Quotes about gain (1681 quotes, page 17)

“Indeed, wisdom is born of meditation; without meditation wisdom is lost. Knowing this twofold path of gain and loss of wisdom, one should conduct oneself so that wisdom may increase.”

Gautama Buddha (-563–-483 BC) philosopher, reformer and the founder of Buddhism

Source: Pali Canon, Sutta Pitaka, Khuddaka Nikaya (Minor Collection), Dhammapada, Ch. 20, Verse 282

Loss , Wisdom

“It is not true that on an exchange of commodities we give value for value. On the contrary, each of the two contracting parties in every case, gives a less for a greater value. … If we really exchanged equal values, neither party could make a profit. And yet, they both gain, or ought to gain. Why? The value of a thing consists solely in its relation to our wants. What is more to the one is less to the other, and vice versa.”

Étienne Bonnot de Condillac (1714–1780) French academic

… It is not to be assumed that we offer for sale articles required for our own consumption. … We wish to part with a useless thing, in order to get one that we need; we want to give less for more. … It was natural to think that, in an exchange, value was given for value, whenever each of the articles exchanged was of equal value with the same quantity of gold. … But there is another point to be considered in our calculation. The question is, whether we both exchange something superfluous for something necessary.
Le Commerce et le Gouvernement (1776), as quoted in Marx's Capital, Vol. I, Ch. 5.

Making love , Relation ships

“Any act often repeated soon forms a habit : and habit allowed, steadily gains in strength.”

Tryon Edwards (1809–1894) American theologian

At first it may be but as the spider’s web, easily broken through, but if not resisted it soon binds us with chains of steel.
Source: A Dictionary of Thoughts, 1891, p. 212.

“Stop jumping with joy every time a crime happens, Mr Rahul Gandhi. The state has already assured strict and prompt action. You divide the society in every manner possible for electoral gains and then shed crocodile tears. Enough is enough. You are a MERCHANT OF HATE.”

Rahul Gandhi (1970) Indian politician

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, as quoted in BJP minister describes Rahul Gandhi as "merchant of hate" https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bjp-minister-describes-rahul-gandhi-as-merchant-of-hate/articleshow/65105505.cms The Economic Times, Jul 23, 2018

Joy , Time , Tear , Hate

“When the history of his time is written he will stand forth as the great figure in the years which have been so crowded with events. He gained the entire confidence of the nation by his patriotism, wisdom and ability, just as he won its love by his kindness and goodness to all men.”

William McKinley (1843–1901) American politician, 25th president of the United States (in office from 1897 to 1901)

Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. The Authentic Life of President McKinley, page 413.

Confidence , Time , History , Self-confidence

“We are… bound to attach the greatest importance to the preliminary step taken by Lavoisier, who is even more justly called the father of modern chemistry than Kepler is called the father of modern astronomy. The exact claims of Lavoisier to this important place in the history of chemistry have been variously stated: …since his time, and greatly through his labours, the quantitative method has been established as the ultimate test of chemical facts; the principle of this method being the rule that in all changes of combination and reaction, the total weight of the various ingredients—be they elementary bodies or compounds—remains unchanged. The science of chemistry was thus established upon an exact, a mathematical basis. By means of this method Lavoisier, utilising and analysing the results gained by himself and others before him, notably those of Priestley, Cavendish, and Black, succeeded in destroying the older theory of combustion, the so-called phlogistic theory.”

Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794) French chemist

John Theodore Merz, A History of European Thought in the Nineteenth Century Vol.1 http://books.google.com/books?id=xqwQAAAAYAAJ (1903)

Time , History , Mathematics , Science

“Although styles of leadership change with the times, one constant remains: people are always ambivalent about those in power. They want to be led but also to feel free; they want to be protected and enjoy prosperity without making sacrifices; they both worship the king and want to kill him. When you are the leader of a group, people are continually prepared to turn on you the moment you seem weak or experience a setback. Do not succumb to the prejudices of the times, imagining that what you need to do to gain their loyalty is to seem to be their equal or their friend; people will doubt your strength, become suspicious of your motives, and respond with hidden contempt. Authority is the delicate art of creating the appearance of power, legitimacy, and fairness while getting people to identify with you as a leader who is in their service. If you want to lead, you must master this art from early on in your life. Once you have gained people’s trust, they will stand by you as their leader, no matter the bad circumstances.”

