Henry Van Dyke
A peace that depends on fear is nothing but a suppressed war.Collection: Peace
Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.Collection: Thanksgiving
To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind - this is a choice which is possible for all of us; and surely it is a good haven to sail for.Collection: Happiness
What we do belongs to what we are; and what we are is what becomes of us.Collection: Brainy
Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.Collection: Death
What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever.Collection: Death
Genius is talent set on fire by courage.Collection: Courage
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.Collection: Wisdom
A friend is what the heart needs all the time.Collection: Time
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.Collection: Time
Love is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives the longest.Collection: Best
Look around for a place to sow a few seeds.Collection: Wisdom
In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence.Collection: Independence
There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.Collection: Inspirational
Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.Collection: Happiness
Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars.Collection: Chance
There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament.Collection: Great
The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.Collection: Great
Culture is the habit of being pleased with the best and knowing why.Collection: Best
As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.
Half of the secular unrest and dismal, profane sadness of modern society comes from the vain ideas that every man is bound to be a critic for life.
There is only one way to get ready for immortality, and that is to love this life and live it as bravely and faithfully and cheerfully as we can.
Many a treasure besides Ali Baba's is unlocked with a verbal key.
It is with rivers as it is with people: the greatest are not always the most agreeable nor the best to live with.
There are two good rules which ought to be written on every heart - never to believe anything bad about anybody unless you positively know it to be true; never to tell even that unless you feel that it is absolutely necessary, and that God is listening.
Be grateful for the tiny details of your life and make room for unexpected and beautiful blessings.Collection: Beautiful
There is no conflict between the Old and the New; the conflict is between the False and the True.Collection: Truth
Life is an arrow, therefore you must know What mark to aim at, how to use the bow-- Then draw it to the head and let it go!Collection: Life
The strength of your life is measured by the strength of your will.Collection: Life Is
Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.Collection: Inspirational
We measure success by accumulation. The measure is false. The true measure is appreciation. He who loves most has most.Collection: Thank You
A river is the most human and companionable of all inanimate things. It has a life, a character, a voice of its own; and it is as full of good fellowship as a sugar maple is of sap. It can talk in various tones, loud or low, and of many subjects grave and gay.... For real company and friendship there is nothing, outside of the animal kingdom, that is comparable to a river.Collection: Real
It is better to burn the candle at both ends, and in the middle, too, than to put it away in the closet and let the mice eat it.Collection: Ends
Those who would see wonderful things must often be ready to travel alone.Collection: Often Is
And you will remember that love is not getting, but giving; not a wild dream of pleasure, and a madness of desire — oh no, love is not that — it is goodness, and honour, and peace, and pure living — yes, love is that; and it is the best thing in the world, and the thing that lives longest.Collection: Love
Love is not getting, but giving; It is goodness, and honor, and peace and pure living.Collection: Love
Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed.Collection: Courage
A clean and sensitive conscience, a steady and scrupulous integrity in small things as well as large, is the most valuable of all possessions, to a nation as to an individual.Collection: Integrity
The best rose-bush, after all, is not that which has the fewest thorns, but that which bears the finest roses.Collection: Rose
Love is the heart s immortal thirst to be completely known and all forgiven.Collection: Love
Love that leads life upward is the noblest and the best.Collection: Life
The worlds in which we live at heart are one, The world "I am," the fruit of "I have done"; And underneath these worlds of flower and fruit, The world "I love,"--the only living root.Collection: Flower
The kingdom of birds is divided into two departments - birds and House Sparrows. House Sparrows are not real birds - they are little beasts!Collection: Real
The lintel low enough to keep out pomp and pride; The threshold high enough to turn deceit aside; The doorband strong enough from robbers to defend; This door will open at a touch to welcome every friend.Collection: Strong
If all the world were music, Our hearts would often long For one sweet strain of silence. To break the endless song.Collection: Song
The more keenly we are awake to the perils of life, the higher and grander is the possibility of being truly brave.Collection: Courage
Modest egotism is the salt of conversation; you do not want too much of it, but if it is altogether omitted, everything tastes flat.Collection: Want
Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air; And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair; And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study Rome; But when it comes to living, there is no place like home.Collection: Dream
Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you ... to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old ... Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest ting in the world ... stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death... Then you can keep Christmas! But you can never keep it alone.Collection: Christmas