Great Throughts Treasury

"You may indeed do many works of love and delight in them -- especially at such times as they are not inconvenient to your state or temper or occurrences in life. But the Spirit of Love is not in you till it is the spirit of your life, till you live freely, willingly, and universally according to it." - William Law

"Upon this principle I imagine it is that some of the finest pieces of antiquity are written in the dialogue manner. Plato and Tully, it should seem, thought truth could never be examined with more advantage than amidst the amicable opposition of well-regulated converse." - William Melmoth, wrote under pseudonym Sir Thomas Fitzosborne

"Unfortunately this Electric Monk had developed a fault, and had started to believe all kinds of things, more or less at random. It was even beginning to believe things they'd have difficulty believing in Salt Lake City." - Douglas Adams, fully Douglas Noel Adams

"We already have the Wooden Pillar, the Steel Pillar and the Plastic Pillar. In a moment we will have the Golden Bail... No, you won't.' We will,' stated the robot simply. No, you won't. It makes my ship work.' In a moment,' repeated the robot patiently, 'we will have the Golden Bail... You will not,' said Zaphod. And then we must go,' said the robot, in all seriousness, 'to a party.' Oh,' said Zaphod, startled, 'can I come?' No,' said the robot, 'we are going to shoot you.' Oh, yeah?' said Zaphod, waggling his gun. Yes,' said the robot, and they shot him. Zaphod was so surprised that they had to shoot him again before he fell down." - Douglas Adams, fully Douglas Noel Adams

"Slugs crawl and crawl over our cabbages, like the world's slander over a good name. You may kill them, it is true; but there is the slime." - Douglas William Jerrold

"He is safe who admits no one to his confidence." - François de La Rochefoucauld, François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, Francois A. F. Rochefoucauld-Liancourt

"It appears that nature has hid at the bottom of our hearts talents and abilities unknown to us. It is only the passions that have the power of bringing them to light, and sometimes give us views more true and more perfect than art could possibly do." - François de La Rochefoucauld, François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, Francois A. F. Rochefoucauld-Liancourt

"The reason that lovers never weary each other is because they are always talking about themselves." - François de La Rochefoucauld, François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, Francois A. F. Rochefoucauld-Liancourt

"The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is, that each is thinking more of what he is intending to say, than of what others are saying; and we never listen when we are planning to speak." - François de La Rochefoucauld, François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, Francois A. F. Rochefoucauld-Liancourt

"The refusal of praise is only the wish to be praised twice." - François de La Rochefoucauld, François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac, Francois A. F. Rochefoucauld-Liancourt

"O, Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou, Romeo?" - William Shakespeare

"Or I am mad, or else this is a dream; Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep; If it be thus to drearn, still let me sleep." - William Shakespeare

"Now you speak of ten heavy and forty-eight light precepts, which are to be regarded as the great monastic precepts of the Mahayana. In what sÅ«tra is this taught? The ten heavy precepts in the Brahma Sutra are as follows. 1. Not killing 2. Not stealing 3. No lasciviousness (celibacy) 4. No false language 5. No selling of liquor 6. No discussion of the faults of other sangha members 7. Not praising oneself and criticizing others 8. Not harming others through stinginess 9. Not accepting the repentance of another while maintaining one's anger 10. Not slandering the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha)" - Saichō NULL

"An imposing air should always be taken as an evidence of imposition. - Dignity is often a veil between us and the real truth of things." - Edwin Percy Whipple

"Mirth is a Proteus, changing its shape and manner with the thousand diversities of individual character, from the most superfluous gayety to the deepest, moat earnest humor." - Edwin Percy Whipple

"You want what you want and he wants what he wants, but God does what He wants." - Egyptian Proverbs

"If one has lived long enough, there is danger of succumbing to the word “God” merely because it was always there." - Elias Canetti

"As soon as the words were out, sorry. Was preferable to the man considered extremely being a woman, as no other. It should not have to show any of it or another, it is imperfect, vulnerable person like everyone else. If you know that wearing a heart of glass, it will break." - Elif Safak

