this place will be maintained."

"ducation is to teach men not what to think but how to think. Government will take on new activities, but it is not more to control the people, the people are more to control the government."

"In all your deliberations you should remember that the purpose of legislation is to translate principles into action."

"No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave."

"We made freedom a birthright."

"We do not need more national development, we need more spiritual development. We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character. We do not need more law, we need more religion. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen."

"The government of the United States is a device for maintaining in perpetuity the rights of the people, with the ultimate extinction of all privileged classes."

"Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics do not create."

"Faith is the great motive power, and no man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is part of an unending plan."

"It is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are always surrounded by worshipers. They are constantly, and for the most part sincerely, assured of their greatness."

"The business of America is business."

"Industry, thrift, and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character."

"There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time."