Robert Greene (1959) American author

Chap. 15 : Make Them Want to Follow You
The Laws of Human Nature (2018)

Imagination , Time , Loyalty , Bad luck

“On the surface, the people around you appear so polite and civilized. But beneath the mask, they are all inevitably dealing with frustrations. They have a need to influence people and gain power over circumstances. Feeling blocked in their endeavors, they often try to assert themselves in manipulative ways that catch you by surprise. And then there are those whose need for power and impatience to obtain it are greater than others. They turn particularly aggressive, getting their way by intimidating people, being relentless and willing to do almost anything. You must transform yourself into a superior observer of people’s unsatisfied aggressive desires, paying extra attention to the chronic aggressors and passive aggressors in our midst. You must recognize the signs—the past patterns of behavior, the obsessive need to control everything in their environment—that indicate the dangerous types. They depend on making you emotional—afraid, angry—and unable to think straight. Do not give them this power. When it comes to your own aggressive energy, learn to tame and channel it for productive purposes—standing up for yourself, attacking problems with relentless energy, realizing great ambitions.”

Robert Greene (1959) American author

Chap. 16 : See the Hostility Behind the Friendly Façade
The Laws of Human Nature (2018)

Dependency , Past , People , Learning

“Last quarter, we had our best Mac quarter ever. We shipped 1.33 million Macs last quarter. We are really, really happy about this, but even better, was the growth rate because the growth rate was dramatically faster than the rest of the industry which means we are gaining market share.”

Steve Jobs (1955–2011) American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc.

2000s, WWDC 2006

Happiness , Relation ships

“If the struggle for democracy is a long battle, what is a few months or years in prison if I can gain more resilience for the future.”

Benny Tai (1964) Hong Kong activist and writer

"There will be darker times ahead for Hong Kong but the sun will rise again" (April 19, 2019)

Democracy , Future

“Programs that reduce child poverty help even in years when poor or near-poor parents gain and, of course, are critical in bad times, since sooner or later booming job markets also bust.”

Rajan Menon (1953) political scientist

Trump’s War on the Poor Includes Our Children (February 4, 2020)

Bad luck , Time , Help , Parent

“Almost 80 percent of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck.... 40 percent of Americans said they wouldn't be able to pay their bills if faced with a $400 emergency. The underlying problem isn't that Americans have been living beyond their means. It's that their means haven't been keeping up with the growing economy. Most gains have gone to the top...”

Robert B. Reich (1946) American political economist

Problem

“The most important feature of the previous ban was the prohibition on large-capacity ammunition magazines. A large magazine is arguably the most critical feature of an assault weapon, and restrictions on magazines have the potential to affect many more gun crimes than do those on military-style weapons. Restrictions focused on magazine capacity may also have a greater chance of gaining sufficient public and political support for passage than would new restrictions on assault weapons, though current polling suggests that both measures are supported by three-quarters of non-gun owners and nearly half of gun owners.”

Christopher S. Koper American sociologist

[Koper, Christopher S., w:Christopher S. Koper, America’s experience with the federal assault weapons ban, 1994–2004, Reducing Gun Violence, 2013, 168, 9781421411101, http://www.uiw.edu/library/documents/reducing_gun_violence_in_america.pdf]

Support , Chance

“We’ve said from the beginning that our greatest concern is the impact this virus could have if it gains a foothold in countries with weaker health systems, or with vulnerable populations. That concern has now become very real and urgent. We know that if this disease takes hold in these countries, there could be significant sickness and loss of life. But that is not inevitable. Unlike any pandemic in history, we have the power to change the way this goes.”

Tedros Adhanom (1965) Director-General of the World Health Organization, former Minister in Ethiopia

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 20 March 2020 https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---20-march-2020, World Health Organization.

Loss , History , Country , Health

“The coronavirus has starkly revealed what most of us already knew: The concentration of wealth in America has created a health care system in which the wealthy can buy care others can’t. It’s also created an education system in which the super-rich can buy admission to college for their children, a political system in which they can buy Congress and the presidency, and a justice system in which they can buy their way out of jail... The system is rigged. But we can fix it... The great divide in American politics isn’t between right and left. The underlying contest is between a small minority who have gained power over the system, and the vast majority who have little or none. Forget politics as you’ve come to see it – as contests between Democrats and Republicans. The real divide is between democracy and oligarchy....”

