Lofty Quotes - Page 9

• Great things only require to be simply told, for they are spoiled by emphasis; but little things should be clothed in lofty language, as they are only kept up by expression, tone of voice, and style of delivery.

  Jean de la Bruyere

  Expression, Voice, Style

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• A lofty birth or a large fortune portend merit, and cause it to be the sooner noticed.

  Jean de la Bruyere

  Causes, Merit, Birth

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• What chiefly diverts the men of democracies from lofty ambition is not the scantiness of their fortunes, but the vehemence of the exertions they daily make to improve them.

  Alexis de Tocqueville

  Ambition, Men, Democracy

  Alexis De Tocqueville (2004). “Democracy in America: The Complete and Unabridged Volumes I and II”, p.528, Bantam Classics

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• The First thing that strikes a traveler in the United States is the innumerable multitude of those who seek to emerge from their original condition; and the second is the rarity of lofty ambition to be observed in the midst of the universally ambitious stir of society. No Americans are devoid of a yearning desire to rise, but hardly any appear to entertain hopes of great magnitude or to pursue very lofty aims. All are constantly seeking to acquire property, power, and reputation.

  Alexis de Tocqueville

  Ambition, Ambitious, Desire

  "Democracy in America". Book by Alexis de Tocqueville, Volume II. Book Three, Chapter XIX, 1840.

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• The auspices for philosophy are bad if, when proceeding ostensibly on the investigation of truth, we start saying farewell to all uprightness, honesty and sincerity, and are intent only on passing ourselves off for what we are not. We then assume, like those three sophists [Fichte, Schelling and Hegel], first a false pathos, then an affected and lofty earnestness, then an air of infinite superiority, in order to impose where we despair of ever being able to convince.

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  Honesty, Philosophy, Farewell

  "Parerga and Paralipomena" by Arthur Schopenhauer, translated by E. Payne, Vol. 1, (p. 22), 1974.

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• And now because you are His child, live as a child of God; be redeemed from the life of evil, which is false to your nature, into the life of goodness, which is the truth of your being. Scorn all that is mean; hate all that is false; struggle with all that is impure Live the simple, lofty life which befits an heir of immortality.

  Frederick William Robertson

  Children, Hate, Struggle

  "Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers" by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, (p. 314), 1895.

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• The Fujiyama of Architecture?at once a lofty mountain and a national shrine.

  Lewis Mumford

  Mountain, Shrines, Architecture

  1953 Of Frank Lloyd Wright.'A Phoenix Too Infrequent', in the NewYorker, 28 Nov.

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• A lofty sense of independence is, in man, the best privilege of his nature.

  Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

  Men, Independence, Privilege

  Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1835). “Lodore, by the author of 'Frankenstein'.”, p.22

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• People understand God as the expression of the most lofty morality. Maybe He needs only perfect people.

  Anton Chekhov

  Expression, People, Perfect

  Anton Chekhov's letter to E.M. Shavrova, April 6, 1892.

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• Comedic actors can be looked at as a lower form because we have to put ourselves in a lower place than most of the audience. I think lofty emotions are somehow considered more special. The best stories in the world to me are the ones that elicit a real emotion, but have humour.

  Jim Carrey

  Real, Thinking, Special

  "This Much I Know". Interview with Tony Horkins, www.theguardian.com. October 19, 2008.

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• Every leaf is a spacious plain; every line a flowing brook; every period a lofty mountain.

  James Hervey

  Bible, Mountain, Lines

  James Hervey (1816). “Mediations and Contemplations: Containing Meditations Among the Tombs, Reflections on a Flower-garden, A Descant Upon Creation, Contemplations on the Night, Contemplations on the Starry Heavens, A Winter-piece ...”, p.136

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• Put forth thy leaf, thou lofty plane, East wind and frost are safely gone; With zephyr mild and balmy rain The summer comes serenely on; Earth, air, and sun and skies combine To promise all that's kind and fair: But thou, O human heart of mine, Be still, contain thyself, and bear.

  Arthur Hugh Clough

  Summer, Rain, Heart

  Arthur Hugh Clough (1874). “Poems: With a Memoir”, p.151

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• The organic fundamental error of humanism was that it desired to educate the common people (on whom it looked down) from its lofty stance instead of trying to understand them and to learn from them.

  Stefan Zweig

  Errors, People, Trying

  "Erasmus of Rotterdam". Book by Stefan Zweig, p. 116, as translated by Marion Sonnenfeld, 1934.

