Mediocrity is the companion of passivity and will not heed the call of great things. Courage is the companion of sacrifice and cannot help but heed the call of great things. And we are left of our own accord to choose one or the other.
I know that an author must be brave enough to chop away clinging tentacles of good taste for the sake of a great work. But this is no great work, you see.
We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading. Knowing the contents of a few works of literature is a trivial achievement. Being inclined to go on reading is a great achievement.
Those who suffer great adversity and sorrow and go on to serve their fellowmen develop a great capacity to understand others. Like the prophets, they have acquired a higher understanding of the mind and will of Christ.
Good sense travels on the well-worn paths; genius, never. And that is why the crowd, not altogether without reason, is so ready to treat great men as lunatics.
[633 on the previous owner of his restaurant] Cop663: He has great business sense. First he sold me fish and chips, then the whole thing.
Melvin B. Tolson: We're holding tryouts for the debate team. Henry Lowe: You sure you want somebody like me? Melvin B. Tolson: No. That's why you're trying out.
Ramsey: [in the first meeting with Von Luger is informed of the large amount of resources being used to guard the prisoners] Well, it's rather nice to know that you're wanted.
Dumbledore: It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.
Mirage: The supers are not gone, Mr. Incredible. You're still here. You can still do great things. Or... you can listen to police scanners. Your choice.
Smalls: Oh yeah, the Great Bambino. Of course! I thought you said the Great Bambi. Ham Porter: That wimpy deer? Smalls: Yeah, I guess. Sorry.
It takes great courage when you are suffering to see beyond your suffering to the clear relations between things, to the laws that cause and govern your suffering; it takes great courage to be ruthless with one's griefs.
There is not a great difference between a man and a tree. Both are created by God; both are originated from a seed; both grow and both have intention to serve the Universe. So is there a great difference between a man and a tree?
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
War is sweet to those who have never fought.
Every empire grow until its reach exceeds its grasp
He had conquered murder only to be faced with war. There were no laws for that.
You couldn’t live close to war and not have it grab you eventually.
Do not pollute my perfectly acceptable figurative speech with irrelevant facts!
One bachelor is an irritation. Ten thousand bachelors are a war.
So the whole war is because we can't talk to each other.
