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

Aldous Leonard Huxley

Genuine self-government is possible only in very small groups, societies on a national or super-national scale will always be ruled by oligarchical minorities, whose members come to power because they have a lust for power.

Character | Government | Lust | Power | Self | Will |

William James

Fear of life is one form or other is the great thing to exorcise; but it isn’t reason that will ever do it. Impulse without reason is enough, and reason without impulse is a poor makeshift. I take it that no man is educated who has never dallied with the thought of suicide.

Character | Enough | Fear | Impulse | Life | Life | Man | Reason | Suicide | Thought | Will | Thought |

William James

We can act as if there were a God; feel as if we were free; consider Nature as if she were full of special designs; lay plans as if we were to be immortal; and we find then that these words do make a genuine difference in our moral life.

Character | God | Life | Life | Nature | Words |

William Jay

Though a good motive cannot sanctify a bad action, a bad motive will always vitiate a good action.

Action | Character | Good | Will |

Saint Jerome, aka Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymous, Hierom or Jerom NULL

Have something to do, so that the devil will always find you occupied.

Character | Devil | Will |

Gloria D. Karpinski

Anything unforgiven is held in the body, the emotions, the mind, and even the soul. Unreleased, it crystallizes, forming obstructions in the very pathways along which energy must flow. Given enough time to harden, it will result in sickness.

Body | Character | Emotions | Energy | Enough | Mind | Soul | Time | Will |

James Joll

The tragedy of all political action is that some problems have no solution; none of the alternatives are intellectually consistent or morally uncompromising; and whatever decision is taken will harm somebody.

Action | Character | Decision | Harm | Problems | Tragedy | Will |

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Self-knowledge brings tranquillity to the mind, and then only can truth come into being. Truth cannot be sought after. Truth is the unknown, and that which you seek is already known. Truth comes into being unsought when the mind is without prejudice, when there is the understanding of the whole process of ourselves.

Character | Knowledge | Mind | Prejudice | Self | Self-knowledge | Tranquility | Truth | Understanding |

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Relationship means contact, communion. There cannot be communion where people are divided by ideas. A belief may gather a group of people around itself. Such a group will inevitably breed opposition and so form another group with a different belief. Ideas postpone direct relationship with the problem.

Belief | Character | Ideas | Means | Opposition | People | Relationship | Will |

Carl Jung, fully Carl Gustav Jung

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

Character | Dreams | Heart | Looks | Vision | Will |

Ya’akov Dov "Katzele" Katz

A person’s first obligation is to work on having an orderly mind and to decide on what thoughts he will think about.

Character | Mind | Obligation | Will | Work | Think |

David Kimchi, aka Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK

He whose heart is closed will not be benefited by open eyes.

Character | Heart | Will |