Quotes from David Livingstone

Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give.

May the time come when rich men and great men would think it an honor to support whole stations of missionaries in Africa, instead of spending their money on hounds and horses.

Fear God and work hard.

God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours.

If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.

I will go anywhere, provided it be forward.

All that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine Book.

If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?

There is one safe and happy place, and that is in the will of God.

Nothing earthly will make me give up my work in despair.

I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ.

The best remedy for a sick church is to put it on a missionary diet.

Sympathy is no substitute for action.

I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity.

Christ alone can save the world, but Christ cannot save the world alone.

God had an only Son and He made Him a missionary.

This generation can only reach this generation.

I have found that I have no unusual endowments of intellect, but this day I resolve that I will be an uncommon Christian.

If we have not enough in our religion to share it with all the world, it is doomed here at home.

It is not all pleasure this exploration.

I will go anywhere, provided it is forward.

19th March, 1872.—Birthday. My Jesus, my king, my life, my all; I again dedicate my whole self to Thee. Accept me, and grant, Gracious Father, that ere this year is gone I may finish my task. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen, so let it be.

This is a den of the worst kind of slave-traders; those whom I met in Urungu and Itawa were gentlemen slavers: the Ujiji slavers, like the Kilwa and Portuguese, are the vilest of the vile. It is not a trade, but a system of consecutive murders; they go to plunder and kidnap, and every trading trip is nothing but a foray.

The tusks from India, Ceylon, &c, are smaller in size, partly of an opaque character, and partly translucent (or, as it is technically called "bright"), and harder and more cracked, but those from Siam and the neighbouring countries are very "bright," soft, and fine grained; they are much sought after for carvings and ornamental work. Tusks