The gem cannot be polished without friction, not a man perfected without trials.

The gem cannot be polished without friction, not a man perfected without trials.

'Ay,' quoth my uncle Gloucester,
'Small herbs have grace, great weeds do grow apace.'
And since, methinks, read more

'Ay,' quoth my uncle Gloucester,
'Small herbs have grace, great weeds do grow apace.'
And since, methinks, I would not grow so fast,
Because sweet flow'rs are slow and weeds make haste.

Confidence is a plant of slow growth; especially in an aged bosom.

Confidence is a plant of slow growth; especially in an aged bosom.

Arts and sciences are not cast in a mould, but are found and
perfected by degrees, by often handling read more

Arts and sciences are not cast in a mould, but are found and
perfected by degrees, by often handling and polishing, as bears
leisurely lick their clubs into shape.

Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment - the read more

Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment - the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.

When something (an affliction) happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.

When something (an affliction) happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

"Oh! what a vile and abject thing is man unless he can erect
himself above humanity." Here is a read more

"Oh! what a vile and abject thing is man unless he can erect
himself above humanity." Here is a bon mot and a useful desire,
but equally absurd. For to make the handful bigger than the
hand, the armful bigger then the arm, and to hope to stride
further than the stretch of our legs, is impossible and
monstrous. . . . He may lift himself if God lend him His hand of
special grace; he may lift himself . . . by means wholly
celestial. It is for our Christian religion, and not for his
Stoic virtue, to pretend to this divine and miraculous
metamorphosis.

All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.

All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.