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Christian Nestell Bovee

Christian Nestell Bovee Quotes

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Christian Nestell Bovee was an American writer, philosopher, and theologian known for his works in moral philosophy, religion, and literary criticism.

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Famous Christian Nestell Bovee Quotes

“Nothing is so fragile as thought in its infancy; an interruption breaks it: nothing is so powerful, even to overturning empires, when it reaches its maturity.”

Powerful Break Maturity Empires Fragile Infancy Interruptions

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Sorrow is never more sorrowful than when it jests at its own misery.”

Sorrow Misery Sorrowful

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“There are none so low but they have their triumphs. Small successes suffice for small souls.”

Soul Lows Triumph Small Successes

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“He has but one great fear that fears to do wrong.”

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“The first step toward greatness is to be honest, says the proverb; but the proverb fails to state the case strong enough. Honesty is not only "the first step toward greatness," - it is greatness itself.”

Firsts States Enough Strong Steps Cases Failing Honest Honesty Greatness Being Honest First Steps Strong Enough

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Four sweet lips, two pure souls, and one undying affection, - these are love's pretty ingredients for a kiss.”

Two Soul Four Sweet Pure Kissing Lips Affection Ingredients Pure Soul

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Melancholy sees the worst of things, things as they may be, and not as they are. It looks upon a beautiful face, and sees but a grinning skull.”

Looks May Beautiful Faces Worst Look Up Melancholy Skulls Grinning Beautiful Face

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“"There is nothing," says a correspondent of the New York Times, "which the business world discards as unpractical and useless so much as the quiet, thinking scholar. But this is the man who makes revolutions. Politicians are mere puppets in the hands of men of thought.”

Thinking Men World Hands New York He Man Revolution Politician Quiet Mere Useless Scholar New York Times Puppets Business World

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“There is, indeed, no wild beast more to be dreaded than a communicative man having nothing to communicate.”

Men Communicate Beast Wild Beasts

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“The scope of an intellect is not to be measured with a tape-string, or a character deciphered from the shape or length of a nose.”

Character Shapes Intellect Noses Length Strings Tape Scope Physiognomy

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“The great obstacle to progress is prejudice”

Progress Prejudice Obstacles

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“Patience is only one faculty; earnestness the devotion of all the faculties. Earnestness is the cause of patience; it gives endurance, overcomes pain, strengthens weakness, braves dangers, sustains hope, makes light of difficulties, and lessens the sense of weariness in overcoming them.”

Giving Light Pain Causes Danger Weakness Overcoming Difficulty Brave Devotion Endurance Faculty Weariness Earnestness Overcoming Pain

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“A better principle than this, that "the majority shall rule," is this other, that justice shall rule. "Justice," says the code of Justinian, "is the constant and perpetual desire to render every man his due.”

Men Desire Justice Principles Majority Constant Dues Every Man Code Perpetual Justinian

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“Hunting is a relic of the barbarism that once thirsted for human blood, but is now content with the blood of animals.”

Humans Animal Blood Hunting Barbarism Relics

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Vanity in an old man is charming. It is a proof of an open, nature. Eighty winters have not frozen him up, or taught him concealments. In a young person it is simply allowable; we do not expect him to be above it.”

Men Persons Age Young Taught Winter Proof Vanity Old Man Charming Frozen Eighty Concealment

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“I once asked a distinguished artist what place he gave to labor in art. "Labor," he in effect said, "is the beginning, the middle, and the end of art." Turning then to another--"And you," I inquired, "what do you consider as the great force in art?" "Love," he replied. In their two answers I found but one truth.”

Art Said Two Ends Artist Found Force Answers Middle Effects Labor Distinguished Art Love

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“Constant companionship is not enjoyable, any more than constant eating. We sit too long at the table of friendship, when we outsit our appetites for each other's thoughts.”

Long Eating Tables Constant Appetite Companionship Enjoyable

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“There are some kinds of men who cannot pass their time alone; they are the flails of occupied people.(Bonald, M.} There are few wild beasts more to be dreaded than a communicative man having nothing to communicate.”

People Men Kind Communicate Beast Bores Me Alone Alone Time Wild Beasts

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“There are ceremonious bows that repel one like a cudgel.”

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Cheerfulness is an offshoot of goodness and of wisdom.”

Goodness Cheerfulness

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Rejecting the miracles of Christ, we still have the miracle of Christ Himself.”

Stills Christ Miracle Rejecting

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“It may almost be held that the hope of commercial gain has done nearly as much for the cause of truth as even the love of truth.”

May Done Causes Gains Commerce

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Complaint is. more contemptible than pitiful.”

Complaining Complaints Pitiful

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Dignity of position adds to dignity of character, as well as to dignity of carriage. Give us a proud position, and we are impelled to act up to it.”

Giving Wells Character Position Proud Dignity Add Carriages

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“It is of very little use in trying to be dignified, if dignity is no part of your character.”

