Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 220
Source: The Freedom of a Christian (1520), pp. 73-74
Source: On the Bondage of the Will (1525), p. 313-314
Source: Faith vs. Fact (2015), pp. 83-84
Muhammad Kulayni, Usūl al-Kāfī, vol.2, p. 124
Alhazen, quoted in “Muslim Journeys.” Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2013. Also in Ibn al-Haytham Brief life of an Arab mathematician: died circa 1040 (September-October 2003) http://harvardmagazine.com/2003/09/ibn-al-haytham-html
Source: The Freedom of a Christian (1520), pp. 75-76
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 142.
"Recipe of life" video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7iPACdA1HQ
Interview with David Frost (1974)
Journal of Discourses 13:143 (July 11, 1869)
1860s
Interview, 1991 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuJL8fKtTj8
Note to Stanza 29 part 8
Spiritual Canticle of The Soul and The Bridegroom, Notes to the Stanzas
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 227.
As quoted in God’s Laughter (1992) by Gerhard Staguhn, p. 152
XI. Language, Confusion, and Jam. p. 193
The Human Use of Human Beings (1950)
God and the State (1871; publ. 1882)
Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'Uqul, p. 432.
Religious Wisdom
Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose in Vijayaprasara
This quotation is often found on the internet attributed to Magellan, but never with a source, and no English occurrence prior to its use by Robert Green Ingersoll in his essay "Individuality" http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/individuality.html (1873) has been located. Thus, it it most likely spurious. In that essay Ingersoll states:
It is a blessed thing that in every age some one has had individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions, — some one who had the grandeur to say his say. I believe it was Magellan who said, "The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence even in a shadow than in the church." On the prow of his ship were disobedience, defiance, scorn, and success.
Disputed
Variant: The Church says that the Earth is Flat, but I know that it is Round. For I have seen its Shadow on the Moon and I have more Faith in a Shadow than in the Church.
Source: As quoted in Oxford Academic (25 July 2013) http://oupacademic.tumblr.com/post/56463634957/misquotation-i-have-seen-the-shadow-of-the-earth
§ 228
The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)
Wanted, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
God and the State (1871; publ. 1882)
Context: Does it follow that I reject all authority? Far from me such a thought. In the matter of boots, I refer to the authority of the bootmaker; concerning houses, canals, or railroads, I consult that of the architect or engineer. For such or such special knowledge I apply to such or such a savant. But I allow neither the bootmaker nor the architect nor the savant to impose his authority upon me. I listen to them freely and with all the respect merited by their intelligence, their character, their knowledge, reserving always my incontestable right of criticism and censure. I do not content myself with consulting authority in any special branch; I consult several; I compare their opinions, and choose that which seems to me the soundest. But I recognize no infallible authority, even in special questions; consequently, whatever respect I may have for the honesty and the sincerity of such or such an individual, I have no absolute faith in any person. Such a faith would be fatal to my reason, to my liberty, and even to the success of my undertakings; it would immediately transform me into a stupid slave, an instrument of the will and interests of others.
“And now abideth faith, hope, money, these three; but the greatest of these is money.”
opening lines, I Corinthians xiii (adapted)
Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936)
Context: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not money, I am become as a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not money, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not money, it profiteth me nothing. Money suffereth long, and is kind; money envieth not; money vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. … And now abideth faith, hope, money, these three; but the greatest of these is money.
Source: The Two Sources of Morality and Religion (1932), Chapter III : Dynamic Religion
Context: Religion is to mysticism what popularization is to science. What the mystic finds waiting for him, then, is a humanity which has been prepared to listen to his message by other mystics invisible and present in the religion which is actually taught. Indeed his mysticism itself is imbued with this religion, for such was its starting point. His theology will generally conform to that of the theologians. His intelligence and his imagination will use the teachings of the theologians to express in words what he experiences, and in material images what he sees spiritually. And this he can do easily, since theology has tapped that very current whose source is the mystical. Thus his mysticism is served by religion, against the day when religion becomes enriched by his mysticism. This explains the primary mission which he feels to be entrusted to him, that of an intensifier of religious faith.
