Great Throughts Treasury

"Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old by deserting their ideals."

"You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair."

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young, but becomes constantly more valuable regardless of physical capacity."

"Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind."

"Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind, it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness off the deep springs of life. Youth means the temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living."

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust."

"I must not tire, I must not fail, when the need of me is so great; doubt and fear shall not restrain me in my effort to open the eyes of men. "

"I dreamt of the right of the untrammeled sea, Of the earth's open ports and marts; I dreamt of speech and mind set free, Glowing science and its fostering arts, The aftermath of cruel strife, The coming of higher life. "

"I am the key that parts the gates of Fame, I am the cloak that covers cowering shame! I am the goal that limits every race, I am the storm-tossed spirit's resting place - The messenger of sure and swift relief! Recieved with wailings, tears and speechless grief, The friend of those that have no friend but me! I break all chains and set all captives free - I am the cloud that shrouds the course you've run! An instant veil upon the work you've done! I am the brooding hush that follows strife, The waking from a dream that man calls life. "

"Our lives will gain Through woe and pain, Grow fuller by the strife, So will the soul Of life's great whole Make paths to higher life. "

"We ache with weights of mysteries Our ears hear voices from the infinite, That takes the hushed soul captive. "

"Methinks that life is more than creed, Is more than dust or craving lust. Are hopes but dreams that fail in need, That fly away like mist and dust? "

"We stand beside the open grave, We look and ask is this the end? Will our hopes and plans to ashes turn Does the path of right end in gloom? "

"I want no sad lamenting tears When I set sail to sea, No stifled cries or heaving sighs To speed me to eternity: No crepe or dreary garments worn To make my going sad, But have them white: Something bright: Discard old custom's fad. I want no dirge sung for me When I am gone away, Play something grand, by loving hands To make a good glad day. And let no words be said for me Thay, "He is dead and gone" But only say, "He left today He journeyed out and on." And if some parting tears are shed, Just make them all of joy. Have no regret, be glad we met, And say, "Good ship, Ahoy." "

"All animals except man know that the ultimate point of life is to enjoy it."

"All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it."

"Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations."

"When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty."

"They call for love but are met with hate.."

"In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young."

"Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young."

"Whether seventy or sixteen, there is in every being's heart a love of wonder; the sweet amazement at the stars and starlike things and thoughts; the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing childlike appetite for what comes next, and the joy in the game of life."

"When... the central places of your heart are covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then are you grown old, indeed!"

"Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust."