High buildings have a low foundation. [ Proverb ]
Reason is a firm foundation to build upon. [ Proverb ]
No good building without a good foundation. [ Proverb ]
The immortal mind, superior to his fate.
Amid the outrage of external things,
Firm as the solid base of this great world.
Rests on his own foundation. Blow, ye winds!
Ye waves! ye thunders! roll your tempests on!
Shake, ye old pillars of the marble sky!
Till at its orbs and all its worlds of fire
Be loosen'd from their seats; yet still serene,
The unconquer'd mind looks down upon the wreck;
And ever stronger as the storms advance,
Firm through the closing ruin holds his way,
When nature calls him to the destined goal. [ Akenside ]
Good order is the foundation of all good things. [ Burke ]
Novelty is the foundation of the love of knowledge. [ Sydney Smith ]
Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues. [ Confucius ]
Knowledge is the foundation and source of good writing. [ Horace ]
God is the only sure foundation on which the mind can rest. [ S. Irenaeus Prime ]
The dutifulness of children is the foundation of all virtues. [ Cicero ]
The principal foundation of all states are good laws and good arms. [ Machiavelli ]
Everything that exceeds the bounds of moderation has an unstable foundation. [ Seneca ]
Nothing can constitute good-breeding that has not good-nature for its foundation. [ Edward Bulwer-Lytton ]
Charity is the temple of which justice is the foundation, but you can't have the top without the bottom. [ John Ruskin ]
If we would build on a sure foundation in friendship, we must love our friends for their sakes rather than for our own. [ Charlotte Bronte ]
Truth is the only real lasting foundation for friendship, in all but truth there is a principle of decay and dissimulation. [ Miss Helen Edgeworth ]
There should always be some foundation of fact for the most airy fabric; and pure invention is but the talent of a deceiver. [ Byron ]
It is vain to trust in wrong; it is like erecting a building upon a frail foundation, and which will directly be sure to topple over. [ Hosea Ballou ]
They who neglect the opportunity of reaping a small advantage in hopes they shall obtain a better, are far from acting on a reasonable and welladvised foundation. [ S. Croxall ]
I consider the study of mathematics the basis of the soundest mode of reasoning, the foundation of metaphysical deductions; it contains eternal truths, concluded by pure intelligence. [ Sir R. Maltravers ]
A Christian builds his fortitude on a better foundation than stoicism; he is pleased with everything that happens, because he knows it could not happen unless it first pleased God, and that which pleases Him must be best. [ C. C. Colton ]
Moral beauty is the basis of all true beauty. This foundation is somewhat covered and veiled in nature. Art brings it out, and gives it more transparent forms. It is here that art, when it knows well its power and resources, engages in a struggle with nature in which it may have the advantage. [ Victor Cousin ]
I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wishes. The greater part of all the mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken to build a tower, and spend no more labor on the foundation than would be necessary to erect a hut. [ Goethe ]
Luck is ever waiting for something to turn up. Labor, with keen eyes and strong will, will turn up something. Luck lies in bed, and wishes the postman would bring him the news of a legacy. Labor turns out at six o'clock, and with busy pen or ringing hammer lays the foundation of a competence. Luck whines. Labor whistles. Luck relies on chance. Labor on character. [ Cobden ]
Let the foundation of thy affection be virtue, then make the building as rich and as glorious as thou canst; if the foundation be beauty or wealth, and the building virtue, the foundation is too weak for the building, and it will fall: happy is he, the palace of whose affection is founded upon virtue, walled with riches, glazed with beauty, and roofed with honor. [ Quarles ]