“Islam does not mean mere faith, but faith plus deeds”
Nahj al-Balagha
Context: I define Islam for you in a way that nobody dared do it before me. Islam means obedience to Allah, obedience to Allah means having sincere faith in Him, such a faith means to believe in His Power, belief in His Power means recognizing and accepting His Majesty, acceptance of His Majesty means fulfilling the obligations laid down by Him and fulfillment of obligations means actions (Therefore, Islam does not mean mere faith, but faith plus deeds).
A part of this passage appeared in The Best Loved Poems of the American People (1936) with the title "Friendship":
A Life for a Life (1859)
Context: Thus ended our little talk: yet it left a pleasant impression. True, the subject was strange enough; my sisters might have been shocked at it; and at my freedom in asking and giving opinions. But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.
Somebody must have done a good deal of the winnowing business this afternoon; for in the course of it I gave him as much nonsense as any reasonable man could stand...
Cabal of the Cheval Pegasus (1585)
Context: The fools of the world have been those who have established religions, ceremonies, laws, faith, rule of life. The greatest asses of the world are those who, lacking all understanding and instruction, and void of all civil life and custom, rot in perpetual pedantry; those who by the grace of heaven would reform obscure and corrupted faith, salve the cruelties of perverted religion and remove abuse of superstitions, mending the rents in their vesture. It is not they who indulge impious curiosity or who are ever seeking the secrets of nature, and reckoning the courses of the stars. Observe whether they have been busy with the secret causes of things, or if they have condoned the destruction of kingdoms, the dispersion of peoples, fires, blood, ruin or extermination; whether they seek the destruction of the whole world that it may belong to them: in order that the poor soul may be saved, that an edifice may be raised in heaven, that treasure may be laid up in that blessed land, caring naught for fame, profit or glory in this frail and uncertain life, but only for that other most certain and eternal life.
Personal correspondence (1839), as quoted in Dostoevsky: His Life and Work (1971) by Konstantin Mochulski, as translated by Michael A. Minihan, p. 17
Context: To study the meaning of man and of life — I am making significant progress here. I have faith in myself. Man is a mystery: if you spend your entire life trying to puzzle it out, then do not say that you have wasted your time. I occupy myself with this mystery, because I want to be a man.
"Reflections on Gandhi" (1949)
Context: I could see even then that the British officials who spoke of him with a mixture of amusement and disapproval also genuinely liked and admired him, after a fashion. Nobody ever suggested that he was corrupt, or ambitious in any vulgar way, or that anything he did was actuated by fear or malice. In judging a man like Gandhi one seems instinctively to apply high standards, so that some of his virtues have passed almost unnoticed. For instance, it is clear even from the autobiography that his natural physical courage was quite outstanding: the manner of his death was a later illustration of this, for a public man who attached any value to his own skin would have been more adequately guarded. Again, he seems to have been quite free from that maniacal suspiciousness which, as E. M. Forster rightly says in A Passage to India, is the besetting Indian vice, as hypocrisy is the British vice. Although no doubt he was shrewd enough in detecting dishonesty, he seems wherever possible to have believed that other people were acting in good faith and had a better nature through which they could be approached.
Interview with Joseph Pearce, Sr. (2003)
Context: Of course, one cannot declare that only my faith is correct and all other faiths are not. Of course God is endlessly multi-dimensional so every religion that exists on earth represents some face, some side of God. One must not have any negative attitude to any religion but nonetheless the depth of understanding God and the depth of applying God's commandments is different in different religions. In this sense we have to admit that Protestantism has brought everything down only to faith.
Calvinism says that nothing depends on man, that faith is already predetermined. Also in its sharp protest against Catholicism, Protestantism rushed to discard together with ritual all the mysterious, the mythical and mystical aspects of the Faith. In that sense it has impoverished religion.
In New Orleans, Louisiana, 1814. As quoted in The Life of Andrew Jackson https://web.archive.org/web/20111029143820/http://home.nas.com/lopresti/ps7.htm (1967), by John Spencer Bassett, Archon Books. p. 156-157.
1810s
Context: As sons of freedom you are now called upon to defend your most inestimable blessing. As Americans, your country looks with confidence on her adopted children, for a valorous support, as a faithful return for the advantages enjoyed under her mild and equitable government.
Overcoming a Personal Holocaust, Alfred Freddy Krupa (in the article by Ante Vranković), Life As A Human (Canada), 2019
2010s
2011, Remarks by the President to Parliament in London, United Kingdom (May 2011)
“Beware of nuns and priests, they will make you doubt your faith.”