"Now, to appease his conscience when he did the balance of a long life, he had taken this strange journey and was home to a woman with such expectations. The outer walls were the color of ash cherchevetata windows and balcony railings were painted in two different colors - lighter and darker shade of gray. When discrete scenery around the double door were completed, the block shone with dazzling beauty. Most striking feature of the building, which at the insistence of Pavel Pavlovich Antipov was built in the style ar nuvo9, although it was no longer in vogue was that floors were completely different. The apartments on the ground floor, as if to compensate for the lack of balconies were much larger windows than others. As for the balcony, and they were different on each floor. terrace on the second floor were heavily exported forward in graceful semicircle, and those on the third floor were more retracted so that one could easily sit without being visible from the outside. Balcony on the fourth floor were like those of the second, except that instead of metal railings had curb decorated with embossed flowers, and at both ends were attached marble pots, in which you can grow plants. differences were so striking that one wondered Yet if the residents of these apartments they live in the same place. reliefs on the front façade to balance between decoration windows on the first and second floor, very eye-catching. Here in the circle was painted peacock with a small head and a huge body. His five items, two right, two left and one right on the head sticking out of different countries. One pointed toward the sky, and the other - the four cardinal directions. At the end of each feather was painted a large eye, beautifully finished with subtle touches that resemble eyelashes. In complete contrast, the head of the peacock was brought down. Directly below his feet in a faint oval frame was inscribed the initials of the spouses. - Elif Shafak , The Flea Palace" - Elif Safak

"The law of the survival of the fittest led inevitably to the survival and predominance of the men who were effective in war and who loved it because they were effective." - Elihu Root

"ROSALIND: I' faith, his hair is of a good color. CELIA: An excellent color. Your chestnut was ever the only color." - William Shakespeare

"Since the little wit that fools have was silenced, the little foolery that wise men have makes a great show." - William Shakespeare

"Stay, stay thy hands! thou art an Amazon, and fightest with the sword of Deborah." - William Shakespeare

"Sure, he's not in hell; he's in Arthur's bosom, if ever man went to Arthur's bosom. 'A made a finer end, and went away, an it had been any christom child; 'a parted even just between twelve and one, even at the turning o’ the tide: for after I saw him fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers, and smile upon his fingers' ends, I knew there was but one way; for his nose was as sharp as a pen, and a’ babbled of green fields." - William Shakespeare

"Do I really deserve this pleasure? This is American, too-the insecurity about whether we have earned our happiness." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"I always thought we only had two choices in our lives when it came to pizza crust—thin and crispy, or thick and doughy. How was I to have known there could be a crust in this world that was thin and doughy? Holy of holies! Thin, doughy, strong, gummy, yummy, chewy, salty pizza paradise." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"I'd learned enough from life's experiences to understand that destiny's interventions can sometimes be read as invitation for us to address and even surmount our biggest fears. It doesn't take a great genius to recognize that when you are pushed by circumstance to do the one thing you have always most specifically loathed and feared, this can be, at the very least, an interesting growth opportunity." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"So when modern-day religious conservatives wax nostalgic about how marriage is a sacred tradition that reaches back into history for thousands of uninterrupted years, they are correct, but in only one respect - only if they happen to be talking about Judaism. Christianity simply does not share that deep and consistent historical reverence toward matrimony. Lately it has, yes- but not originally. For the first thousand or so years of Christian history, the church regarded monogamous marriage as marginally less wicked that flat-out whoring but only very marginally." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the human being's difficulty in coming to viruous balance with himself." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"The six elements of her Fail Proof Broken-Heart Curing Treatment: 'Vitamin E, get much sleep, drink much water, travel to a place far away from the person you loved, meditate and teach your heart that this is destiny." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"There is a theory that if you yearn sincerely enough for a Guru, you will find one. The universe will shift, destiny's molecules will get themselves organized and your path will soon intersect with the path of the master you need." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"There’s a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, Dear saint—please, please, please . . . give me the grace to win the lottery. This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, My son—please, please, please . . . buy a ticket." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"There's a reason we refer to leaps of faith - because the decision to consent to any notion of divinity is a mighty jump from the rational over to the unknowable, and I don't care how diligently scholars of every religion will try to sit you down with their stacks of books and prove to you through scripture that their faith is indeed rational; it isn't. If faith were rational, it wouldn't be - by definition - faith. Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be... a prudent insurance policy." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"There's a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, Dear saint-please, please, please...give me the grace to win the lottery. This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated staue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, My son-please, please, please...buy a ticket. Prayer is a realtionship; half the job is mine. If I want transformation, but can't even be bothered to articulate what, exactly, I'm ainming for, how will it ever occur? Half the benefit of prayer is in the asking itself, in the offering of a clearly posed and well-considered intention. If you don't have this, all your pleas and desires are boneless, floppy, inert; they swirl at your feet in a cold fog and never lift." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"Well, just remember--all your misery will be waiting for you at the door upon your exit, should you care to pick it up again when you leave." - Elizabeth Gilbert

