The people who are absent are the ideal; those who are present seem to be quite commonplace.
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheSome men can live up to their loftiest ideals without ever going higher than a basement.
Theodore RooseveltThe ideal project does not exist, each time there is the opportunity to realize an approximation.
LifeThe young habitually mistake lust for love, they're infested with idealism of all kinds.
The Blind Assassin