This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
Michel de Montaigne, fully Lord Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
Learning is not to be tacked to the mind, but we must fuse and blend them together, not merely giving the mind a slight tincture, but a thorough and perfect dye. and if we perceive no evident change and improvement, it would be better to leave it alone; learning is a dangerous weapon, and apt to wound its master if it be wielded by a feeble hand, and by one not well acquainted with its use.
Better | Change | Character | Giving | Improvement | Learning | Mind |
H. L. Mencken, fully Henry Louis Mencken
Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt.
Michel de Montaigne, fully Lord Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
I do myself a greater injury in lying than I do him of whom I tell a lie.
The measure of a man is not determined by his show of outward strength or the volume of his voice or the thunder of his action. It is to be seen rather in terms of the strength of his inner self in terms of the nature and depth of his commitments the sincerity of his purpose and his willingness to continue "growing up."
Action | Character | Man | Nature | Purpose | Purpose | Self | Sincerity | Strength |
Lord Samuel, Herbert Louis Samuel, First Viscount Samuel
Without doubt the greatest injury of all was done by basing morals on myth. For, sooner or later, myth is recognized for what it is, and disappears. Then morality loses the foundation on which it has been built.
Lydia Sigourney, fully Lydia Huntley Sigourney, née Lydia Howard Huntley
The true order of learning should be: first, what is necessary; second, what is useful, and third, what is ornamental. To reverse this arrangement is like beginning to build at the top of an edifice.
To be fond of learning is to be near to knowledge.
Giving of yourself, learning to be tolerant, giving recognition and approval to others, remaining flexible enough to mature and learn - yields happiness, harmony, contentment and productivity. These are the qualities of a rich life, the bounteous harvest of getting along with people.
Character | Contentment | Enough | Giving | Harmony | Learning | Life | Life | People | Qualities | Approval | Learn |