Quotes from Henry Ward Beecher

Selfishness is that detestable vice which no one will forgive in others, and no one is without in himself.

The blossom cannot tell what becomes of its odor; and no man can tell what becomes of his influence.

It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Worry is rust upon the blade.

It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more upon a man than he can bear. Worry is the rust upon the blade. It is not the revolution which destroys the machinery but the friction. Fear secretes acids; but love and trust are sweet juices

Expedients are for the hour, but principles are for the ages.

Heaven will be inherited by every man who has heaven in his soul.

All words are pegs to hang ideas on.

Laughter is not a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is the best ending for one.

Sorrow makes men sincere.

In this world it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.

Defeat is a school in which truth always grows strong.

Rain! whose soft architectural hands have power to cut stones, and chisel to shapes of grandeur the very mountains.

Mirth is the sweet wine of human life. It should be offered sparkling with zestful life unto God.

Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things.

It is not merely cruelty that leads men to love war, it is excitement

Free speech is to a great people what winds are to oceans and malarial regions, which waft away the germs of disease, and bring new elements of health.

Expedients are for an hour, but principles are for the ages.Just because the rains descend, and the winds blow, we cannot afford to build on the shifting sands.

A person without a sense of humour is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.

There is no faculty of the human soul so persistent and universal as that of hatred.

Nothing dies so hard, or rallies so often as intolerance.

The soul is often hungrier than the body and no shop can sell it food.

Remember God's bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!

It is one of the worst effects of prosperity to make a man a vortex instead of a fountain; so that, instead of throwing out, he learns only to draw in.

Humor is, however, nearer right than any emotion we have. Humor is the atmosphere in which grace most flourishes.