~Bona Vita~ » quotes

Saturday Inspiration

Emily — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:11:01 +0000

“It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Saturday Inspiration

Emily — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:50:07 +0000

“It is an uneasy lot at best, to be what we call highly taught and yet not to enjoy: to be present at this great spectacle of life and never to be liberated from a small hungry shivering self–never to be fully possessed by the glory we behold, never to have our consciousness rapturously transformed into the vividness of a thought, the ardor of a passion, the energy of an action, but always to be scholarly and uninspired, ambitious and timid, scrupulous and dim-sighted.”

- George Eliot, Middlemarch

Sunday Inspiration

Emily — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:20:59 +0000

“All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Saturday Inspiration

momofnine — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:34:17 +0000

“In a world full of sophistry and propaganda, we want to protect the rising generation from being deceived, to forearm them against the invitations to false sentiment and muddled thinking which printed words will so often offer them.

Unfortunately, the very same habit which makes them impervious to the bad writing may make them impervious also to the good. . . . We must risk being taken in, if we are to get anything.

The best safeguard against bad literature is a full experience of good; just as a real and affectionate acquaintance with honest people gives a better protection against rogues than a habitual distrust of everyone.”

- C. S. Lewis, Experiment in Criticism

Saturday Inspiration

momofnine — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:48:37 +0000

“We thought that, perhaps,” said I, hesitating, “it is right to begin with the obligations of home, sir; and that, perhaps, while those are overlooked and neglected, no other duties can possibly be substituted for them.”

- Bleak House by Charles Dickens

God Bless America

momofnine — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:52:27 +0000

Enjoy this 4th of July as you celebrate our nation’s independence and remember the blood that was shed for our freedom.

“Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.” – Ronald Reagan

“The basis of a democratic state is liberty.” – Aristotle

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin

“The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.” – Woodrow Wilson

“I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.” – Patrick Henry

“America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.” – Dinesh D’Souza

“Liberty is worth paying for . . . ” – Jules Verne

“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.” – John Adams