"The mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, awakens to transitory brightness; this power arises from within...could this influence be durable in its original purity and force, it is impossible to predict the greatness of the result; but when composition begins, inspiration is already on the decline; and the most glorious poetry that has been communicated to the world is probably a feeble shadow of the original conceptions of the poet."
Greatness quotes
Greatness
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Greatness quotes (page 23 of 94)
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"One of the great movements in my lifetime among educated people is the need to commit themselves to action. Most people are not satisfied with giving money; we also feel we need to work."
"A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of great men to come, who shall be able to instruct, to lead, and to inspire. A people who worship at the shrine of true greatness will themselves be truly great."
"No great thought, no great object, satisfies the mind at first view, nor at the last."
"For all our failings, despite our limitations and fallibilities, we humans are capable of greatness."
"The age does not believe in great men, because it does not possess any."
"In order to be great, you have to learn from greatness, which is what I have tried to do."
"The seeds of greatness are ideas you learn from people who've been great in their service to others."
"A man who has once perceived, however temporarily and however briefly, what makes greatness of soul, can no longer be happy if he allows himself to be petty, self-seeking, troubled by trivial misfortunes, dreading what fate may have in store for him. The man capable of greatness of soul will open wide the windows of his mind, letting the winds blow freely upon it from every portion of the universe."
"Great and small suffer the same mishaps."
"It is of dangerous consequence to represent to man how near he is to the level of beasts, without showing him at the same time his greatness. It is likewise dangerous to let him see his greatness without his meanness. It is more dangerous yet to leave him ignorant of either; but very beneficial that he should be made sensible of both."
"To go beyond the bounds of moderation is to outrage humanity. The greatness of the human soul is shown by knowing how to keep within proper bounds. There are two equally dangerous extremes- to shut reason out, and not to let nothing in."
"Evil is easily discovered; there is an infinite variety; good is almost unique. But some kinds of evil are almost as difficult to discover as that which we call good; and often particular evil of this class passes for good. It needs even a certain greatness of soul to attain to this, as to that which is good."
"If you did not care at all what anyone else thought about you, what would you do differently or change in your life?"
"Don't be reluctant to give of yourself generously, it's the mark of caring and compassion and personal greatness."
"Every study of high achieving men and women proves that greatness in life is only possible when you become outstanding at your chosen field."
"The greatness of an artist or a writer does not depend on what he has in common with other artists and writers, but on what he has peculiar to himself."
"The truly great rest in the knowledge of their own deserts, nor seek the conformation of the world."
"The great artist is one whom constraint exalts, for whom the obstacle is a springboard."
"To be great, art has to point somewhere."