Usefulness Quotes - Page 5

• A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the fitness and tendency of things. Nature has set upon him the process of decline and dissolution by which she removes things which have survived their usefulness.

  William Graham Sumner

  Aggravation, Gutters, Decline

  William Graham Sumner (1903). “What Social Classes Owe to Each Other”, p.114, Ludwig von Mises Institute

  14 Copy quote

  Show source

• Water is also one of the four elements, the most beautiful of God's creations. It is both wet and cold, heavy, and with a tendency to descend, and flows with great readiness. It is this the Holy Scripture has in view when it says, "And the darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Water, then, is the most beautiful element and rich in usefulness, and purifies from all filth, and not only from the filth of the body but from that of the soul, if it should have received the grace of the Spirit.

  John of Damascus

  Beautiful, Should Have, Four Elements

  102 Copy quote

• For the Humanist, . . . head and heart . . . must function together. . . . The constitution of the Phillips Exeter Academy reads: 'Though goodness without knowledge . . . is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous. . . . Both united form the noblest character and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind.'

  Corliss Lamont

  Heart, Character, Together

  9 Copy quote

• As Elder George F. Richards, President of the Council of the Twelve, said in a conference address in April 1947, 'when we say anything bad about the leaders of the Church, whether true or false, we tend to impair their influence and their usefulness and are thus working against the Lord and his cause.' ... The Holy Ghost will not guide or confirm criticism of the Lord's anointed, or of Church leaders, local or general. This reality should be part of the spiritual evaluation that LDS readers and viewers apply to those things written about our history and those who made it.

  Dallin H. Oaks

  Spiritual, Reality, Lds

  5 Copy quote

• The map is not the territory... The only usefulness of a map depends on similarity of structure between the empirical world and the map.

  Alfred Korzybski

  World, Maps, Territory

  "Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics". Book by Alfred Korzybski, 1933.

  26 Copy quote

  Show source

• My friend George and I were walking on the beach in Norfolk, and there were thousands of [razor-clam] shells. They were so beautiful, I thought I had to do something with them. So, we decided to make [a dress] out of them. . . . The shells had outlived their usefulness on the beach, so we put them to another use on a dress. Then Erin [O’Conner] came out and trashed the dress, so their usefulness was over once again. Kind of like fashion, really.

  Alexander McQueen

  Beautiful, Fashion, Beach

  15 Copy quote

• The press briefing today I believe has lost much of its usefulness.

  Marlin Fitzwater

  Believe, Today, Lost

  84 Copy quote

• How often do we sigh for opportunities for doing good, whilst we neglect the openings of Providence in little things, which would frequently lead to the accomplishment of most important usefulness. Good is done by degrees. However small in proportion the benefit which follows individual attempts to do good, a great deal may thus be accomplished by perseverance, even in the midst of discouragements and disappointments.

  George Crabbe

  Perseverance, Disappointment, Opportunity

  7 Copy quote

• The hardness of a diamond is part of its usefulness, but its true value is in the light that shines through it.

  B.K.S. Iyengar

  Inspiring, Light, Shining

  B.K.S. Iyengar, John J. Evans, Douglas Abrams (2006). “Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom”, p.27, Rodale

  16 Copy quote

  Show source

• Leaders of men are later remembered less for the usefulness of what they have achieved than for the sweep of their endeavors.

  Charles de Gaulle

  Leadership, Men, Endeavor

  Charles de Gaulle (1960). “The Edge of the Sword”, New York : Criterion Books

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• Information is now a commodity that can be bought and sold, or used as a form of entertainment, or worn like a garment to enhance one's status. It comes indiscriminately, directed at no one in particular, disconnected from usefulness; we are glutted with information, drowning in information, have no control over it, don't know what to do with it.

  Neil Postman

  Information, Entertainment, Commodity

  25 Copy quote

• Abstractness, sometimes hurled as a reproach at mathematics, is its chief glory and its surest title to practical usefulness. It is also the source of such beauty as may spring from mathematics.

  Eric Temple Bell

  Beauty, Spring, Math

  "The Development of Mathematics" by Eric Temple Bell, (p. 9), 1940.

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• There is no excellence without labor. One cannot dream oneself into either usefulness or happiness.

  Liberty Hyde Bailey

  Dream, Excellence, Labor

  Liberty Hyde Bailey (1915). “York State Rural Problems”

  11 Copy quote

  Show source

• It is a remarkable honor to receive a Nobel Prize, because it not only recognizes discoveries, but also their usefulness to the advancement of fundamental science.

  Peter Agre

  Discovery, Honor, Advancement

  17 Copy quote

• Promptitude is not only a duty, but is also a part of good manners; it is favorable to fortune, reputation, influence, and usefulness; a little attention and energy will form the habit, so as to make it easy and delightful.

  Charles Simmons

  Good Man, Littles, Energy

  16 Copy quote

• Having only wisdom and talent is the lowest tier of usefulness.

  Yamamoto Tsunetomo

  Martial Arts, Talent, Lowest

  Yamamoto Tsunetomo (2015). “Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai”, p.4, Xist Publishing

  13 Copy quote

  Show source

• Education is the only business still debating the usefulness of technology.

  Rod Paige

  Technology, Stills

  46 Copy quote

• Once renunciation and the awakened mind have been fully realized, the way to Buddhahood is clear. Liberation is complete and such liberated beings are then Bodhisattvas and Buddhas: "enlightened ones," or "empty dwellers." Their usefulness to others both before and after their physical death, is impossible to conceive. They are nothing but useful energy leading to liberation for all beings still caught in conditioned existence.

  Maura O'Halloran

  Mind, Awakening, Way

  8 Copy quote

• From the apparent usefulness of the social virtues, it has readily been inferred by sceptics, both ancient and modern, that all moral distinctions arise from education, and were, at first, invented, and afterwards encouraged ... in order to render men tractable, and subdue their natural ferocity and selfishness, which incapacitated them for society.

  David Hume

  Men, Order, Selfishness

  David Hume (2006). “An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals”, p.48, Cosimo, Inc.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• OLD, adj. In that stage of usefulness which is not inconsistent with general inefficiency, as an "old man". Discredited by lapse of time and offensive to the popular taste, as an "old" book.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Time, Book, Men

  Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Devil's Dictionary”, p.87, Courier Corporation

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• The usefulness of a meeting rises with the square of the number of people present.

  Lane Kirkland

  Numbers, Squares, People

  10 Copy quote

• Our idea of what constitutes social good has advanced with the procession of the ages, from those desperate times when just to keep body and soul together was an achievement, to the great present when "good" includes an agreeable, stable civilization accessible to all, the opportunity of each to develop his particular genius and the privilege of mutual usefulness.

  Frances Perkins

  Opportunity, Civilization, Ideas

  Frances Perkins (1934). “People at work”

  65 Copy quote

  Show source

• Any idol, regardless of its beauty or usefulness or original purpose, is to be set aside so that Christ might reign supreme, without a single competitor.

  Charles R. Swindoll

  Christian, Idols, Religion

  Charles R. Swindoll (1979). “Home, where life makes up its mind”

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.

  Billy Graham

  Discipline, Doe, Blessedness

  Twitter post from Jun 26, 2016

  12 Copy quote

  Show source

• I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God’s purpose is not to perfect me to make me a trophy in His showcase; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He wants.

  Oswald Chambers

  Perfect, Purpose, Use

  Oswald Chambers (2010). “My Utmost for His Highest”, p.693, Discovery House

  5 Copy quote

  Show source