SaturdayAug 08, 2026
Quotes: 53419 Authors: 9969
Never does a man know the force that is in him till some mighty affliction or grief has humanized the soul.
It is the law of our humanity that man must know good through evil. No great principle ever triumphed but through much evil. No man ever progressed to greatness and goodness but through great mistakes.
In the darkest hour through which a human soul can pass, whatever else is doubtful, this at least is certain. If there be no God and no future state, yet, even then, it is better to be generous than selfish, better to be chaste than licentious, better to be true than false, better to be brave than to be a coward. Blessed beyond all earthly blessedness is the man who, in the tempestuous darkness of the soul, has dared to hold fast to these venerable landmarks. Thrice blest is he who, when all is dreary and cheerless within and without, when his teachers terrify him, and friends shrink from him, has obstinately clung to moral good.
The charm of the words of great men, those grand sayings which are recognized as true as soon as heard, is this, that you recognize them as wisdom which has passed across your own mind. You feel that they are your own thoughts come back to you, else you would not at once admit them. 'All of that has floated across me before, only I could not say it, and did not feel confident enough to assert it: or had not conviction enough to put it into words.' Yes, God spoke to you what He did to them: only, they believed it, said it, trusted the Word within them; and you did not. Be sure that often when you say, 'It is only my own poor thought, and I am alone,' the real correcting thought is this: 'Alone, but the Father is with me, and therefore I can live that lonely conviction.'
It is not the number of books you read, nor the variety of sermons you hear, nor the amount of religious conversation in which you mix, but it is the frequency and earnestness with which you meditate on these things till the truth in them becomes your own and part of your being, that ensures your growth.
Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other. It is the place of confidence. It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any dread of ridicule.
He may like to go alone for a walk, but he hates to stand alone in his opinion.
Terms of use and copyrights
