Also, many (perhaps most) of these quotations were written when the words "man" or "men" or "he" or "him" routinely were used to refer both to females and males, a practice known as "the generic male". Rather than change the original wording, I rely on your intelligence to recognize when these male references are meant to include all people.
He who knows, doubts;
He who knows not, believes.
The philosopher is the pessimist;
The fool is the optimist.
The dreamer is stoned;
The tyrant is applauded --
Thus it is in life.
The youth fears that he will regret;
The old man regrets he feared.
The maiden dreams of the godlike lover;
The matron finds him -- Death.
Humanity has its cities
Where men go to live -- but die;
Nature has its deserts
Where men go to die -- but live;
Life is a paradox.
--Arthur Flakoll (1897-1987)
published in Anthony Wons, Editor. Tony's Scrap Book: 1932-33 Edition.
Chicago: Reilly & Lee Company, 1932, p.52
The man who wants to write Good English will, ultimately, write good
English, and his work will have the supreme merit of being rare.
So this mighty Alma Mater of Oxford does well not to teach the
preservation of unsplit infinitives. She teaches you how to teach
yourself, and that is all, and all is everything, and there is
nothing more.
--Frederick Rolfe [Baron Corvo](1860-1913)
Letter to unknown friend, quoted in A.J.A. Symons. The Quest for Corvo. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1955, p.173
Hurry the baby as fast as you can,
Hurry him, worry him, make him a man.
Off with his baby clothes, get him in pants,
Feed him on brain foods and make him advance.
Hustle him, soon as he's able to walk,
Into a grammar school; cram him with talk.
Fill his poor head full of figures and facts,
Keep on a-jamming them in till it cracks.
Once boys grew up at a rational rate,
Now we develop a man while you wait,
Rush him through college, compel him to grab
Of every known subject a dip and a dab.
Get him in business and after the cash,
All by the time he can grow a mustache.
Let him forget he was ever a boy,
Make gold his god and its jingle his joy.
Keep him a-hustling and clear out of breath,
Until he wins -- nervous prostration and death.
--Nixon Waterman (1859-1944)
I do not choose to be a common man. It is my
right to be uncommon. I seek opportunity to
develop whatever talents God gave me . . . not
security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen,
humbled and dulled by having the state look after
me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream
and to build; to fail and to succeed. I refuse to
barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges
of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of
fulfillment to the stable calm of utopia. I will not
trade freedom for beneficience nor my dignity for a
handout. I will never cower before any earthly
master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to
stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act
myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations, and to
face the world boldly and say, - - - "This, with
God's help, I have done!" All this is what it means
to be an American.
--Dean Alfange (1897-1989)
We are men in the making.
We are small, but tomorrow we will move the world.
We will be true to the things of today, and the great things will
follow, as surely as the sun crosses the sky.
We will keep clean, we will be honest and loyal, because there are
those who trust us.
We will prepare for the tasks ahead.
We will study patiently and faithfully. Within the walls of our
classrooms we will weave threads of knowledge into the pattern
of our destinies. From deep within us we will forge the faith
that may someday shine with beauty and usefulness in the darkened
byways of time.
Because of the skill that we capture now, a train, a ship, an airliner
may come into being and reach safe harbor guided by hands grown strong.
There are bridges to build, and we will build them. There are homes
to make, and we will light their windows. There are those who suffer,
and we will ease their sorrow. There is a God to find, and we will
seek Him with all the power of our hearts and minds.
Like the seedling that finds root in the wind and rain, we will grow
sturdy until our arms reach out into the skies.
We are the men of tomorrow.
--Lt. Wilfrid Dellquest
Mt Lowe Military Academy, Altadena, California
"Boys' Creed" was copyrighted on 22 December 1944,
renewed 22 January 1972
Go not too near a House of Rose--
The depredation of a Breeze--
Or inundation of a Dew
Alarms its walls away--
Nor try to tie the Butterfly,
Nor climb the Bars of Ecstasy,
In insecurity to lie
Is Joy's insuring quality.
--Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
(poem No.1434)
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
For it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
--often attributed to St Francis of Assisi (c.1182-1226)
first appeared in print (French) in La Clochette, 1912;
first appearance in English was in the Quaker magazine,
Friends' Intelligencer (1929), where it was attributed to St Francis
used in the YMCA Gold Rag study guide
If you will tell me why the fen
appears impassable, I then
will tell you why I think that I
can get across it if I try.
--Marianne Moore (1887-1972)
"I May, I Might, I Must", 1909, in O To Be a Dragon.
New York: Viking Press, 1959
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
--The Rotary Club
O glaube: Du wardst nicht umsonst geboren!
Hast nicht umsonst gelebt, gelitten!
. . .
Was entstanden ist, das muß vergehen!
Was vergangen, auferstehen!
Hör auf zu beben!
Bereite dich zu leben!
. . .
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen,
Werd ich entschweben!
Sterben werd' ich, um zu leben!
Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n wirst du,
Mein Herz, in einem Nu!
Was du geschlagen,
Zu Gott wird es dich tragen!
Oh believe: you were not born in vain!
You have not lived, nor suffered in vain!
. . .
What has come into being must pass away!
What is gone must rise again!
Stop trembling!
Prepare yourself to live!
. . .
With wings that I have gained
I shall soar!
I shall die to live!
Rise, yes, you shall rise again,
my heart, in a moment!
What you have struggled for
[lit: What has struck you, beaten you down]
will take you to God!
--Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Fifth (final) Movement, Langsam. Misterioso, Symphony II (1895)
English is a hybrid version of several translations provided in
various concert programmes, including those by Deryck Cooke,
Salvador Pila, Lionel Salter and William Mann