“Strong men are made by opposition; like kites they go up against the wind.”

“A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind. Even a head wind is better than none. No man ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm.”

Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic

“As strong, as deep, as wide as is the sea,
Though by the wind made restless as the wind,
By billows fretted and by rocks confined,
So strong, so deep, so wide my love for thee.”

Francis William Bourdillon (1852–1921) British poet

“Other men are strong like bricks - firm, unyielding, but if you pound on them long enough, they crack. You… you're strong like the wind. Always there, so willing to bend, but never apologetic for the times when you must be firm.”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

“A strong argument for the religion of Christ is this — that offences against Charity are about the only ones which men on their death-beds can be made, not to understand, but to feel, as crime.”

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) American author, poet, editor and literary critic

“When everything seem to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it….”

Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist

“Sometimes it feels like I'm thinking against the wind.”

Mortimer J. Adler (1902–2001) American philosopher and educator

“There is a certain callousness in families like mine. They put up strong barriers so as not to see the misery in the world outside and I rebelled against it.”

Baba Amte (1914–2008) Indian freedom fighter, social worker

“In battles, when the armies are in confrontation, attack the enemy's strong points and, when you see that they are beaten back, quickly separate and attack yet another strong point on the periphery of his force. The spirit of this is like a winding mountain path.
This is an important fighting method for one man against many. Strike down the enemies in one quarter, or drive them back, then grasp the timing and attack further strong points to right and left, as if on a winding mountain path, weighing up the enemies' disposition. When you know the enemies' level, attack strongly with no trace of retreating spirit.”

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) Japanese martial artist, writer, artist

“Laura felt a warmth inside her. It was very small, but it was strong. It was steady, like a tiny light in the dark, and it burned very low but no winds could make it flicker because it would not give up.”

Laura Ingalls Wilder book The Long Winter