Pearls Of Wisdom Quotes

"A picture is worth a thousand words." — Fred R. Bernard
Printers' Ink (December 8, 1921) pg. 96-97 The first recorded use of this adage came in an article by Bernard advocating the use of pictures in advertisement, specifically in this case for use on streetcars. Add Category or Author

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Attributed to Emerson in Promotion of Pharmaceuticals : Issues, Trends, Options (1993) pg 74, and also Thoreau elsewhere, but no instance of the quote can be found before 1990, so the authorship of the quote is disputed. Add Category or Author

"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Ecce Homo (1888) Actually more accurately translated as "What does not kill him, makes him stronger," but is often paraphrased as the quote listed. Add Category or Author

"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve." — Napoleon Hill
As quoted in Self-Motivation Through Risk Taking! : Are You Leading Or Do You Wither with Problems? (2005) As one of the pioneers of self-empowerment literature, this quote is famously attributed to Hill, though no further specific contextual information is available. Add Category or Author

"Every day should be passed as if it were to be our last." — Publilius Syrus
Syrus's Sententiae. Taken from an alphabetic book of maxims, the above quote is maxim 633 in Syrus's list. Add Category or Author

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." — Reinhold Niebuhr
The Serenity Prayer (c. 1942) Though earlier variants may have existed, Niebuhr was the first to state this so succinctly, and also the first to copyright it. Since then, it has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step groups. Add Category or Author

"A man's real worth is determined by what he does when he has nothing to do." — Author Unknown
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"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." — Author Unknown
Quite frequently attributed to Gandhi, and the saying was popularized in the academy award-winning film "Gandhi," and was spoken by Ben Kingsley, playing Gandhi. No record of it being said by him in real life exists. Add Category or Author

"It is only those who never do anything who never make mistakes." — A. Favre
Recherches Geologiques volume 3, (1867) pg. 76 Add Category or Author

"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul." — Saint Augustine
As quoted in The Little Book of Bathroom Philosophy : Daily Wisdom from the Greatest Thinkers (2004) pg. 50 The original, full quote reads "Quantum in te crescit amor, tantum crescit pulchritudo; quia ipsa charitas est animae pulchritudo," and was fully translated as "Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul." Here Augstine points out the inherent beauty that takes root within us when we love. Add Category or Author

"If you want something done, ask a busy person." — Benjamin Franklin
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"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question." — Eugene Ionesco
Découvertes (1970) As one of the pioneer playwrights of the "Theater of the Absurd," it is unsurprising that Ionesco would focus on the question rather than the answer or results, as the Absurdist movement did not frequently deal with logical conclusions. Add Category or Author

"Harmony is pure love, for love is a concerto." — Lope Vega
As quoted in Love by the Numbers: How to Find Great Love Or Reignite the Love You Have Through the Power of Numerology (2009) pg. 277 This quote is attributed to the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega, but no further contextual information is available. Add Category or Author

"There's always room for improvement, it's the biggest room in the house." — Louise Heath Leber
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"True love stories never have endings." — Richard Bach
This was reportedly stated by Bach, a best-selling author. After his marriage ended, he also reportedly stated, "[My wife] and I are no longer married. Soul mates, to me, don't define themselves by legal marriage." Add Category or Author

"Love is friendship set on fire." — Jeremy Taylor
As quoted in The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare's Poetry (2010) pg. 88 No context is available for this quote beyond the fact that Taylor wrote frequently on the subject of love and God. Add Category or Author

"Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out." — Frank Clark
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"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love." — Sophocles
As quoted in Civilization's quotations: life's ideal (2002) pg. 49 No contextual information is available, beyond the fact that this quote is attributed to the tragic Greek playwright Sophocles. Add Category or Author

"There's no next time. It's now or never." — Author Unknown
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"Silence. All human unhappiness comes from not knowing how to stay quietly in a room." — Blaise Pascal
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"Some people will believe anything if you whisper it to them." — Miguel Unamuno
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