Ifs Trying Littles Character Use Dignity

Book:Summaries of Thought

Source: Summaries of Thought

“Can that which is the greatest virtue in philosophy, doubt (called by Galileo the father of invention), be in religion what the priests term it, the greatest of sins?”

Philosophy Father Term Sin Virtue Doubt Invention Priests

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Earnestness is the devotion of all the faculties.”

Devotion Faculty Earnestness

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Kindred weaknesses induce friendships as often as kindred virtues.”

Friendship Virtue Weakness Kindred

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Truth comes to us from the past, as gold is washed down from the mountains of Sierra Nevada, in minute but precious particles, and intermixed with infinite alloy, the debris of the centuries.”

Past History Minutes Century Mountain Gold Infinite Particles Sierra Debris Nevada

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Hope is the best part of our riches. What sufficeth it that we have the wealth of the Indies in our pockets, if we have not the hope of heaven in our souls?”

Ifs Soul Hope Heaven Wealth Riches Pockets

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“Some one called Sir Richard Steele the "vilest of mankind," and he retorted with proud humility, "It would be a glorious world if I were.”

Ifs World Would Be Mankind Humility Proud Glorious

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“No single character is ever so great that a nation can afford to form itself upon it. Imitation belittles. This appears in the instance of the Chinese. The Chinese are so many Confucii; in miniature. And so with the Jews. Moses, the lawgiver, is poorly represented by Moses, the old clothesman ; or even by Dives, the hanker.”

Character Form Nations Jew Instance Chinese Imitation Moses Belittle Miniatures

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“The lively and mercurial are as open books, with the leaves turned down at the notable passages. Their souls sit at the windows of their eyes, seeing and to be seen.”

Book Soul Eye Seeing Window Passages Notable Lively Turned Down Open Book Levity

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“The selection of a subject is to the author what choice of position is to the general,--once skilfully determined, the battle is already half won. Of a few writers it may be said that they are popular in despite of their subjects--but of a great many more it may be observed that they are popular because of them.”

May Said Choices Literature Half Subjects Position Battle Determined Despite Great Men Selection

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“Justice, not the majority, should rule.”

Should Justice Majority

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Merit is never so conspicuous as when coupled with an obscure origin, just as the moon never appears so lustrous as when it emerges from a cloud.”

Moon Clouds Merit Obscure

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“The best evidence of merit is a cordial recognition of it whenever and wherever it may be found.”

May Found Evidence Recognition Merit

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“The opinions of the misanthropical rest upon this very partial basis, that they adopt the bad faith of a few as evidence of the worthlessness of all.”

Opinion Evidence Bases Misanthropy Worthlessness

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“There is a German proverb which says that Take-it-Easy and Live-Long are brothers.”

Long Easy Brother Moderation Take It Easy

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Adhesion to one idea is monomania; to few, slavery.”

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Motives are better than actions. Men drift into crime. Of evil they do more than they contemplate, and of good they contemplate more than they do.”

Men Action Evil Crime Motive Contemplating

Book:Summaries of Thought

Source: Summaries of Thought

“Pure motives do not insure perfect results.”

Perfect Results Pure Motive

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“The language of the heart--the language which "comes from the heart" and "goes to the heart"--is always simple, always graceful, and always full of power, but no art of rhetoric can teach it. It is at once the easiest and most difficult language--difficult, since it needs a heart to speak it; easy, because its periods though rounded and full of harmony, are still unstudied.”

Needs Heart Art Stills Speak Language Easy Difficult Simple Teach Periods Harmony Rhetoric Oratory

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“The past is the sepulchre of our dead emotions.”

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“How like a railway tunnel is the poor man's life, with the light of childhood at one end, the intermediate gloom, and only the glimmer of a future life at the other extremity!”

Men Ends Light Poor Poverty Childhood Tunnels Gloom Poor Man Railway Future Life Extremity

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“The extent of poverty in the world is much exaggerated. Our sensitiveness makes half our poverty; our fears--anxieties for ills that never happen--a greater part of the other half.”

World Happens Half Poverty Greater Anxiety Other Half Exaggerated

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“Even when we fancy we have grown wiser, it is only, it may be, that new prejudices have displaced old ones.”

May Prejudice Fancy Wiser

Book:Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

Source: Intuitions and Summaries of Thought

“Tis but a short journey across the isthmus of Now.”

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Intellectually, as politically, the direction of all true progress is towards greater freedom, and along an endless succession of ideas.”

Ideas Greater Progress Endless Succession

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

“Genuine religion is matter of feeling rather than matter of opinion.”

Matter Feelings Religion Opinion Genuine

Author:Christian Nestell Bovee

About the Author

Born: February 22, 1820
Died: 1904
Known for: Author
Quotes: 314

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Intuitions and Summaries of ThoughtRelated source material

Summaries of ThoughtRelated source material

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