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The optimist has the power of seeing things in their entirety and in their right relations.
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“The optimist has the power of seeing things in their entirety and in their right relations.”

Ralph Waldo Trine

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Source
In Tune with the Infinite; or, Fullness of Peace, Power, and Plenty
Date
1897
Meaning

Meaning of “The optimist has the power of seeing things…”

Optimism is defined here as a broader way of interpreting circumstances: the positive outlook is linked to seeing relationships and the whole situation rather than only one discouraging part.

Source context

Where does it come from?

In Tune with the Infinite, Prelude; Project Gutenberg #23559. The sentence belongs to Trine’s philosophical New Thought contrast between optimist and pessimist and should not be treated as a clinical definition.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

AttitudeDeepHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityMindOptimism Quotes About Constructive ExpectationPositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookShortThinking Quotes About Reasoning, Reflection & JudgmentThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionUnderstandingWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellPerspective
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A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
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“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”

Thomas Paine · Common Sense · 1776
Meaning & context

Custom can disguise error by making the familiar feel legitimate; critical judgment requires re-examining practices that have escaped scrutiny through repetition.

Source details

Common Sense (1776), Introduction. The represented opening sentence is verified in Project Gutenberg #147 and the validated scan-backed Wikisource transcription; Paine argues that familiarity can make a wrong practice appear right before public argument unsettles the custom.

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To define is to limit.
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“To define is to limit.”

Oscar Wilde · The Picture of Dorian Gray — 1891 edition · 1891
Voice: Fictional character · Lord Henry Wotton
Meaning & context

Definitions clarify ideas but can also narrow them, especially when a label is treated as the complete reality of a person or experience.

Source details

The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891 edition, Chapter 17; Lord Henry answers the Duchess of Monmouth’s question “What are you?” with “To define is to limit.”

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There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
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“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

William Shakespeare · Hamlet · c. 1600
Voice: Fictional character · Hamlet
Meaning & context

The line separates events from the judgments people place on them, a useful distinction for thinking about perception and response.

Source details

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2; Hamlet says this to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern while explaining that Denmark feels like a prison to him. The line is dramatic dialogue, not a detached psychological proposition by Shakespeare.

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He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.
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“He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.”

John Stuart Mill · On Liberty · 1859
Meaning & context

Understanding a position requires serious contact with competing arguments; familiarity with only one side can produce confidence without real comprehension.

Source details

On Liberty, Chapter 2; Mill argues for open discussion because opposing views expose weaknesses and sharpen understanding.

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