The Reading Room

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.”

“Unless we form the habit of going to the Bible in bright moments as well as in trouble, we cannot fully respond to its consolations because we lack equilibrium between light and darkness.”

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

“Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow.”

“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.”

“We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world”

“The world is moved not only by the mighty shoves of the heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”

“It is hard to interest those who have everything in those who have nothing.”

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”

“Relationships are like Rome -- difficult to start out, incredible during the prosperity of the 'golden age', and unbearable during the fall. Then, a new kingdom will come along and the whole process will repeat itself until you come across a kingdom like Egypt... that thrives, and continues to flourish. This kingdom will become your best friend, your soul mate, and your love.”

“True happiness ... is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

“It is not possible for civilization to flow backwards while there is youth in the world. Youth may be headstrong, but it will advance it allotted length.”

“When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.”

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.”

“The million little things that drop into your hands The small opportunities each day brings He leaves us free to use or abuse And goes unchanging along His silent way.”

“I do not mean to object to a thorough knowledge of the famous works we read. I object only to the interminable comments and bewildering criticisms that teach but one thing: there are as many opinions as there are men.”

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”

“No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it.”

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

“As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill.”

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope or confidence.”

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”

“Literature is my Utopia”

“I thank God for my handicaps for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God.”

“We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.”

“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.”

“It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal.”

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.”

“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.”

“We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.”

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.”

“People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.”

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”

“Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.”

“College isn't the place to go for ideas.”

“Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness.”

“Great poetry needs no interpreter other than a responsive heart.”

“All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.”

“I am conscious of a soul-sense that lifts me above the narrow, cramping circumstances of my life. My physical limitations are forgotten- my world lies upward, the length and the breadth and the sweep of the heavens are mine!”

“I believe that God is in me as the sun is in the colour and fragrance of a flower - the Light in my darkness, the Voice in my silence.”

“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.”

“Many people know so little about what is beyond their short range of experience. They look within themselves - and find nothing! Therefore they conclude that there is nothing outside themselves either.”

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

“Four things to learn in life: To think clearly without hurry or confusion; To love everybody sincerely; To act in everything with the highest motives; To trust God unhesitatingly.”