Short quotes — Page 15

“Delight in Disorder,” from Hesperides (1648), represented by Project Gutenberg #1211. The poem is a seventeenth-century lyric of attraction and dress; its period language is preserved as aesthetic poetry rather than a modern norm about appearance.

“To Daffodils,” from Hesperides (1648), represented by Project Gutenberg #1211. The poem develops a conventional lyric comparison between short-lived flowers and human mortality.

“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” published in Hesperides in 1648. The poem’s later marriage exhortation reflects its seventeenth-century social setting; the opening image is retained as literary carpe-diem rhetoric, not universal relationship advice.

A Christmas Sermon, section III, first published in Scribner’s Magazine in 1888; Project Gutenberg #14535. Stevenson writes that although a person may not know exactly what goodness is or what will make another person happy, he must still try to be good and try to give happiness to others. The inherited section-II note is corrected here after direct source review. This is historical ethical / Christian-sermon argument rather than a guarantee of emotional outcomes.

A Christmas Sermon, section III, Project Gutenberg #14535. In the discussion of intervention, revenge and defending a neighbour, Stevenson says one person’s happiness is as sacred as another’s and argues for defending the injured party when both cannot be protected. The inherited section-II note is corrected here after direct source review; “sacred” is moral rhetoric, not modern legal doctrine.

“An Apology for Idlers,” 1877; evidence text in Project Gutenberg editions. The sentence belongs to Stevenson’s broader defense of leisure and sociability against relentless busyness.

‘An Apology for Idlers,’ represented in Project Gutenberg #69825, a 1905 Thomas B. Mosher reprint of the essay first published in the Cornhill Magazine in July 1877. ‘There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy’ appears in Stevenson's argument that cheerfulness can confer anonymous benefits on others. It remains provocative conduct-of-life essay rhetoric rather than clinical mental-health guidance or a universally binding moral duty.

Essay “El Dorado.”

Essays in the Art of Writing, “On Some Technical Elements of Style in Literature”; Project Gutenberg #492. “Difficulty” here concerns literary form and craft, not a universal claim that hardship automatically makes things better.

Essays in the Art of Writing, “On Some Technical Elements of Style in Literature,” represented by the 1905 Chatto & Windus edition in Project Gutenberg #492. The collection is posthumous; the excerpt concerns literary aesthetics.

Familiar Studies of Men and Books, essay ‘Henry David Thoreau: His Character and Opinions,’ section V, Project Gutenberg #425, transcribed from the 1896 Chatto & Windus edition. The surrounding paragraph quotes several Thoreau statements, but ‘To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming...’ is Stevenson's own connective judgment before he returns to quoted Thoreau language. It therefore remains Stevenson literary-biographical criticism rather than a Thoreau quotation or a clinical rule about self-development.

Memories and Portraits, in Stevenson’s reflection on graves and failed lives; Project Gutenberg #381. The sentence is literary commemoration, not a claim that every defeat is heroic.

Memories and Portraits; Project Gutenberg #381. The surrounding passage describes friendship, mortality and memory; the architectural metaphor is kept as grief writing rather than literal psychology.

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, “Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case,” Project Gutenberg #42. This is Jekyll’s fictional account of moral and psychological division inside the novel, not a medical or psychological diagnosis.

Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, “Cheylard and Luc,” Project Gutenberg #535. Stevenson follows the sentence by calling movement “the great affair” and describing the physical needs and difficulties of the road; it is literary travel reflection, not contemporary destination guidance.

Romans 12:10 in the King James Version, in a sequence of instructions about sincere love, generosity, patience, and shared responsibility.

If—, first stanza; the line frames patience as sustained conduct under delay.

If—, third stanza; the surrounding passage describes losing one’s winnings and beginning again.

If—, first stanza; the following line qualifies self-confidence with fairness toward doubters.

Poem “If—,” second stanza; the speaker treats dreams as useful aims that must not become masters.

If—, opening line; the next line describes being blamed by those around you.

If—, final stanza; the line joins limited time with sustained effort.

Poem “If—,” opening lines.

“If—,” in Rewards and Fairies, Project Gutenberg #556. The poem presents a period ideal of masculine self-command through a sequence of conditional tests; the stored lines are literary and moral rhetoric, not a requirement to suppress normal emotion.

“The Law of the Jungle,” in The Second Jungle Book.

Acres of Diamonds; Conwell repeatedly argues that useful opportunity can be found and developed near one’s existing circumstances.

Every Man His Own University, Chapter I, “Every Man’s University,” Project Gutenberg #36955, copyright 1917 witness. Conwell opens the chapter with “A distinct university walks about under each man’s hat” and develops the metaphor through observation, reading and independent thought. It is historical motivational/educational rhetoric, not evidence that formal education is unnecessary.

