18 quotes
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.
Optimism (1903)
Only by contact with evil could I have learned to feel by contrast the beauty of truth and love and goodness.
Optimism (1903)
The growth of philosophy is the story of man's spiritual life.
Optimism (1903)
If it be true that optimism compels the world forward, and pessimism retards it, then it is dangerous to propagate a pessimistic philosophy.
Optimism (1903)
The test of all beliefs is their practical effect in life.
Optimism (1903)
No pessimist ever won an audience commensurately wide with his genius.
Optimism (1903)
Optimism is the harmony between man's spirit and the spirit of God pronouncing His works good.
Optimism (1903)
It is a mistake always to contemplate the good and ignore the evil, because by making people neglectful it lets in disaster. There is a dangerous optimism of ignorance and indifference.
Optimism (1903)
Tolerance is the first principle of community; it is the spirit which conserves the best that all men think.
Optimism (1903)
No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right.
Optimism (1903)
To know the history of philosophy is to know that the highest thinkers of the ages, the seers of the tribes and the nations, have been optimists. The growth of philosophy is the story of man's spiritual life.
Optimism (1903)
I have found out that though the ways in which I can make myself useful are few, yet the work open to me is endless.
Optimism (1903)
I trust, and nothing that happens disturbs my trust.
Optimism (1903)
I demand that the world be good, and lo, it obeys. I proclaim the world good, and facts range themselves to prove my proclamation overwhelmingly true.
Optimism (1903)
Optimism, then, is a fact within my own heart. But as I look out upon life, my heart meets no contradiction. The outward world justifies my inward universe of good.
Optimism (1903)
Who shall dare let his incapacity for hope or goodness cast a shadow upon the courage of those who bear their burdens as if they were privileges?
Optimism (1903)
I see the clouds part slowly, and I hear a cry of protest against the bigot. The restraining hand of tolerance is laid upon the inquisitor, and the humanist utters a message of peace to the persecuted. Instead of the cry, "Burn the heretic!" men study the human soul with sympathy, and there enters into their hearts a new reverence for that which is unseen.
Optimism (1903)
Every optimist moves along with progress and hastens it, while every pessimist would keep the world at a standstill. The consequence of pessimism in the life of a nation is the same as in the life of the individual. Pessimism kills the instinct that urges men to struggle against poverty, ignorance and crime, and dries up all the fountains of joy in the world.
Optimism (1903)