The Present, the Present is all thou hast
For thy sure possessing;
Like the patriarch's angel hold it fast
Till it gives its blessing. [ Whittier ]
Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in deserving them. [ Aristotle ]
Men possessing small souls are generally the authors of great evils. [ Goethe ]
It is the enjoying, and not merely the possessing, that makes us happy. [ Montaigne ]
Speak little and well, if you wish to be considered as possessing merit. [ From the French ]
I have learned that to do one's next duty is to take a step toward all that is worth possessing. [ J. G. Holland, Pseudonym: Timothy Titcomb ]
The only freedom worth possessing is that which gives enlargement to a people's energy, intellect and virtues. [ Channing ]
Intellectual progress, separated from moral progress, gives a fearful result: a being possessing nothing but brains. [ A. de Gasparin ]
Men possessing minds which are morose, solemn, and inflexible enjoy generally a greater share of dignity than of happiness. [ Bacon ]
Men possessing minds which are morose, solemn, and inflexible, enjoy, in general, a greater share of dignity than of happiness. [ Bacon ]
To have the reputation of possessing the most perfect social tact, talk to every woman as if you loved her, and to every man as if he bored you. [ Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance ]
We may have the confidence of another without possessing his heart. If his heart be ours, there is no need of revelation or of confidence, - all is open to us. [ Du Coeur ]
After the pleasure of possessing books there is hardly anything more pleasant than that of speaking of them, and of communicating to the public the innocent richness of thought which we have acquired by the culture of letters. [ Nodier ]
True friends are the whole world to one another; and he that is a friend to himself, is also a friend to mankind; even in my studies the greatest delight I take is that of imparting it to others; for there is no relish to me in the possessing of anything without a partner. [ Seneca ]
A sense of humor is a saving grace, and happy is that woman who has been blessed by birth with that rare sixth sense of seeing the funny side.
If you have it naturally, be gladly grateful, for it is a greater gift than beauty or riches. It means cheerfulness, contentment, courage and, possessing it, you are equipped with a potent weapon against the blows of fate. [ Unknown ]
Individuals possessing moderate sized brains easily find their proper sphere, and enjoy in it scope for all their energy. In ordinary circumstances they distinguish themselves, but they sink when difficulties accumulate around them. Persons with large brains, on the other hand, do not readily attain their appropriate place; common occurrences do not rouse or call them forth. [ George Combe ]
Nothing raises the price of a blessing like its removal; whereas it was its continuance which should have taught us its value. There are three requisitions to the proper enjoyment of earthly blessings, - a thankful reflection on the goodness of the Giver, a deep sense of our unworthiness, a recollection of the uncertainty of long possessing them. The first would make us grateful; the second, humble; and the third, moderate. [ Hannah More ]