Robert B. Reich (1946) American political economist

The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/the-system-is-rigged-but-we-can-fix-it/, Alternet, 24 March 2020

Democracy , Justice , Forgetting , Wealth

“Up to his twenty-sixth year the heart of Ignatius was enthralled by the vanities of the world. His special delight was in the military life, and he seemed led by a strong and empty desire of gaining for himself a great name.”

Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) Catholic Saint, founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)

Ignatius describing himself in the third person, in The Autobiography of St. Ignatius

World , Strong , Life , Heart

“Before the lower 'occult powers' of any kind are cultivated, man must learn the first lesson of the Higher Occultism, the mystic knowledge, which is to control himself; and all powers that later he gains must be laid on the altar of impersonal service - on the altar of service to mankind.”

Gottfried de Purucker (1874–1942) Author, Theosophist

The Masters and the Path of Occultism (1939)

Knowledge , Learning

“The basis of correct knowledge is correct perception, correct deduction and correct witness (or accurate evidence).
One of the most revolutionary realizations to which the occult student has to adjust himself is the appreciation that the mind is a means whereby knowledge is to be gained...”

Patañjali (-200–-150 BC) ancient Indian scholar(s) of grammar and linguistics, of yoga, of medical treatises

The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary by Alice A. Bailey, (1927)

Knowledge

“The basis of correct knowledge is correct perception, correct deduction and correct witness (or accurate evidence).
One of the most revolutionary realizations to which the occult student has to adjust himself is the appreciation that the mind is a means whereby knowledge is to be gained...”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

Source: The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with commentary (1927)

Knowledge

“Comint represents the effort to gain access to, intercept and process every important modern form of communication, in every significant sphere, and in many countries.”

David Lyon (1948) British sociologist

§6, p. 95
Surveillance society

Effort , Country , Communication

“I have come across most people- with the exception of those that God most High has protected-they rush into misery, worry, the exhaustion of this world, and amassing terrible sins, that will earn them hell-fire, gaining nothing in pursuing their evil deeds… And they know that their evil intentions will neither fulfill their wishes, nor bring any gains; and that with purer intentions they will obtain great rest for their souls.”

Ibn Hazm (994–1064) Arab theologian

Kitab al-Akhlaq wa’l Siyar p: 17

Soul , Hell , God , People

“I have been impressed time and again by the schizophrenic character of many businessmen. They are capable of being extremely far‐sighted and clear‐headed in matters that are internal to their businesses. They are incredibly short sighted and muddle‐headed in mat ters [sic!] that are outside their businesses but affect the possible survival of business in general. This short sightedness is strikingly exemplified in the calls from many businessmen for wage and price guidelines or controls or incomes policies. There is nothing that could do more in a brief period to destroy a market system and replace it by a centrally controlled system than effective governmental control of prices and wages. The short‐sightedness is also exemplified in speeches by business men on social responsibility. This may gain them kudos in the short run. But it helps to strengthen the already too prevalent view that the ptirsuit [sic!] of profits is wicked and im moral [sic!] and must be curbed and controlled by external forces. Once this view is adopted, the external forces that curb the market will not be the social consciences, however highly developed, of the pontificating executives; it will be the iron fist of Government bureaucrats. Here, as with price and wage controls, business men seem to me to reveal a suicidal impulse.”

Milton Friedman (1912–2006) American economist, statistician, and writer

“A Friedman doctrine‐- The Social Responsibility Of Business Is to Increase Its Profits” (Sept. 1970)

Time , Business , Help , Suicide

“The view has been gaining widespread acceptance that corporate officials and labor leaders have a "social responsibility"... beyond serving the interests of their stockholders or their members. This view shows a fundamental misconception of the character of a free economy. In such an economy there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception fraud. Similarly, the "social responsibility" of labor leaders is to serve the interests of the members of their unions. It is the responsibility of the rest of us to establish a framework of law such that an individual... is, to quote Adam Smith... "led by an invisible hand... I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."”

Milton Friedman book Capitalism and Freedom

Source: Capitalism and Freedom (1962), Ch. 8 Monopoly and the Social Responsibility of Business and Labor, p. 133

Law , Business , Fraud , Game

“Love is a fire that burns unseen,
A wound that aches yet isn't felt,
An always discontent contentment,
A pain that rages without hurting,A longing for nothing but to long,
A loneliness in the midst of people,
A never feeling pleased when pleased,
A passion that gains when lost in thought.It's being enslaved of your own free will;
It's counting your defeat a victory;
It's staying loyal to your killer.But if it's so self-contradictory,
How can Love, when Love chooses,
Bring human hearts into sympathy?”

