The quote database

It occurred to me at once that Harris had been as much afraid of me as I had been of him.

I would have given anything then to have been back in Illinois, but I had not the moral courage to halt and consider what to do; I kept right on.

If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first.

But if you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.

If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.

If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.

If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.

So, if you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.

There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them.

Perhaps the best cure for the fear of death is to reflect that life has a beginning as well as an end.

We shall enter into any war with a full consciousness of the awful consequences that it always entails, whether successful or not, and we, of course, shall make every effort consistent with national honor and the highest national interest to avoid a resort to arms.

These, then, are my last words to you: Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

Despair lames most people, but it wakes others fully up.

It is notorious that a single successful effort of moral volition, such as saying 'no' to some habitual temptation, or performing some courageous act, will launch a man on a higher level of energy for days and weeks, will give him a new range of power.

War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed; peace is preferable to war in almost every contingency.

Imperturbability means coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances, calmness amid storm, clearness of judgment in moments of grave peril, immobility, impassiveness, or, to use an old and expressive word, phlegm.