This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
"The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear." - Herbert Sebastian Agar
"The improvement of the mind improves the heart and corrects the understanding." - Agathon NULL
"The goal is the same: life itself; and the price is the same; life itself." - James Agee, fully James Rufus Agee
"There is nothing in the world better for the purification of the soul than the curbing of idle talk." - Agnon Schmuel Yoseph Agnon, pseudonym of Samuel Joseph Czaczkes
"Mysticism is nothing but an overwhelming concentration of religious feeling." - Agus Salim, or Agus Hadji
"Wise men weigh the advantages of any course of action against its drawbacks, and move not an inch until they can see what the result of their action will be; but while they are deep in thought, the men with self-confidence ‘come and see and conquer.’" - Ahad HaAm, pen name, born Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg
"Whoever sets out to persuade men to accept a new idea, or one which seems to be new, not just as an idea, but as a truth that is felt, should know beforehand that the human mind is not a blank sheet, on which one an write with ease, and should not therefore grieve or despair when he finds that people do not pay attention to him." - Ahad HaAm, pen name, born Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg
"A man knows not what is in the heart of his fellow." - Ahikar or Ahiqar NULL
"According as I did to you, so also to me." - Ahikar or Ahiqar NULL
"At first the throne is set up for the liar, but at last his lies shall find him out, and they shall spit in his face." - Ahikar or Ahiqar NULL
"Do not chatter overmuch." - Ahikar or Ahiqar NULL
"The beauty of man is in his faithfulness, and his hatefulness is the lying of his lips." - Ahikar or Ahiqar NULL
"Education is to get where you can start to learn." - George Aiken, fully George David Aiken
"He, whose first emotion on the view of an excellent production is to undervalue it, will never have one of his own to show." - John Aiken or Aikin
"All our first movements are good, generous, heroical; reflection weakens and kills them." - Louis-Aimé Martin
"If you would know the political and moral condition of a people, ask as to the position of its women." - Louis-Aimé Martin
"It requires two indiscreet persons to institute a quarrel; one individual cannot quarrel alone." - Louis-Aimé Martin
"Kindness, the poetry of the heart." - Louis-Aimé Martin
"Love is a flame which burns in heaven and whose soft reflections radiate to us. Two worlds are opened, two lives given to it. It is by love that we double our being; it is by love that we approach God." - Louis-Aimé Martin
"Whatever may be the laws and customs of a country, women always give the tone to morals. Whether slaves or free, they reign, because their empire is that of the affections." - Louis-Aimé Martin
"Silence is a defence to wisdom." - Rabbi Akiva, fully Rebbe Akiva ben Yosef NULL
""Love thy neighbor" is the Torah's greatest principle." - Rabbi Akiva, fully Rebbe Akiva ben Yosef NULL
"Rejoice in adversity even more than in prosperity, for suffering brings forgiveness of sin." - Rabbi Akiva, fully Rebbe Akiva ben Yosef NULL
"The greatest manifestation of your love for the Almighty can be expressed on your day of death. Before your death, you might be thinking about how you have not fulfilled all of your wishes and plans. In the moments before your death you might have complaints against the Almighty, or you might fatalistically accept your death by saying, What can be done? My body is giving in to the laws of nature. The doctors have given up hope.” Both of these attitudes are wrong You now face the greatest challenge of your life. You have the potential to submit yourself to the will of the Almighty with love. This level takes preparation. If a person has not mastered control of his thoughts, he is likely to waste his last moments thinking of petty resentments and desires. Frequently confusion and fear of death swallow up every other thought unless one has prepared for that moment." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"Do not measure yourself with anybody else’s yardstick. Your obligation is to accomplish with your own unique talents. you do not need anybody else’s approval to be a worthy person." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"Every person in the world waits for signs of recognition and affection from others." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"From the very beginning of a person’s life one learns that the purpose of life is not uninterrupted pleasure. Every infant suffers pains and illnesses. We should not perceive illness and pain as negative. Suffering teaches us humility. We learn that we do not have complete power over ourselves." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"Nothing destroys the potential for parents to have a close relationship with their children as disciplining through excessive fear. When children are still young, parents should be aware that one day their children will become independent. Parents who frequently use fear as a weapon create negative feelings in their children. When they grow up, those children are likely to rebel against their parents and go their own way." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"The essence of envy is a deep desire to be someone else. In its extreme form it is a complete nullification of oneself." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"The most feared event in a person’s life is death. But we have the ability to transform our death into the greatest act we will perform in our entire life. We can perceive death as our total submission to the will of the Almighty and find tremendous spiritual elevation." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"The only person who can have “everything” is one who can be satisfied with his minimum requirements of food and clothing, and the Creator is the center of his world." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"When you have desires to do something wrong, you might feel so embarrassed with yourself for not being on a higher level that you try to repress those desires and forget about them. This is a mistake since it is not dealing with the problem but covering it up. Ignoring your inner feelings and reactions is dangerous. Be aware of what you desire, and have a dialogue with yourself to overcome it." - Shlomo Wolbe, aka Wilhelm Wolbe
"Often have I heard it said, What good thing you can do, do not defer it." - Albertano of Brescia NULL
"The angry man always thinks he can do more than he can." - Albertano of Brescia NULL
"A man is known by the company his mind keeps." - Thomas Bailey Aldrich
"The price of power is responsibility for the public good." - Winthrop Williams Aldrich
"Though religion... always envelops conduct, the sentiment of religion and the sense of moral value are distinct." - Samuel Alexander
"The sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous." - Shana Alexander, fully Shana Agar Alexander
"That poverty which is not the daughter of the spirit is but the mother of shame and reproach; it is a disreputation that drowns all the other good parts that are in man; it is a disposition to all kind of evil; it is a man’s greatest foe." - Mateo Alemán, fully Mateo Alemán y de Enero
"Thou canst not tell how rich a dowry sorrow gives the soul, how firm a faith and eagle sight of God." - Dean Alford, fully Clarence "Dean" Alford
"The heart perceives that which the eye cannot see." - Al-Ghazali, fully Abū Ḥāmed Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Ghazālī NULL