“We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan,
Our statures touch the skies.
The heroism we recite
Would be a daily thing,
Did not ourselves the cubits warp
For fear to be a king.”
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Emily Dickinson187
American poet 1830–1886Related quotes
Daniel Defoe La vie et les aventures de Robinson Crusoe
Source: Robinson Crusoe (1719), Ch. 10, Tames Goats.
Julian of Norwich book Revelations of Divine Love
Summations, Chapter 61
Source: Revelations of Divine Love
Context: If we never fell, we should not know how feeble and how wretched we are of our self, and also we should not fully know that marvellous love of our Maker. For we shall see verily in heaven, without end, that we have grievously sinned in this life, and notwithstanding this, we shall see that we were never hurt in His love, we were never the less of price in His sight. And by the assay of this falling we shall have an high, marvellous knowing of love in God, without end. For strong and marvellous is that love which may not, nor will not, be broken for trespass.
“If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American inventor and businessman
As quoted in Motivating Humans : Goals, Emotions, and Personal Agency Beliefs (1992) by Martin E. Ford, p. 17.
Date unknown
Variant: If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.
Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) British theologian and author
an epithet characteristic of the silver age of Hebrew literature and of our Anglican Prayer Book, but never once used as an epithet of God by Him who knew Him as He is. By way of compensation, we must lay far more stress on "Wise" and "Good."
Paradosis : Or "In the Night in Which He Was (?) Betrayed" (1904), "Introduction : Paradosis or Delivering Up the Soul", p. 7
Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) American psychologist
Attributed to Maslow by Toni Galardi in The LifeQuake Phenomenon: How to Thrive (Not Just Survive) in Times of Personal and Global Upheaval (2009). Also to be found in other self-help books and on many quotes sites, but always without citation.
Quotes attributed to Abraham Maslow
Horace Bushnell (1802–1876) American theologian
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 237.