“It is thy very energy of thought
Which keeps thee from thy God.”
John Henry Newman (1801–1890) English cleric and cardinal
The Dream of Gerontius http://www.ccel.org/n/newman/gerontius/gerontius.htm, Pt. III (1866).
Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 304.
“It is thy very energy of thought
Which keeps thee from thy God.”
John Henry Newman (1801–1890) English cleric and cardinal
The Dream of Gerontius http://www.ccel.org/n/newman/gerontius/gerontius.htm, Pt. III (1866).
Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) Roman Catholic saint
Source: The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus (c.1565), Ch. XXV. "Divine Locutions. Discussions on That Subject" ¶ 22 & 23
Context: All things fail; but Thou, Lord of all, never failest! They who love Thee, oh, how little they have to suffer! oh, how gently, how tenderly, how sweetly Thou, O my Lord, dealest with them! Oh, that no one had ever been occupied with any other love than Thine! It seems as if Thou didst subject those who love Thee to a severe trial: but it is in order that they may learn, in the depths of that trial, the depths of Thy love. O my God, oh, that I had understanding and learning, and a new language, in order to magnify Thy works, according to the knowledge of them which my soul possesses! Everything fails me, O my Lord; but if Thou wilt not abandon me, I will never fail Thee. Let all the learned rise up against me, — let the whole creation persecute me, — let the evil spirits torment me, — but do Thou, O Lord, fail me not; for I know by experience now the blessedness of that deliverance which Thou dost effect for those who trust only in Thee. In this distress, — for then I had never had a single vision, — these Thy words alone were enough to remove it, and give me perfect peace: "Be not afraid, my daughter: it is I; and I will not abandon thee. Fear not."
It seems to me that, in the state I was in then, many hours would have been necessary to calm me, and that no one could have done it. Yet I found myself, through these words alone, tranquil and strong, courageous and confident, at rest and enlightened; in a moment, my soul seemed changed, and I felt I could maintain against all the world that my prayer was the work of God. Oh, how good is God! how good is our Lord, and how powerful! He gives not counsel only, but relief as well. His words are deeds. O my God! as He strengthens our faith, love grows.
William Morris (1834–1896) author, designer, and craftsman
Love is Enough (1872), Song III: It Grew Up Without Heeding
“Order thyself so, that thy Soul may always be in good estate; whatsoever become of thy body.”
Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher
The Sayings of the Wise (1555)
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author
Of The Works Of God and Man
Meditationes sacræ (1597)
Baldur von Schirach (1907–1974) German Nazi leader convicted of crimes against humanity in the Nuremberg trial
A pledge written by Schirach about Hitler. Quoted in "Hitler Youth: The Hitlerjugend in Peace and War, 1933-1945" by Brenda Ralph Lewis - History - 2000 - Page 57
James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) American poet, critic, editor, and diplomat
Epigram.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) Poet, essayist, physician
The chambered Nautilus; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).