Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Related Quotes

W. Brugh Joy, fully William Brugh Joy

The key statement about anyone's life is the redemption of the manifestation, through depth understanding that bypasses social conditioning, spiritual materialism, defenses and preferences.

Birth | Compassion | Ego | Heart | Sacred | Time |

Wallace Stevens

As life grows more terrible, its literature grows more terrible.

Birth | Marriage | Music | Right | Sound | Waiting |

Vladimir Lenin, fully Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Let us...take the most concrete example of state capitalism...It is Germany. Here we have the 'last word' in modern, large-scale capitalist engineering and planned organization, subordinated to Junker-bourgeois imperialism. Cross out the words in italics and [substitute] a Soviet state, that is, a proletarian state, and you will have the sum total of the conditions necessary for socialism.

Birth | Bourgeoisie | People | Rage | World |

Vladimir Lenin, fully Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Human knowledge is not (or does not follow) a straight line, but a curve, which endlessly approximates a series of circles, a spiral. Any fragment, segment, section of this curve can be transformed (transformed one-sidedly) into an independent, complete, straight line, which then (if one does not see the wood for the trees) leads into the quagmire, into clerical obscurantism (where it is anchored by the class interests of the ruling classes).

Birth | Woman | Child |

Vladimir Lenin, fully Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Napoleon, I think, wrote: “On s’engage et puis ... on voit.” rendered freely this means: “First engage in a serious battle and then see what happens. ” Well, we did first engage in a serious battle in October 1917. And now there can be no doubt that in the main we have been victorious.

Birth | Imperialism | Nations |

Vladimir Nabokov, fully Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov

How small the cosmos (a kangaroo's pouch would hold it), how paltry and puny in comparison to human consciousness, to a single individual recollection, and its expression in words!

Birth | Constraint | Mystery | Revelation |

Voltaire, pen name of François-Marie Arouet NULL

Men are in general so tricky, so envious, and so cruel, that when we find one who is only weak, we are happy.

Birth | Virtue | Virtue |

Voltaire, pen name of François-Marie Arouet NULL

Your destiny is that of a man, and your vows those of a god.

Birth | Doctrine | Mind | Will |

Vincent van Gogh, fully Vincent Willem van Gogh

At present I absolutely want to paint a starry sky. It often seems to me that night is still more richly colored than the day; having hues of the most intense violets, blues and greens. If only you pay attention to it you will see that certain stars are lemon-yellow, others pink or a green, blue and forget-me-not brilliance. And without my expatiating on this theme it is obvious that putting little white dots on the blue-black is not enough to paint a starry sky.

Birth | Earth | Life | Life | Science |

Virginia Woolf, nee Stephen, fully Adeline Virginia Woolf

But he could not taste, he could not feel. In the teashop among the tables and the chattering waiters the appalling fear came over him- he could not feel. He could reason; he could read, Dante for example, quite easily…he could add up his bill; his brain was perfect; it must be the fault of the world then- that he could not feel.

Birth |

Virginia Woolf, nee Stephen, fully Adeline Virginia Woolf

Human beings have neither kindness, nor faith, nor charity beyond what serves to increase the pleasure of the moment.

Battle | Birth | Children | History | Imagination | Life | Life | Longing | Majority | Meaning | Men | Nothing | Talking | Thought | Will | Old | Thought |

Zoroaster, aka Zarathustra or Zarathushtra Spitama NULL

I who have set my heart on watching over the soul, in union with Good Thought, and as knowing the rewards of Mazda Ahura for our works, will, while I have power and strength, teach men to seek after Right. I have become an alien in a foreign land.

Birth |

Victor Borge, born Børge Rosenbaum

Ah Mozart! He was happily married - but his wife wasn't.

Birth | World |

Atharva Veda, or Atharvaveda

All are wicked to some extent or other. Therefore, everyone needs correction; and everyone has to be educated and guided into the right path.

Birth | Doubt | Reality |

Rig Veda, or The Rigveda

One should respect his motherland, his culture and his mother tongue because they are givers of happiness.

Birth | Humanity |

Atharva Veda, or Atharvaveda

That which pleases His Will has come to pass; no one else can do anything.

Birth | Death |

Rig Veda, or The Rigveda

One should performed karma for the benefit of humanity with an unbiased approach because bias gives birth to evil, which creates thousands of obstacles in our path.

Birth | Deeds | Mankind | Deeds |

Atharva Veda, or Atharvaveda

A woman who possesses all the qualities will quite naturally not have any problem in fulfilling her obligations towards her family and quite obviously keep everybody in the family happy and satisfied. A house in which such a woman dwells is always prosperous and full of comforts and luxuries.

Birth | Children | Good | Wife | Woman |

Atharva Veda, or Atharvaveda

Love others and serve them; then you can win My Love.

Birth | Hate | Love | Man |

Atharva Veda, or Atharvaveda

One, who earns leadership of the masses by working ceaselessly for people's welfare finally realizes that he has been rewarded with many added advantages.

Birth | Evil | Good | Wife | Happiness |