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• To bliss unknown by lofty soul aspires, My lot unequal to my vast desires.

  John Arbuthnot

  Soul, Desire, Bliss

  John Arbuthnot (1751). “A Supplement to the Miscellaneous Works of the Late Dr. Arbuthnot”, p.25

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• So, let us, you and I, for the sake of our brother man, individually strive by example and influence to lift the standard of thought and conduct from the low level of selfishness and self-indulgence up to the lofty realms of aspirational thought and self-denial.

  Ossian Everett Mills

  Inspirational, Brother, Selfish

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• We have now in our possession three instruments of civilization, unknown to antiquity. These are the art of printing; free representative government; and, lastly, a pure and spiritual religion, the deep fountain of generous enthusiasm, the mighty spring of bold and lofty designs, the great sanctuary of moral power.

  Edward Everett

  Spiritual, Art, Spring

  "Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers". Book by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, 1895.

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• O white-robed Angel, guide my timorous hand to write as on a lofty rock with iron pen the words of truth, that all who pass may read.

  William Blake

  Angel, Writing, Hands

  William Blake (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of William Blake (Illustrated)”, p.73, Delphi Classics

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• Lofty designs must close in like effects.

  Robert Browning

  Design, Effects

  'A Grammarian's Funeral' (1855) l. 145

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• Why you exist, says Nietzsche with Søren Kierkegaard, nobody in the world can tell you in advance; but since you do exist, try to give your existence a meaning by setting up for yourself as lofty and noble a goal as you can.

  Georg Brandes

  Giving, Goal, Trying

  Georg Brandes (1914). “Friedrich Nietzsche. (Translated by A. G. Chater.) [Translations of "Friedrich Nietzsche. En Afhandling om aristokratisk Radikalisme," extracted from "Fremmede Personligheder,” “Friedrich Nietzsche's sidste aandeligt virksomme Aar," published in "Tilskueren," 1899, and two short articles extracted from "Skikkelser og Tanker." ]”, CreateSpace

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• Poverty is never dishonourable in itself, but only when it is a mark of sloth, intemperance, extravagance, or thoughtlessness. When, on the other hand, it is the handmaid of a sober, industrious, righteous, and brave man, who devotes all his powers to the service of the people, it is the sign of a lofty spirit that harbours no mean thoughts

  Plutarch

  Mean, Men, Hands

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• Of all trees, I observe God hath chosen the vine, a low plant that creeps upon the helpful wall; of all beasts, the soft and patient lamb; of all fowls, the mild and guileless dove. Christ is the rose of the field, and the lily of the valley. When God appeared to Moses, it was not in the lofty cedar nor the sturdy oak nor the spreading palm; but in a bush, a humble, slender, abject shrub; as if He would, by these elections, check the conceited arrogance of man.

  Owen Feltham

  Wall, Humble, Humility

  "Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers". Book by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, 1895.

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• In this world laws are written for the lofty aim of "the common good" and then acted out in life on the basis of the common greed. In this world irrationality clings to man like his shadow so that the right things get done for the wrong reasons - afterwards, we dredge up the right reasons for justification. It is a world not of angels but of angles, where men speak of moral principles but act on power principles; a world where we are always moral and our enemies always immoral; a world where "reconciliation" means that when one side gets the power and the other side gets reconciled to it.

  Saul Alinsky

  Mean, Angel, Men

  "Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals". Book by Saul Alinsky, p. 13, archive.org. 1971.

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• Great occasions rally great principles, and brace the mind to a lofty bearing, a bearing that is even above itself. But trials that make no occasion at all, leave it to show the goodness and beauty it has in its own disposition. And here precisely is the superhuman glory of Christ as a character, that He is just as perfect, exhibits just as great a spirit in little trials as in great ones.

  Horace Bushnell

  Character, Perfect, Mind

  Horace Bushnell (1858). “Nature and the Supernatural: As Together Constituting the One System of God”, p.294

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• Have the courage to analyze great emotions to create characters who shall be lofty and true. The whole art of the analytical novel lies there.

  Paul Bourget

  Art, Lying, Character

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• If ardent passions push not men on to lofty enterprise, calm wisdom never will accomplish it.

  Vittorio Alfieri

  Passion, Men, Calm

  Vittorio Alfieri (1876). “The Tragedies of Vittorio Alfieri: Philip. Polynices. Antigone. Virginia. Agamemnon. Orestes. Rosmunda. Octavia. Timoleon. Merope. Mary Stuart”

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