"You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two...But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look thorough your heart, instead" - Elizabeth Gilbert

"I thought that prattling boys and girls would fill this empty room; that my rich heart would gather flowers From childhood's opening bloom. One child and two green graves are mine, this is God's gift to me; a bleeding, fainting, broken heart— This is my gift to Thee." - Elizabeth Payson Prentiss

"There was nothing separate about her days. Like drops on the window-pane, they ran together and trickled away." - Dorothy Parker

"The human race is the basis on which heaven is founded, is because man was last created, and that which is last created is the basis of all that precedes." - Emanuel Swedenborg, born Emanujel Swedberg

"For the man who has got in the nasty habit of unmasking appearances, event and misunderstanding are synonyms. To make for the essential is to throw up the game, to admit one is defeated." - Emil M. Cioran

"Heathcliff, make the world stop right here. Make everything stop and stand still and never move again. Make the moors never change and you and I never change." - Emily Brontë, fully Emily Jane Brontë, aka pseudonym Ellis Bell

"I know, by instinct, his reserve springs from an aversion to showy displays of feeling—to manifestations of mutual kindliness. (Mr. Lockwood)" - Emily Brontë, fully Emily Jane Brontë, aka pseudonym Ellis Bell

"While enjoying a month of fine weather at the sea-coast, I was thrown into the company of a most fascinating creature: a real goddess in my eyes, as long as she took no notice of me. I 'never told my love' vocally; still, if looks have language, the merest idiot might have guessed I was over head and ears: she understood me at last, and looked a return - the sweetest of all imaginable looks. And what did I do? I confess it with shame - shrunk icily into myself, like a snail; at every glance retired colder and farther; till finally the poor innocent was led to doubt her own senses, and, overwhelmed with confusion at her supposed mistake, persuaded her mamma to decamp. By this curious turn of disposition I have gained the reputation of deliberate heartlessness; how undeserved, I alone can appreciate." - Emily Brontë, fully Emily Jane Brontë, aka pseudonym Ellis Bell

"‎Civilization has been a continuous struggle of the individual or of groups of individuals against the State and even against society, that is, against the majority subdued and hypnotized by the State and State worship." - Emma Goldman

"Consciously or unconsciously, most theists see in gods and devils, heaven and hell, reward and punishment, a whip to lash the people into obedience, meekness and contentment." - Emma Goldman

"The moral consciousness can sustain the mocking gaze of the political man only if the certitude of peace dominates the evidence of war. Such a certitude is not obtained by a simple play of antitheses. The peace of empires issued from war rests on war. It does not restore to the alienated beings their lost identity. For that a primordial and original relation with being is needed." - Emmanuel Lévinas , originally Emanuelis Lévinas

"This, available in respect of the past, but captive to itself exudes seriousness of being where he is committed." - Emmanuel Lévinas , originally Emanuelis Lévinas

"Why not make the following experiment, which will not only be thrillingly interesting, but will certainly teach you more in one day than you could learn from books or lectures in many weeks. Here is what you have to do: For one whole day think, speak, and act exactly as you would if you were absolutely convinced of the truth of the statements that God has all power and infinite intelligence, and that His nature is infinite goodness and love. To think in this manner all day will be the most difficult thing, because it is so subtle. To speak in accordance with these truths will be easier, if you are vigilant. To act in accordance with them will be the easiest part, although it may require much in the way of moral courage." - Emmet Fox

"There may be snow on the rooftop but there is fire in the furnace." - English Proverbs

"From our position of being reasonably well off and comfortable, [perhaps] university professors, we tend to be patronizing about the poor in a very specific sense, which is that we tend to think, ‘Why don’t they take more responsibility for their lives?’ And what we are forgetting is that the richer you are the less responsibility you need to take for your own life because everything is taken care for you. And the poorer you are the more you have to be responsible for everything about your life… My lesson is to stop berating people for not being responsible and start to think of ways instead of providing the poor with the luxury that we all have, which is that a lot of decisions are taken for us. If we do nothing, we are on the right track. For most of the poor, if they do nothing, they are on the wrong track." - Esther Duflo