Great Throughts Treasury

"The pangs of pain, of failure, in this mortal lot, are the birth-throes of transition to better things."

"God is felt in us as a divine restlessness which spurs us on so long as we truly live. When it deserts us, we are really dead. Be productive and be productive for the common good – that is the eternal commandment."

"We are impelled by a hidden instinct to reunion with the parts of the larger heart of the universe."

"We are material in the hands of the Genius of the universe for a still larger destiny that we cannot see in the everlasting rhythm of worlds."

"At best God can only reveal himself to us in terms of our experience in our historic setting. And the revelation that comes to us is to cooperate with God to bring form and order into the world as it is."

"All is not right with the world, but with the grace of God we can in a measure recreate the world into something nobler and more beautiful."

"There is, above all, the laughter that comes from the eternal joy of creation, the joy of making the world new, the joy of expressing the inner riches of the soul - laughter from triumphs over pain and hardship in the passion for an enduring ideal, the joy of bringing the light of happiness, of truth and beauty into a dark world. This is divine laughter par excellence."

"Give humanity hope and it will dare and suffer joyfully, not counting the cost -- hope with laughter on her banner and on her face the fresh beauty of morning. "