Ruth 1:16 in the King James Version; Ruth’s pledge to Naomi.

“The Open Window,” collected in Beasts and Super-Beasts, Project Gutenberg #269. The line follows Vera’s invented explanation for Framton Nuttel’s terrified departure; it is comic fictional narration about a deceptive storyteller.

Rasselas, Chapter XXI; spoken by Imlac while challenging the assumption that apparently wise people deliberately chose the condition they inhabit.

Rasselas, Chapter X; spoken by Imlac in his account of learning the poet’s craft through broad observation.

Rasselas, Chapter XXX; spoken by Imlac during a discussion of history, art and the practical use of studying what earlier people accomplished.

Rasselas, Chapter XVIII; Imlac encourages the prince after acknowledging that strong restraints may still exist.

Rasselas, Chapter XXX; Imlac argues that studying history helps people understand the sources of present benefits and harms.

The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia.

Rasselas, Chapter XVI; spoken by Imlac while comparing European life with the travelers’ expectations of happiness.

The Idler, No. 88; Johnson is discussing a fictional philosophical society whose grand plans meet the slow pace of practical improvement.

The Idler, No. 90; Johnson is discussing gesture and public speaking, not asserting that every inherited custom should remain untouched.

The Idler, No. 88; the surrounding paragraph concerns private hopes, proposed tasks and the gap between imagined achievement and lived action.

The Idler, No. 11; this paper is not among the numbers Johnson’s own advertisement excluded from his authorship.

The Idler, No. 88; this clause comes from Johnson’s reflection on private ambitions that remain unfinished while days and years pass.

The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, “Pope”; Wikisource transcription of Johnson's Life of Pope. Johnson writes the sentence while discussing Alexander Pope's early estimate of his own abilities and immediately qualifies it by warning that isolated self-estimation can err.

The Rambler, No. 103.

The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749), first-edition scholar passage, Wikisource scan leaf 28. “And pause awhile from Learning to be wise” turns from the ambitious student’s pursuit of knowledge toward Johnson’s satirical warning that learning does not by itself remove grief, danger or error. This is eighteenth-century moral-satirical poetry after Juvenal, not a modern educational rule.

The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749), first-edition scholar / public-recognition passage, Wikisource scan leaf 28. “See Nations slowly wise, and meanly just” leads directly into the tardy-bust image of posthumous recognition. The first-edition transcription uses a comma after “just”; this collection’s semicolon is a retained punctuation normalization. This is Johnson’s historical-satirical judgment, not an empirical law of social progress.

The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749), explicitly devotional closing movement, Wikisource first-edition scan leaf 41. “Pour forth thy Fervours for a healthful Mind, Obedient Passions, and a Will resign’d” belongs to Johnson’s concluding prayer for inward goods, patience and faith. “Healthful Mind” is preserved as historical religious-moral language and is not presented as modern medical or mental-health advice.

The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749), explicitly devotional closing movement, Wikisource first-edition scan leaf 41. Johnson allows supplication for good while telling the petitioner to leave “the Measure and the Choice” to Heaven. The passage remains eighteenth-century Christian moral poetry rather than universal therapeutic, medical or decision-making guidance.

Character, Chapter I, “Influence of Character,” Project Gutenberg #2541. The brief statement introduces Smiles’s comparison of character with property: an enduring possession expressed through goodwill, esteem and an honourably earned reputation.

Character, Chapter I, “Influence of Character,” Project Gutenberg #2541. Smiles opens the chapter by presenting character as a major moral and social force, then distinguishes its influence from intellectual talent, wealth and position.

Character, Chapter I, “Influence of Character,” Project Gutenberg #2541. Smiles places the sentence in his discussion of veracity and reliableness, arguing that talent or genius cannot command durable confidence unless conduct can be trusted.

Character, Chapter I, “Influence of Character,” Project Gutenberg #2541. The sentence follows Smiles’s claim that character is formed through minute circumstances and daily discipline, emphasizing that even apparently trivial acts carry consequences.

Character, Chapter I, “Influence of Character,” Project Gutenberg #2541. Smiles introduces the sentence while explaining that character is formed by many minute circumstances under partial individual control, so each day contributes discipline for good or ill.

Character, Chapter I, “Influence of Character,” Project Gutenberg #2541. Near the opening, Smiles contrasts admiration for genius with the more durable respect secured by character, framing the latter as a power of conduct rather than intellect alone.

Character, Chapter I, “Influence of Character,” Project Gutenberg #2541. The sentence closes Smiles’s paragraph on truthfulness as veracity, rectitude and practical reliableness, explaining why dependable words and actions earn general confidence.

