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

Mark Twain, pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens

The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the prompting of a brave, determined spirit.

Perseverance |

Marie Curie, fully Marie Skłodowska-Curie, originally Manya Sklodowska

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.

Confidence | Perseverance |

Muriel Spark, fully Dame Muriel Sarah Camberg Spark

Final perseverance is the doctrine that wins the eternal victory in small things as in great.

Doctrine | Eternal | Perseverance |

Neil Postman

There must be a sequence to learning, that perseverance and a certain measure of perspiration are indispensable, that individual pleasures must frequently be submerged in the interests of group cohesion, and that learning to be critical and to think conceptually and rigorously do not come easily to the young but are hard-fought victories.

Individual | Learning | Perseverance | Think |

Paul Brunton, born Hermann Hirsch, wrote under various pseudonyms including Brunton Paul, Raphael Meriden and Raphael Delmonte

Deep down within the heart there is a stillness which is healing, a trust in the universal laws which is unwavering, and a strength which is rock-like. But because it is so deep we need both patience and perseverance when digging for it.

Heart | Need | Patience | Perseverance | Strength | Trust |

Paulo Coelho

Haven't you learned anything, not even with the approach of death? Stop thinking all the time that you're in the way, that you're bothering the person next to you. If people don't like it, they can complain. And if they don't have the courage to complain, that's their problem… Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing that we trust in God… He has done things that caused me to doubt His wisdom, but never His existence… He knows that perseverance is not the same thing as insistence… We can see the Divine in each speck of dust, but that doesn't stop us from wiping it away with a wet sponge. The Divine doesn't disappear; it's transformed into the clean surface.

Courage | Doubt | People | Perseverance | Thinking | Time | Trust |

Ronald Knox, fully Ronald Arbuthnott Knox

Hope is something that is demanded of us; it is not, then, a mere reasoned calculation of our chances. Nor is it merely the bubbling up of a sanguine temperament; if it is demanded of us, it lies not in the temperament but in the will... Hoping for what? For delivereance from persecution, for immunity from plague, pestilence, and famine...? No, for the grace of persevering in his Christian profession, and for the consequent achievement of a happy immortality. Strictly speaking, then, the highest exercise of hope, supernaturally speaking, is to hope for perseverance and for Heaven when it looks, when it feels, as if you were going to lose both one and the other.

Achievement | Grace | Happy | Heaven | Hope | Perseverance |

Albert Einstein

The longing to behold this pre-established harmony [of phenomena and theoretical principles] is the source of the inexhaustible patience and perseverance with which Planck has devoted himself... The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious worshiper or the lover; the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.

Effort | Harmony | Intention | Longing | Man | Mind | Patience | Perseverance | Phenomena | Work | Theoretical |

René Descartes

It must not be thought that it is ever possible to reach the interior earth by any perseverance in mining: both because the exterior earth is too thick, in comparison with human strength; and especially because of the intermediate waters, which would gush forth with greater impetus, the deeper the place in which their veins were first opened; and which would drown all miners.

Earth | Perseverance | Thought | Thought |

Richard Dawkins

By insisting on a long engagement period, a female weeds out casual suitors, and only finally copulates with a male who has proved his qualities of fidelity and perseverance in advance. Feminine coyness is in fact very common among animals, and so are prolonged courtship or engagement periods.

