If intellection and knowledge were mere passion from without, or the bare reception of extraneous and adventitious forms, then no read more

If intellection and knowledge were mere passion from without, or the bare reception of extraneous and adventitious forms, then no reason could be given at all why a mirror or looking-glass should not understand; whereas it cannot so much as sensibly perceive those images which it receives and reflects to us.

Virtue is not the absense of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers; virtue is a vivid and separate ting, read more

Virtue is not the absense of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers; virtue is a vivid and separate ting, like pain or a particular smell. - Tremendous Trifles.

Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on read more

Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell as little as possible on the evil and the false.

If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.

If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.

Man is so muddled, so dependent on the things immediately before his eyes, that every day even the most submissive read more

Man is so muddled, so dependent on the things immediately before his eyes, that every day even the most submissive believer can be seen to risk the torments of the afterlife for the smallest pleasure.

When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can read more

When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools.

Prepare yourself for the world, as the athletes used to do for their exercise; oil your mind and your manners, read more

Prepare yourself for the world, as the athletes used to do for their exercise; oil your mind and your manners, to give them the necessary suppleness and flexibility; strength alone will not do.

Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will read more

Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter.

There is no one giant step that does it. It's a lot of little steps.

There is no one giant step that does it. It's a lot of little steps.