Intuitions and Summaries of Thought
A source page for quotes linked to Christian Nestell Bovee.
“The cure for tender sensibilities is to make more of our objects and less of our selves.”
“Dreamers are half-way men of thought, and men of thought are half-way men of action.”
“It is invidious to distinguish particular men as adventurers: we are all such.”
“Ambitious princes value inherited kingdoms not so much as conquered provinces.”
“An ambition to excel in petty things obstructs the progress to nobler aims.”
“A peculiar work in any art must not be too hastily judged. New styles have to create new tastes.”
“Excellence in art is largely the result of attention to minutiae, and--prayer.”
“Beauty can afford to laugh at distinctions: it is itself the greatest distinction.”
“It is easier to die bravely than to live so.”
“No work deserves to be criticized that has not much in it that deserves to be applauded.”
“The very cunning conceal their cunning; the indifferently shrewd boast of it.”
“A great destiny needs a generous diet.... What can be expected of a people that live on macaroni!”
“Besides the five senses, there is a sixth sense, of equal importance--the sense of duty.”
“It is not the number of facts he knows, but how much of a fact he is himself, that proves the man.”
“We absolve a friend from gratitude when we remind him of a favor.”
“Life being full of harsh realities, we seek relief from them in a variety of pleasing delusions.”