A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of read more

A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.

Man's character is his fate.

Man's character is his fate.

You must look into people, as well as at them.

You must look into people, as well as at them.

So well she acted all and every part
By turns--with that vivacious versatility,
Which many people take read more

So well she acted all and every part
By turns--with that vivacious versatility,
Which many people take for want of heart.
They err--'tis merely what is call'd mobility,
A thing of temperament and not of art,
Though seeming so, from its supposed facility;
And false--though true; for surely they're sincerest
Who are strongly acted on by what is nearest.

Trials, temptations, disappointments -- all these help instead of hinder, if one uses them rightly. They not only test the read more

Trials, temptations, disappointments -- all these help instead of hinder, if one uses them rightly. They not only test the fiber of a character, but strengthen it. Every conquered temptation represents a new fund of moral energy. Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.

Instead of saying that man is the creature of circumstance, it would be nearer the mark to say that man read more

Instead of saying that man is the creature of circumstance, it would be nearer the mark to say that man is the architect of circumstance. It is character which builds an existence out of circumstance. From the same materials one man builds palaces, another hovels; one warehouses, another villas; bricks and mortar are mortar and bricks until the architect can make them something else.

Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is read more

Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.

Many men are mere warehouses full of merchandise--the head, the
heart, are stuffed with goods. . . . There read more

Many men are mere warehouses full of merchandise--the head, the
heart, are stuffed with goods. . . . There are apartments in
their souls which were once tenanted by taste, and love, and joy,
and worship, but they are all deserted now, and the rooms are
filled with earthy and material things.

Many men build as cathedrals were built, the part nearest the
ground finished; but that part which soars toward read more

Many men build as cathedrals were built, the part nearest the
ground finished; but that part which soars toward heaven, the
turrets and the spires, forever incomplete.