Pursuit Quotes - Page 8

• The weak are not a noble breed. Their sublime deeds of faith, daring, and self-sacrifice usually spring from questionable motives. The weak hate not wickedness but weakness; and one instance of their hatred of weakness is hatred of self. All the passionate pursuits of the weak are in some degree a striving to escape, blur, or disguise an unwanted self. It is a striving shot through with malice, envy, self-deception, and a host of petty impulses; yet it often culminates in superb achievements.

  Eric Hoffer

  Hate, Spring, Sacrifice

  Eric Hoffer (1963). “The Ordeal of Change”

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• Were not this desire of fame very strong, the difficulty of obtaining it, and the danger of losing it when obtained, would be sufficient to deter a man from so vain a pursuit.

  Joseph Addison

  Strong, Men, Desire

  Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steel (1858). “The Spectator”, p.317

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• Burn to be great, Pay not thy praise to lofty things alone. The plains are everlasting as the hills, The bard cannot have two pursuits; aught else Comes on the mind with the like shock as though Two worlds had gone to war, and met in air.

  Philip James Bailey

  War, Greatness, Air

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• What is it that's taken hold of me, for me to carry on like this in relentless pursuit of something beyond my powers?

  Claude Monet

  Taken, Relentless, Relentless Pursuit

  Claude Monet (2014). “Monet by Himself: Paintings, Drawings, Pastels, Letters”, Chartwell

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• I sometimes feel ashamed that I am devoting myself to artistic pursuits while so many of our people are suffering and dying for us. It's true that fretting never did any good.

  Claude Monet

  People, Suffering, Dying

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• It is the close observation of little things which is the secret of success in business, in art, in science, and in every pursuit in life. Human knowledge is but an accumulation of small facts made by successive generations of men--the little bits of knowledge and experience carefully treasured up by them growing at length into a mighty pyramid.

  Samuel Smiles

  Art, Men, Pyramids

  Samuel Smiles (1861). “Self-help: With Illustrations of Character and Conduct”, p.100

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• No human pursuit achieves dignity until it can be called work.

  Beryl Markham

  Work, Dignity, Achieve

  Beryl Markham (2012). “West with the Night”, p.308, Open Road Media

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• The life of Zen begins, therefore, in a disillusion with the pursuit of goals which do not really exist the good without the bad, the gratification of a self which is no more than an idea, and the morrow which never comes.

  Alan Watts

  Self, Ideas, Goal

  Alan Watts (1989). “The way of Zen”, Vintage

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• New York is essentially national in interest, position, pursuits. No one thinks of the place as belonging to a particular state, but to the United States.

  James F. Cooper

  New York, Thinking, United States

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• What seems to set apart those at the very top of competitive pursuits from others of roughly equal ability is the degree to which, beginning early in life, they can pursue an arduous practice routine for years and years.

  Daniel Goleman

  Years, Practice, Degrees

  Daniel Goleman (2012). “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ”, p.135, Bantam

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• As for me, I am in pursuit of excellence. I have no time to get old.

  Will Eisner

  Excellence, Pursuit Of Excellence

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• In their pursuit of the same supreme end, Matisse and Picasso stand side by side, Matisse representing color and Picasso form.

  Wassily Kandinsky

  Color, Sides, Ends

  Wassily Kandinsky (2012). “Concerning the Spiritual in Art”, p.18, Courier Corporation

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• I made the flames lick the surface of the painting in such a way that is recorded the spontaneous traces of the fire. But what is it that provokes in me this pursuit of the impression of fire? Why must I search for its traces?

  Yves Klein

  Fire, Flames, Burning

  "Yves Klein, 1928 - 1962, Selected Writings" by Yves Klein, in 1961; p. 67, 1974.

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• Possessing talent is nothing more than the continuous pursuit of a life-long interest.

  Bob Ross

  Long, Talent, Interest

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• Maybe this is a utopian view of art but I do believe that art can function as a vehicle, that it isn't just a cultural pursuit, something that happens in art galleries. Unless art is linked to experience and the fear and joy of that, it becomes mere icing on the cake.

  Antony Gormley

  Art, Believe, Cake

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• Truth is a pursuit, it's a quest. And proof is certainly in the pudding in this particular instance, because the film, and the evidence accumulated in making the film, led to this man's release from prison. And that's hardly ever happened, if it's happened at all, in any other film that I can think of.

  Errol Morris

  Men, Thinking, Pudding

  From 'Don’t Look Back' to 'After Innocence': A New Book Explores Documentary Filmmaking with Directo, www.indiewire.com. August 25, 2005.

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• The beauty and wonders of nature are as alluring as the pursuit of Art, and made of me a landscape painter.

  Walter J. Phillips

  Art, Landscape, Wonder

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• We should be active leaders in the fight for civil liberties which adequately reflect present social realities. Furthermore the left as a movement must appropriate the green agenda. Sustainability has to become the foundation of all our pursuits. This movement is my dream and vision. The left remains strong in Malta, but stronger it will become if we have the courage to unite and dream.

  Joseph Muscat

  Dream, Strong, Fighting

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• The pursuit of art is a delicate balance between influence and self-assertiveness. As self-realized artists, we all have different levels of tolerance for this mystery. Influence is like Scotch; it's good to know your personal limit.

  Robert Genn

  Art, Self, Scotch

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• Art is a course in personal development that has no reliable diploma and no known end. The pursuit of art instructs in beauty as well as ugliness, fantasy as well as common sense. Art levels souls and baffles brains. Art softens pain because it is pain. Art gives joy because it is joy.

  Robert Genn

  Art, Pain, Common Sense

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• Extremism is the pursuit of the presidency is an unpardonable vice. Moderation in the affairs of the nation is the highest virtue.

  Lyndon B. Johnson

  Vices, Affair, Virtue

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• Those who would attain to any marked degree of excellence in a chosen pursuit must work, and work hard for it, prince or peasant.

  Bayard Taylor

  Perseverance, Hard Work, Excellence

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• By far the most dangerous foe we have to fight is apathy-indifference from whatever cause, not from a lack of knowledge, but from carelessness, from absorption in other pursuits, from a contempt bred of self satisfaction.

  William Osler

  Honesty, Integrity, Character

  Sir William Osler (2001). “Osler's "a Way of Life" and Other Addresses, with Commentary and Annotations”, p.369, Duke University Press

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• The function of our Government is to insure to all its citizens, now and hereafter, their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If we of this generation destroy the resources from which our children would otherwise derive their livelihood, we reduce the capacity of our land to support a population, and so either degrade the standard of living or deprive the coming generations of their fight to life on this continent.

  Theodore Roosevelt

  Children, Fighting, Pursuit Of Happiness

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• An indispensable hypothesis, even though still far from being a guarantee of success, is however the pursuit of a specific aim, whose lighted beacon, even by initial failures, is not betrayed.

  Max Planck

  Success, Failure, Science

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