Fidelity | Perseverance | Qualities | Engagement |

Shantideva NULL

The hostile multitudes are vast as space What chance is there that all should be subdued? Let but this angry mind be overthrown And every foe is then and there destroyed All the suffering in the world comes from seeking pleasure for oneself. All the happiness in the world comes from seeking pleasure for others. As long as space abides and as long as the world abides, so long may I abide, destroying the sufferings of the world. Where would I possibly find enough leather With which to cover the surface of the earth? But (just) leather on the soles of my shoes Is equivalent to covering the earth with it Likewise it is not possible for me To restrain the external course of things But should I restrain this mind of mine What would be the need to restrain all else? My body, thus, and all my good besides, And all my merits gained and to be gained, I give them all away withholding nothing To bring about the benefit of beings. All those who slight me to my face, Or do me any other evil, Even if they blame or slander me, May they attain the fortune of enlightenment! Take advantage of this human boat; Free yourself from sorrow’s mighty stream! This vessel will be later hard to find. The time that you have now, you fool, is not for sleep! Examine thus yourself from every side. Note harmful thoughts and every futile striving. Thus it is that heroes in the bodhisattva path Apply the remedies to keep a steady mind. Examine thus yourself from every side. Note harmful thoughts and every futile striving. Thus it is that heroes in the bodhisattva path Apply the remedies to keep a steady mind. Those who have no mental vigilance, Though they may hear the teachings, ponder them or meditate, With minds like water seeping from a leaking jug, Their learning will not settle in their memories. Suffering also has its worth. Through sorrow, pride is driven out And pity felt for those who wander in samsara; Evil is avoided, goodness seems delightful. May I be like a guard for those who are protectorless, A guide for those who journey on the road. For those who wish to go across the water, May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge. And so let beings do to me Whatever does not bring them injury. Whenever they catch sight of me, Let this not fail to bring them benefit. For sentient beings, poor and destitute, May I become a treasure ever plentiful, And lie before them closely in their reach, A varied source of all that they might need. As a blind man feels when he finds a pearl in a dustbin, so am I amazed by the miracles of awakening rising in my consciousness. It is the nectar of immortality that delivers us from death, the treasure that lifts us from death, the treasure that lifts us above poverty into the wealth of giving to life, the tree that gives shade to us when we roam about scorched by life, the bridge that takes us across the stormy river of life, the cool moon of compassion that calms our mind when it is agitated, the fun that dispels darkness, the butter made from the milk of kindness by churning it with the dharma. It is a feast of joy to which all are invited. All that I possess and use Is like the fleeting vision of a dream. It fades into the realms of memory; And fading, will be seen no more. Nothing that has passed can be regained. How much suffering and fear, and How many harmful things are in existence? If all arises from clinging to the “I”, What should I do with this great demon? Exchanging Self and Other.

Cause | Contemplation | Fear | Future | Good | Inclination | Joy | Means | Merit | Mind | Nothing | Patience | Perseverance | Pleasure | Repose | Strength | Suffering | Time | Will | Words | Zeal | Contemplation | Happiness |

Frederick Treves, fully Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet

Don't worry about genius and don't worry about not being clever. Trust rather to hard work, perseverance, and determination. The best motto for a long march is "Don't grumble. Plug on." You hold your future in your own hands. Never waver in this belief. Don't swagger. The boy who swaggers - like the man who swaggers - has little else that he can do. He is a cheap-Jack crying his own paltry wares. It is the empty tin that rattles most. Be honest. Be loyal. Be kind. Remember that the hardest thing to acquire is the faculty of being unselfish. As a quality it is one of the finest attributes of manliness. Love the sea, the ringing beach and the open downs. Keep clean, body, and mind.

Perseverance | Trust | Worry |

Saint Thomas Aquinas, aka Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis or Doctor Universalis

Grant, O Lord my God, that I may never fall away in success or in failure; that I may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let me rejoice only in what unites us and sorrow only in what separates us. May I strive to please no one or fear to displease anyone except Yourself. May I see always the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May I shun any joy that is without You and never seek any that is beside You. O Lord, may I delight in any work I do for You and tire of any rest that is apart from You. My God, let me direct my heart towards You, and in my failings, always repent with a purpose of amendment.

Conduct | Heart | Hope | Lord | Mind | Perseverance | Waiting | Wisdom |

Saint Teresa of Ávila, aka Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada NULL

There is no such thing as bad weather. All weather is good because it is God’s.

Cause | Perseverance |

Saint Vincent de Paul

Persons who love very much, easily take offense at trifles. No doubt your excessive affection for me makes you a little diffident about mine. But there is no harm done; I hope you will soon be over this slight jealousy and be convinced that nothing can change the genuine affection Our Lord has given me for you

Man | Perseverance |

Samuel Smiles

All life is a struggle.... Under competition the lazy man is put under the necessity of exerting himself; and if he will not exert himself, he must fall behind. If he do not work, neither shall he eat.

Good | Life | Life | Perseverance | Resolution |

Samuel I. Prime, fully Samuel Irenaeus Prime

Recreation is not the highest kind act of enjoyment; but in its time and place it is quite as proper as prayer.

Perseverance |

Stephan Nachmanovitch

Music represented symbolically is regarded as more acceptable than music which happens in real time as sound. We have fallen under the sway of a strange inversion in which symbols are regarded as more real than the realities they represent. Music (or art, literature, science, technology) is often treated as a collection of works arranged in a historical timeline. The scores are regarded as having not only an independent existence, but a higher existence than a performance.

Creativity | Giving | Inevitable | Perseverance | Play | Struggle | Worth |

Thomas Carlyle

Philosophy complains that Custom has hoodwinked us, from the first; that we do everything by Custom, even Believe by it; that our very Axioms, let us boast of Free-thinking as we may, are oftenest simply such Beliefs as we have never heard questioned. Nay, what is Philosophy throughout but a continual battle against Custom; an ever-renewed effort to transcend the sphere of blind Custom, and so become Transcendental?

Perseverance | Persistence | Soul |