This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
Generally we praise only to be praised... Refusal of praise is a desire to be praised twice.
To praise great actions with sincerity may be said to be taking part in them.
We acknowledge our faults in order to repair by our sincerity the damage they have done us in the eyes of others.
It is a sign of a creeping inner death when we no longer can praise the living.
Compassion...abolishes the distance, the in between which always exists in human inter course; and if virtue will always be ready to assert that it is better to suffer wrong than do wrong, compassion will transcend this by stating in complete and even naïve sincerity that it is easier to suffer than to see others suffer.
Better | Compassion | Sincerity | Virtue | Virtue | Will | Wrong |
The meanest, most contemptible kind of praise is that which first speaks well of a man, and then qualifies it with a 'but.'
The meanest, most contemptible kind of praise is that which first speaks well of a man, and then qualifies it with a "but."
John Ciardi, fully John Anthony Ciardi
It is easy enough to praise men for the courage of their convictions. I wish I could teach the sad young of this mealy generation the courage of their confusions.
Superstition, in all times and among all nations, is the fear of a spirit whose passions are those of a man, whose acts are the acts of a man; who is present in some places, not in others; who makes some places holy and not others; who is kind to one person, unkind to another; who is pleased or angry according to the degree of attention you pay him, or praise you refuse him; who is hostile generally to human pleasure, but may be bribed by sacrifice of a part of that pleasure into permitting the rest. This, whatever form of faith it colors, is the essence of superstition.
Attention | Faith | Fear | Man | Nations | Pleasure | Praise | Present | Rest | Sacrifice | Spirit | Superstition |
The highest thoughts are those which are least dependent on language, and the dignity of any composition and praise to which it is entitled are in exact proportion to is dependency of language and expression.
Mencius, born Meng Ke or Ko NULL
There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.
The way of this world is to praise dead saints and persecute living ones.
Oscar Wilde, pen name for Fingal O'Flahertie Wills
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
“Every morning of the world I give thanks for all the wonderful things in my life,” declared a young man enthusiastically. “And do you know something? It’s strange indeed, but the more I give thanks, the more I have reason to be thankful. For, you see, blessings just pile up on me one after another like nobody’s business”... The more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for... The attitude of gratitude revitalizes the entire mental process by activating all other attitudes, thus stimulating creativity... Remember that praise and thanksgiving are the most powerful prayers of all.
Art | Blessings | Business | Creativity | Gratitude | Life | Life | Man | Practice | Praise | Reason | Thankfulness | World | Art |