John Lancaster Spalding Quotes
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God has not made a world which suits all; how shall a sane man expect to please all?
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A gentleman does not appear to know more or to be more than those with whom he is thrown into company.
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They who no longer believe in principles still proclaim them, to conceal, both from themselves and others, the selfishness of the motives by which they are dominated.
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They who truly know have had to unlearn hardly less than they have had to learn.
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The doubt of an earnest, thoughtful, patient and laborious mind is worthy of respect. In such doubt may be found indeed more faith than in half the creeds.
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If thou wouldst help others deal with them as though they were what they should be
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No sooner does a divine gift reveal itself in youth or maid than its market value becomes the decisive consideration, and the poor young creatures are offered for sale, as we might sell angels who had strayed among us.
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The study of law is valuable as a mental discipline, but the practice of pleading tends to make one petty, formal, and insincere. To be driven to look to legality rather than to equity blurs the view of truth and justice.
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If thou canst not hold the golden mean, say and do too little rather than too much.
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Liberty is more precious than money or office; and we should be vigilant lest we purchase wealth or place at the price of inner freedom.
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If we are disappointed that men give little heed to what we utter is it for their sake or our own?
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Let not what thou canst not prevent, though it be the ruin of thy home or country, draw thee from thy proper work.
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To think of education as a means of preserving institutions however excellent, is to have a superficial notion of its end and purpose, which is to mould and fashion men who are more than institutions, who create, outgrow, and re-create them.
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States of soul rightly expressed, as the poet expresses them in moments of pure inspiration, retain forever the power of creating like states. It is this that makes genuine literature a vital force.
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Mercenary is whoever thinks less of his work than of the money he receives for doing it; and social conditions which impose tasks that make this inevitable are barbarous.
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Love finds us young and keeps us so: immortal himself, he permits not age to enter the hearts where he reigns.
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If thou hast sought happiness and missed it, but hast found wisdom instead, thou art fortunate.
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If our opinions rest upon solid ground, those who attack them do not make us angry, but themselves ridiculous.
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It is not worth while to consider whether a truth be useful-it is enough that it is a truth.
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The aim of education is to strengthen and multiply the powers and activities of the mind rather than to increase its possessions.
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Have as little suspicion as possible and conceal that.
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The teacher does best, not when he explains, but when he impels his pupils to seek themselves the explanation.
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The best money can procure for thee is freedom to live in thy true self. It is more apt however to enslave than to liberate. It is good also when thou makest it a means to help thy fellow men; but here too it is easier to harm than to benefit: for the money thou givest another is useful to him only when it stimulates him to self-activity.
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True readers … are ready to go through a whole volume, if there be but hope of finding in it a single genuine thought or the mere suggestion even of a truth which has some fresh application to life.