Character, Chapter IX, “Manner—Art,” Project Gutenberg #2541. Smiles places the sentence in his discussion of politeness as respect for the personality and circumstances of others, then describes the well-mannered person as modest, unpretentious and more interested in doing than boasting.

Character, Chapter I, “Influence of Character,” Project Gutenberg #2541. In the chapter’s discussion of duty in ordinary life, Smiles argues that the virtues most needed in everyday conduct exert the widest and most lasting influence.

Men of Invention and Industry, Chapter X, “Industry in Ireland: Through Connaught and Ulster to Belfast”; Project Gutenberg #725. Period capitalization and gendered wording are preserved as source text.

Men of Invention and Industry, Chapter IX, “Charles Bianconi: A Lesson of Self-Help in Ireland”; Project Gutenberg #725. This excerpt is Smiles’s narrative conclusion immediately after an anecdote about saving time.

Men of Invention and Industry, Chapter III, “John Harrison: Inventor of the Marine Chronometer”; Project Gutenberg #725. This is Smiles’s biographical narration, not Harrison speaking in first person.

Self-Help, Chapter IX, “Men of Business,” Project Gutenberg #935. The line appears in the chapter’s discussion of honesty in business: Smiles argues that even temporary material loss is preferable to sacrificing character, which he describes as a fortune in itself.

Self-Help, Chapter XIII, “Character—The True Gentleman,” Project Gutenberg #935. Near the opening of the chapter, Smiles defines character as moral order embodied in the individual and describes people of character as the conscience and motive power of society.

Self-Help, Chapter XI, “Self-Culture—Facilities and Difficulties,” Project Gutenberg #935. The passage follows Charles James Fox’s contrast between early success and perseverance after failure, then leads into examples of discoveries and learning produced through mistakes and failed attempts.

Self-Help, Chapter IV, “Application and Perseverance,” Project Gutenberg #935. The sentence opens a paragraph that continues, “Great results cannot be achieved at once,” and compares advancement in life to walking step by step.

Self-Help, Chapter XII, “Example—Models,” Project Gutenberg #935. Smiles argues that character education depends heavily on models because people unconsciously mould themselves after the characters, manners, habits and opinions around them.

Self-Help, Chapter I, “Self-Help—National and Individual,” Project Gutenberg #935. This is the opening chapter’s statement of Smiles’s self-help argument, where individual initiative is presented as a source of personal growth and, in his period framework, national strength.

Self-Help, Chapter XI, “Self-Culture—Facilities and Difficulties,” Project Gutenberg #935. In the discussion of decision and promptitude, Smiles argues that excessive guidance can weaken self-reliance and that lack of confidence can obstruct improvement by discouraging prompt action.

The Life of George Stephenson and of his Son Robert Stephenson, Chapter XI, “Chat Moss—Construction of the Railway”; represented 1868 revised edition, Project Gutenberg #46229. The motto appears in Smiles’s surrounding narration immediately after the quoted Chat Moss recollection.

The Life of George Stephenson and of his Son Robert Stephenson, Chapter XI, “Chat Moss—Construction of the Railway”; represented 1868 revised edition, Project Gutenberg #46229. Smiles records Stephenson’s first-person recollection of the directors’ crisis over Chat Moss in quoted speech.

The Life of George Stephenson and of his Son Robert Stephenson, Chapter IV, “The Stephensons at Killingworth—Education and Self-Education of Father and Son”; represented 1868 revised edition, Project Gutenberg #46229. The excerpt is Smiles’s narration of Stephenson’s patient arithmetic study under John Wigham.

Thrift, Chapter V, “Examples of Thrift,” Project Gutenberg #14418. In the chapter’s opening discussion of domestic management, Smiles develops thrift as orderly use of household resources and then calls it the spirit of order in human life.

Thrift, Preface; original Preface dated London, November 1875, verified in Project Gutenberg #14418’s represented John Murray Fiftieth Thousand witness (London, 1892). “The essence of generosity is self-sacrifice” immediately follows Smiles’s claim that justice and generosity require self-denial. This collection preserves the Victorian ethical argument rather than treating the maxim as a complete modern definition of generosity.

Thrift, Chapter IV, “Means of Saving,” Project Gutenberg #14418. Smiles is arguing that working people should reject the idea that labour is degrading and use leisure for cultivation; the surrounding passage contains period class judgments that are not adopted as present-day social evidence.

Thrift, Chapter I, “Industry,” Project Gutenberg #14418. The sentence occurs in the same definition of thrift as an acquired principle of conduct: present enjoyment is subordinated to forethought so that action serves today while providing for tomorrow.

