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

Eugenio Montale

Today not even a universal fire could make the torrential poetic production of our time disappear. But it is exactly a question of production, that is, of hand-made products which are subject to the laws of taste and fashion.

Poetry | Will |

Eustace Budgell

Love and esteem are the first principles of friendship, which always is imperfect where either of these two is wanting.

Envy | Esteem | Man | Nothing | Observation | Search | Will |

Eugenio Maria de Hostos (y Bonilla)

Slavery has as many shapes among us as there are things we need.

Evelyn Glennie, fully Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie

The thing about playing percussion is that you can create all these emotions that can be sometimes beautiful, sometimes really ugly, or sometimes sweet, sometimes as big as King Kong and so on. And so there can be a real riot out there, or it can be so refined.

Body | Choice | Mind |

Evelyn Underhill

Many people seem to think that the spiritual life necessarily requires a definite and exacting plan of study. It does not. But it does require a definite plan of life; and courage in sticking to the plan, not for merely days or weeks, but for years.

Angels | Beauty | Church | Ends | Little | Universe | Worship | Beauty |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

These memories, which are my life--for we possess nothing certainly except the past--were always with me.

Nothing | Race | Soul | Survival | Vision |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

Her heart was broken perhaps, but it was a small inexpensive organ of local manufacture. In a wider and grander way she felt things had been simplified.

Age | Man | Thought | Thought |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

As there was no form of government common to the peoples thus segregated, nor tie of language, history, habit, or belief, they were called a Republic.

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

But these young people have such an intelligent, knowledgeable surface, and then the crust suddenly breaks and you look down into the depths of confusion you didn't know existed.

Curiosity | Heart | Love | Search |

Evelyn Underhill

When you let intuition have its way with you, you open up new levels of the world. Such opening-up is the most practical of all activities.

Charity | Desire | Events | God | Heart | Life | Life | Love | Reality | God |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

The langor of Youth - how unique and quintessential it is! How quickly, how irrecoverably, lost! The zest, the generous affections, the illusions, the despair, all the traditional attributes of Youth - all save this come and go with us through life...These things are a part of life itself; but languor - the relaxation of yet unwearied sinews, the mind sequestered and self-regarding, the sun standing still in the heavens and the earth throbbing to our own pulse - that belongs to Youth alone and dies with it.

Chance | Heaven | Knowing | Man | Soul | World |

Evelyn Waugh, fully Evelyn Arthur St. John Waugh

My unhealthy affection for my second daughter has waned. Now I despise all my seven children equally.

Chance | Heaven | Knowing | Little | Man | Nothing | Race | Soul | Survival | Vision | World |

Ezra Taft Benson

Our forefathers left us a free government which is a miracle of faith — strong, durable, marvelously workable. Yet it can remain so only as long as we understand it, believe in it, devote ourselves to it, and, when necessary, fight for it.

Better | Desire | God | Good | Life | Life | Man | Men | Progress | Rights | Sacred | God |

Ezra Taft Benson

The world today speaks a great deal about love, and it is sought by many. But the pure love of Christ differs greatly from what the world thinks of love. Charity never seeks selfish gratification. The pure love of Christ seeks only the eternal growth and joy of others.

Freedom | Heaven | Power | Time | War |

Felix Adler

Act so as to elicit the best in others and thereby in thyself.

Felix Adler

The Infinite, from which comes the impulse that lead us to activity, is not the highest Reason, but higher than reason; not the highest Goodness, but higher than goodness.

Comfort | Law | Religion | Sacrifice | Service | Struggle |

Ezra Taft Benson

For years we have heard of the role the elders could play in saving the Constitution from total destruction. But how can the elders be expected to save it if they have not studied it and are not sure if it is being destroyed or what is destroying it? An informed patriotic gentile was dumbfounded when he heard of Joseph Smith’s reported prophecy regarding the mission our elders could perform in saving the Constitution. He lived in a Mormon community with nice people who were busily engaged in other activities but who had little concern in preserving their freedom. He wondered if maybe a letter should not be sent to President McKay, urging him to release some of the elders from their present Church activities so there would be a few who could help step forward to save the Constitution. Now it is not so much a case of a man giving up all his other duties to fight for freedom, as it is a case of a man getting his life in balance so he can discharge all of his God-given responsibilities. And of all these responsibilities President McKay has said that we have “no greater immediate responsibility” than “to protect the freedom vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States.” There is no excuse that can compensate for the loss of liberty. Satan is anxious to neutralize the inspired counsel of the Prophet and hence keep the priesthood off balance, ineffective and inert in the fight for freedom. He does this through diverse means, including the use of perverse reasoning. . . The cause of freedom is a most basic part of our religion. Our position on freedom helped get us to this earth and it can make the difference as to whether we get back home or not.

Fear | Hope | Work | World | Leader |