Quotes About Action

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around. Nothing can be more useful to a man than the determination not to be hurried.

Never trust any thought arrived at sitting down.

Quanto ad adottare le soluzioni offerte dallo Stato per portare rimedio al male - io, quelle soluzioni, non le conosco: richiedono troppo tempo e un uomo morirebbe prima di riuscire a metterle in atto. Ho altre cose cui badare. Venni al mondo non principalmente per trasformarlo in un luogo buono dove vivere ma per vivervi, buono o cattivo che fosse. Un uomo non deve fare tutto, ma qualche cosa; e poiché tutto non lo può fare, non è necessario che faccia qualcosa di sbagliato.

For if the truth were known, Love cannot speak, But only thinks and does; Though surely out 'twill leak Without the help of Greek, Or any tongue.

If you are cheated out of a single dollar by your neighbor, you do not rest satisfied with knowing that you are cheated, or with saying that you are cheated, or even with petitioning him to pay you your due; but you take effectual steps at once to obtain the full amount, and see that you are never cheated again.

It is not a man's duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous, wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support. If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man's shoulders.

There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.

Si tenéis alguna empresa ante vosotros, tratad de hacerla con las ropas viejas. A los hombres les hace falta, no algo con lo que hacer, sino algo que hacer, o mejor, algo que ser. Tal vez no deberíamos procurarnos un traje nuevo, por harapiento y sucio que esté el viejo, hasta no habernos conducido, empeñado o embarcado de tal modo que podamos sentirnos hombres nuevos en el viejo.

Cuán vano es sentarse a escribir cuando aún no te has parado para vivir.

La seule obligation que j'aie le droit d'adopter, c'est d'agir à tout moment selon ce qui me paraît juste.

As for adopting the ways which the State has provided for remedying the evil, I know not of such ways. They take too much time, and a man's life will be gone. I have other affairs to attend to. I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not everything to do, but something; and because he cannot do everything, it is not necessary that he should do something wrong.

Si vous voulez convaincre un homme qu'il agit mal, agissez bien. Mais ne vous souciez pas de le convaincre. Les hommes croient ce qu'ils voient. Alors, donnez-leur à voir.

It would surpass the powers of a well man nowadays to take up his bed and walk, and I should certainly advise a sick one to lay down his bed and run.

I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.

Même lorsque vous votez pour la justice, vous ne faites rien pour elle. Vous ne faites qu'exprimer faiblement aux hommes votre désir de la voir l'emporter. Le sage ne doit pas laisser la justice à la merci du hasard ni souhaiter qu'elle l'emporte grâce au pouvoir de la la majorité. P.13

Même lorsque vous votez pour la justice, vous ne faites rien pour elle. Vous ne faites qu'exprimer faiblement aux hommes votre désir de la voir l'emporter. Le sage ne doit pas laisser la justice à la merci du hasard ni souhaiter qu'elle l'emporte grâce au pouvoir de la majorité. P.13

So here we are moving toward the exit of the twentieth century with a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a tail light behind other community agencies rather than a headlight leading men to higher levels of justice.

All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be. Perhaps we should never procure a new suit, however ragged or dirty the old, until we have so conducted, so enterprised or sailed in some way, that we feel like new men in the old, and that to retain it would be like keeping new wine in old bottles.

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of too much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.

All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or something to be.

Il solo obbligo che ho il diritto di assumermi è di fare in ogni momento quello che penso sia giusto fare.

Action from principle, the perception and the performance of right, changes things and relations; it is essentially revolutionary, and does not consist wholly with anything which was.

To act collectively is according to the spirit of our institutions; and I am confident that, as our circumstances are more flourishing, our means are greater than the nobleman's.

Ä°lkeli eylemler, hakk?n idraki ve icras?, ÅŸeyleri ve iliÅŸkileri deÄŸiÅŸtirir; bu da özünde devrimci bir davran??t?r ve yaln?zca geçmiÅŸte de devrimci olan ÅŸeylerden ibaret deÄŸildir. Devletleri ve kiliseleri bölmekle kalmaz, aileleri de böler; evet, içindeki ÅŸeytani yan? kutsal olandan ay?rarak bireyi de böler.