Thrift, Chapter II, “Habits of Thrift,” Project Gutenberg #14418. Smiles says thrift requires neither exceptional courage nor intellect but ordinary common sense, resistance to selfish enjoyment and patient self-denial.

Thrift, Chapter XIV, “Riches and Charity,” Project Gutenberg #14418. Smiles argues that money alone cannot reform conduct and says change from intemperance, improvidence and irreligion requires earnest purpose, self-devotion and hard work; that nineteenth-century reform context is preserved.

Thrift, Chapter II, “Habits of Thrift,” Project Gutenberg #14418. The sentence completes Smiles’s practical paragraph on forming habits of economy: repeated thrift becomes easier and eventually compensates the self-denial it initially requires.

Thrift, Chapter I, “Industry,” Project Gutenberg #14418. After describing thrift as learned rather than instinctive, Smiles defines it as an acquired principle of conduct involving self-denial, reason, forethought and prudence.

Thrift, Chapter II, “Habits of Thrift,” Project Gutenberg #14418. In a discussion of self-improvement and moral independence, Smiles presents self-respect as the impulse that makes a person rise, develop intelligence and improve condition.

Thrift, Chapter I, “Industry,” Project Gutenberg #14418. Smiles broadens his defence of labour from material production to art, literature, science and knowledge; the universal wording is his historical moral claim, not an empirical rule that effort alone guarantees greatness.

Thrift, Chapter I, “Industry,” Project Gutenberg #14418. Smiles moves from mutual dependence among workers to the value added by labour and skill; “vulgarest” preserves the period wording for common or ordinary things.

Thrift, Chapter II, “Habits of Thrift,” Project Gutenberg #14418. The sentence summarizes Smiles’s preceding argument that social improvement begins with individual conduct, example and self-respect before one attempts to elevate others.

Thrift, Preface; original Preface dated London, November 1875, verified in Project Gutenberg #14418’s represented John Murray Fiftieth Thousand witness (London, 1892). Smiles introduces the book as a sequel to Self-Help and Character and writes that thrift is the basis of Self-Help and the foundation of much that is excellent in Character. This remains Victorian conduct-of-life and moral-economic argument rather than current financial guidance.

Christabel, Part II, reviewed against the scan-backed 1816 first-edition transcription on Wikisource. The narrator's 'friends in youth / whispering tongues' stanza explains the broken friendship of Sir Leoline and Lord Roland; the passage is Romantic narrative poetry about estrangement, not empirical relationship research.

“Kubla Khan,” published with Christabel in 1816 and represented in Project Gutenberg #11101. These are lyric-narrative lines describing the “deep romantic chasm”; the supernatural imagery is poetic invention.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Part VII, Project Gutenberg #151. ‘He prayeth best, who loveth best / All things both great and small’ belongs to the Mariner's explicitly Christian concluding lesson after his supernatural ordeal, immediately following the parallel line about loving ‘Both man and bird and beast.’ It is fictional poetic speech and religious-moral language, not a neutral scientific, theological or animal-behavior proposition.

“A White Heron,” represented in Project Gutenberg #74980. The narrator asks this after Sylvia refuses to reveal the heron’s nesting place to a likable young hunter; the question preserves the story’s tension between human attachment, loyalty to nature and irreversible choice.

Deephaven, represented within Project Gutenberg #15985, Deephaven and Selected Stories & Sketches. The first-person visiting narrator is characterizing a local woman after extended conversation; it is fictional/regional narration rather than Jewett autobiography.

The Country of the Pointed Firs, opening chapter, represented by Project Gutenberg #367. This is first-person literary narration about the narrator’s return to Dunnet Landing; the lower-case opening is preserved because the quotation is a clause excerpted from a longer sentence.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13, section 4, Richard M. Gummere translation. 'We suffer more often in imagination than in reality' occurs in 'On Groundless Fears' as Seneca distinguishes feared possibilities from harms that have actually arrived. It remains Roman Stoic moral counsel rather than modern anxiety-treatment or clinical evidence.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13, section 11, Richard M. Gummere translation.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13, section 3, Richard M. Gummere translation.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 101.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13, section 4, Richard M. Gummere translation.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 4.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13, section 10, Richard M. Gummere translation.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 2.

Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 1, “On Saving Time,” Richard M. Gummere translation. The line follows Seneca’s advice to hold every hour and precedes his claim that nothing is truly ours except time.

Letter 104 argues that travel cannot by itself cure inward restlessness.

Letter 104 discusses travel, anxiety, and the need to change the mind rather than merely the location.

Letter 109 considers whether one wise person can benefit another and answers that good people are mutually useful.