Source: Radiorama de Occidente. 1480 AM. Guadalajara, Mexico.
“By a simple prayer of faith, you can give your life to Him today.”
Source: The Heaven Answer Book
1860s, Cooper Union speech (1860)
Context: Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the Government nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
Context: Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the Government, nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty, as we understand it.
Source: Modern Man in Search of a Soul
“Love, hope, fear, faith - these make humanity; These are its sign and note and character”
Source: Browning's Paracelsus: Being the Text of Browning's Poem
Variant: Those who have courage and faith shall never perish in misery
Source: The Diary of a Young Girl
“Live as if you have faith,” she said, “and faith shall be
given to you.”
Source: Tatiana and Alexander
Source: Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
“Don't worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth.”
“The life of faith is not a life of mounting up with wings, but a life of walking and not fainting.”
Source: My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year
“Never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.”
Source: 1790s, The Age of Reason, Part I (1794)
“The majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.”
“Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.”
Variant: Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
Source: Let Nobody Turn Us Around: Voices on Resistance, Reform, and Renewal an African American Anthology
“your faith and hope are in god.”
Source: Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith
“It's our faith that activates the power of God.”
Source: Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
“Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.”
Source: A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael
45 : Chinese Music
Source: The Book of Lies (1913)
“If you lose money you lose much,
If you lose friends you lose more,
If you lose faith you lose all.”
My Day: The Best of Eleanor Roosevelt's Acclaimed Newspaper Columns 1936-62
“At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid.”
Source: On the Heights of Despair (1934)
Context: Everything is possible, and yet nothing is. All is permitted, and yet again, nothing. No matter which way we go, it is no better than any other. It is all the same whether you achieve something or not, have faith or not, just as it’s all the same whether you cry or remain silent. There is an explanation for everything, and yet there is none. Everything is both real and unreal, normal and absurd, splendid and insipid. There is nothing worth more than anything else, nor any idea better than any other. Why grow sad from one’s sadness and delight in one’s joy? What does it matter whether our tears come from pleasure or pain? Love your unhappiness and hate your happiness, mix everything up, scramble it all! Be a snowflake dancing in the air, a flower floating downstream! Have courage when you don’t need to, and be a coward when you must be brave! Who knows? You may still be a winner! And if you lose, does it really matter? Is there anything to win in this world? All gain is loss, all loss is gain. Why always expect a definite stance, clear ideas, meaningful words? I feel as if I should spout fire in response to all the questions which were ever put, or not put, to me.
“Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.”
Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (1973)
Context: If you don't have doubts you're either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.
“Intellect is a part of a good faith. Intellect is the light, the heart is the direction.”
Source: Pensées
“Don't trust the person who has broken faith once.”
Source: Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream
7 May 1944
(1942 - 1944)
Source: The Diary of a Young Girl
Source: My Utmost for His Highest
“If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything.”
Source: The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
“It's a lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.”
As quoted in 101 Best Ways to Get Ahead (2004) edited by Michael E. Angier, with Sarah Pond, p. 59
“There can be no faith without doubt. No strength without temptation. (Rafael)”
Source: My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
“A perfect faith is nowhere to be found, so it follows that all of us are partly unbelievers.”
“A lie is an act of theft. It steals peoples faith and makes them resent themselves”
“Young men want to be faithful, and are not. Old men want to be faithless, and cannot.”
“The man of science has learned to believe in justification, not by faith, but by verification.”
On the advisableness of improving natural knowledge (1866) http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/thx1410.txt
1860s
Source: Collected Essays of Thomas Henry Huxley
Context: The improver of natural knowledge absolutely refuses to acknowledge authority, as such. For him, scepticism is the highest of duties; blind faith the one unpardonable sin. And it cannot be otherwise, for every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority, the cherishing of the keenest scepticism, the annihilation of the spirit of blind faith; and the most ardent votary of science holds his firmest convictions, not because the men he most venerates hold them; not because their verity is testified by portents and wonders; but because his experience teaches him that whenever he chooses to bring these convictions into contact with their primary source, Nature — whenever he thinks fit to test them by appealing to experiment and to observation — Nature will confirm them. The man of science has learned to believe in justification, not by faith, but by verification.
