This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
It is not by wearing down into uniformity all that is individual in themselves, but by cultivating it, and calling it forth, within the limits imposed by the rights and interests of others, that human beings become noble and beautiful object of contemplation; and as the works partake the character of those who do them, by the same process human life also becomes rich, diversified, and animating, furnishing more abundant aliment to high thoughts and elevating feelings, and strengthening the tie which binds every individual to the race, by making the race infinitely better worth belonging to.
Better | Character | Contemplation | Feelings | Individual | Life | Life | Object | Race | Rights | Uniformity | Worth |
John W. Gardner, fully John William Gardner
Creativity requires the freedom to consider "unthinkable" alternatives, to doubt the worth of cherished practices. Every organization, every society is under the spell of assumptions so familiar that they are never questioned, least of all by those most intimately involved.
Creativity | Doubt | Freedom | Organization | Society | Worth | Society |
The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.
Worth |
A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.
In the end, science as we know it has two basic types of practitioners. One is the educated man who still has a controlled sense of wonder before the universal mystery, whether it hides in a snails eye or within the light that impinges on that delicate organ. The second kind of observer is the extreme reductionist who is so busy stripping things apart that the tremendous mystery has been reduced to a trifle, to intangibles not worth troubling one’s head about.
Extreme | Light | Man | Mystery | Science | Sense | Wonder | Worth |
Louis D. Brandeis, fully Louis Dembitz Brandeis
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.
Lord Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.
Worth |
Lord Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Judgment is not upon all occasions required, but discretion always is.
Discretion | Judgment |
Maltbie Babcock, fully Maltbie Davenport Babcock
Present suffering is not enjoyable, but life would be worth little without it... Though the aspect of suffering is hard, the prospect is hopeful, and the retrospect will start a song, if we are “the called according to his purpose,” in suffering.
Life | Life | Little | Present | Purpose | Purpose | Suffering | Will | Worth |
Cicero, fully Marcus Tullius Cicero, anglicized as Tully NULL
The altogether courageous and great spirit has, above all, two characteristics. First, he is indifferent to outward circumstances. Such a person is convinced that nothing but moral goodness and propriety are worth admiring and striving for. He knows he ought not be subject to any person, passion, or accident of fortune. His second characteristic is that when his soul has been disciplined in this way, he should do things that are not only great and highly useful, but also deeds that are arduous, laborious and fraught with danger to life and to those things that make life worthwhile.
Accident | Circumstances | Danger | Deeds | Fortune | Life | Life | Nothing | Passion | Soul | Spirit | Worth | Deeds | Danger |
Maltbie Babcock, fully Maltbie Davenport Babcock
The root of honesty is an honest intention, the distinct and deliberate purpose to be true, to handle facts as they are, and not as we wish them to be. Facts lend themselves to manipulation. Many a butcher’s hand is worth more than its weight in gold. What we want things to be, we come to see them to be; and the tailor pulls the coat and the truth into a perfect fit from his point of view.
Gold | Honesty | Intention | Purpose | Purpose | Truth | Worth |
Malcolm S. Forbes, fully Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Sr.
One's real worth is never a quantifiable thing.
Worth |
Twelve Things to Remember: The value of time. The success of perseverance. The pleasure of working. The dignity of simplicity. The worth of character. The power of kindness. The influence of example. The obligation of duty. The wisdom of economy. The virtue of patience. The improvement of talent. The joy of originating.
Character | Dignity | Duty | Example | Improvement | Influence | Joy | Kindness | Obligation | Patience | Perseverance | Pleasure | Power | Simplicity | Success | Time | Virtue | Virtue | Wisdom | Worth | Value |
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, native form is Csíkszentmihályi Mihály
From the point of view of an individual, it does not matter what the ultimate goal is - provided it is compelling enough to order a lifetime's worth of psychic energy... As long as it provides clear objectives, clear rules for action, and a way to concentrate and become involved, any goal can serve to give meaning to a person's life.
Action | Energy | Enough | Individual | Life | Life | Meaning | Objectives | Order | Worth |
It is the appreciation of beauty and truth, the striving for knowledge, which makes life worth living.
Appreciation | Beauty | Knowledge | Life | Life | Truth | Worth | Appreciation | Beauty |