Luís de Camões book Rhythmas de Lvis de Camoes

Rimas, Sonnet 81 (as translated by Richard Zenith)
Listen to the poem in Portuguese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ToldDy8izc&feature=youtu.be&t=33s
Lyric poetry, Não pode tirar-me as esperanças, Amor é fogo que arde sem se ver
Original: (pt) Amor é um fogo qu'arde sem se ver,
É ferida que dói, e não se sente,
É um contentamento descontente,
É dor que desatina sem doer.É um não querer mais que bem querer,
É um andar solitário entre a gente,
É nunca contentar-se de contente,
É um cuidar que ganha em se perder.É querer estar preso por vontade,
É servir a quem vence o vencedor
É ter com quem nos mata lealdade.Mas como causar pode seu favor
Nos corações humanos amizade,
Se tão contrário a si é o mesmo Amor?

Hurt , Pain , Loneliness , Victory

“...the [Whig] party, which has thought proper to proscribe me on account of a book [the Reflections] which I published on the Idea, that the principles of a new, republican, frenchified Whiggism was gaining ground in this Country. ... The party with which I acted had, by the malevolent and unthinking been reproached, and by the wise and good always esteemd and confided in—as an aristocratick Party. Such I always understood it to be in the true Sense of the word. I understood it to be a Party, in its composition and in its principles, connected with the solid, permanent long possessed property of the Country; a party, which, by a Temper derived from that Species of Property, and affording a security to it, was attached to the antient tried usages of the Kingdom, a party therefore essentially constructed upon a Ground plot of stability and independence; a party therefore equally removed from servile court compliances, and from popular levity, presumption, and precipitation.”

Edmund Burke (1729–1797) Anglo-Irish statesman

Letter to William Weddell (31 January 1792), quoted in P. J. Marshall and John A. Woods (eds.), The Correspondence of Edmund Burke, Volume VII: January 1792–August 1794 (1968), pp. 52-53
1790s

Confidence , Country , Self-confidence , Books

“One should try to find out what he is going to gain from the Bai'at and why it is necessary to enter into this pledge. Unless one knows what the advantage of a certain thing is and the value it possesses, one cannot appreciate it. It is just as there are various kinds of articles in the house: money-big and small coins-and wood etc. Everything is placed where it belongs, that is, everything will be cared for and looked after according to its value. Small coins will not receive the same care as the big ones. As for the pieces of wood, they will be thrown in a corner. In short, whatever will be a cause of bigger loss will be cared for more than other things. The most important point in Bai'at is Tauba (repentance)which means turning back. It indicates that condition in which man is closely connected with sin, and it is as if sins are the homeland and he is living in this habitation. Tauba means that he is now leaving this homeland. Turning back (Raju') means to adopt piety (to become pious).Leaving one's homeland is indeed a hard thing to do, and it entails thousands of hardships. When a man leaves his home, he feels it very much, then how much more one must be feeling while leaving one's homeland. He leaves every thing, his household belongings, his streets and his neighbours and bazaars (shops) and goes to another country.He does not come back to his old homeland.This is TAUBA.”

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad book Malfoozat

When a man is a sinner, his friends are different from those who are going to be his friends when he adopts Taqwa(fear of God).
The mystics have termed this change as 'death'.
Source: Malfoozat, Vol.1, p.2

Money , Home , Loss , Housing

“[P]rivate enterprise and initiative, willing to take risks in the hope of gain, allowed to function in freedom, have produced the greatest wealth ever know in the history of mankind. And that if you stop this process and turn everything over to government, the activity will slow down, inventiveness will cease, and we shall get not equalization of riches, but equalization of poverty.”

Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) American journalist and radio broadcaster

Dorothy Thompson’s Political Guide: A Study of American Liberalism and its Relationship to Modern Totalitarian States (1938)
Source: A Study of American Liberalism and its Relationship to Modern Totalitarian States (1938)
p. 27

Wealth , Hope , History , Freedom

“The time has not yet come for dealing with the world illusion on a large scale, for the race is not adequately mental nor has the illusion (which is, as I have stated, pre-eminently the result of the misinterpretation of ideas) reached its height. But the hour has struck for the first steps to be taken in the dissipation of glamour, and the hold of glamour upon the race should be appreciably lessened in the future. Hence the practical training now being given in this group in their own lives; hence also the intended teaching later to be given to the group—if they measure up to the opportunity—which will enable them to aid in the concerted and planned attack upon the world glamour. Wrestle therefore with your personal problems along these lines, my brothers, for in this way you will gain facility in discernment, in clear precise action, and in strengthened understanding.”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

Source: Glamour: A World Problem (1950), The Nature of Glamor

Time , Understanding , Personality , Future

“There are many ways in which the intuition can be drawn into activity, and one of the most useful and potent is the study and interpretation of symbols. Symbols are the outer and visible forms of the inner spiritual realities, and when facility in discovering the reality behind any specific form has been gained, that very fact will indicate the awakening of the intuition.”

Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949) esoteric, theosophist, writer

Source: Glamour: A World Problem (1950), Certain Preliminary Clarifications

Way , Study , Reality

“I stumbled, slipped... and all was gone
That I had gained. Once more I lay
Before the long bright Hell of ice.
And still the light was far away.
There was red mist before my eyes
Or I could tell you how I went
Across the swaying firmament,
A glittering torture of cold stars,
And how I fought in Titan wars...
And died... and lived again upon
The rack... and how the horses strain
When their red task is nearly done. . .
I only know that there was Pain,
Infinite and eternal Pain.
And that I fell — and rose again.”

Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943) poet, short story writer, novelist

Source: Young Adventure (1918), The Quality of Courage

Pain , Hell , Light , War

“Less than a month ago this Nation reminded the world that it possessed both the will and the weapons to meet any threat to the security of free men. The gains we have made will not be given up, and the course that we have pursued will not be abandoned. But in the long run, that security will not be determined by military or diplomatic moves alone. It will be affected by the decisions of finance ministers as well as by the decisions of Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense; by the deployment of fiscal and monetary weapons as well as by military weapons; and above all by the strength of this Nation's economy as well as by the strength of our defenses.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

Source: 1962, Address and Question and Answer Period at the Economic Club of New York

World , Men , Decision

“Still, a prince should make himself feared in such a way that if he does not gain love, he at any rate avoids hatred; for fear and the absence of hatred may well go together, and will be always attained by one who abstains from interfering with the property of his citizens and subjects or with their women. And when he is obliged to take the life of any one, to do so when there is a proper justification and manifest reason for it; but above all he must abstain from taking the property of others, for men forget more easily the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony. Then also pretexts for seizing property are never wanting, and one who begins to live by rapine will always find some reason for taking the goods of others, whereas causes for taking life are rarer and more quickly destroyed.”

Niccolo Machiavelli book The Prince

Source: The Prince (1513), Ch. 17; translated by Luigi Ricci

Loss , Fear , Death , Forgetting

“Quickly or slowly, according as that probation is lived nobly or poorly, another summons comes to him, when the Master sees that he has gained to a considerable extent the Qualifications which are necessary, and needs a further fuller teaching in order that he may apply his knowledge more efficiently to life. Again he is called; again he sees his Master. And then the Master accepts him as disciple, no longer on probation, but accepted and approved; now his consciousness is to begin to blend with the consciousness of his Master, and he is to feel His presence more clearly.”

Annie Besant (1847–1933) British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator

Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man (1923), p.63

Knowledge , Life , Feeling

“There is the first condition, the sine quanon. For the selfish no such advance is possible; for the unselfish such advance is certain. And in whatever life the man begins to think more of the common good than of his own individual gain, whether it be in the service of the town, of the community, of the nation, of the wider joinings of nations together, right up to the service of humanity itself, every one of those is a step towards the Path, and is preparing the man to set his feet thereon.”

Annie Besant (1847–1933) British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator

Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man (1923)

Selfishness , Life , Thinking , Communication

“To know is the difference between walking in the darkness and in the light, and to understand the laws of Nature is to gain the power of quickening our evolution by utilizing every law that hastens our growth, by avoiding the working of those that would retard and delay.”

Annie Besant (1847–1933) British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator

Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man (1923)

Light , Law , Understanding , Nature

“Sunshine does not cease to warm you because you may not know anything of the constitution of the sun. Fire does not cease to burn you, because, unknowing its fierceness, you thrust your hand into the flame. It is the security of human life and human progress that the laws of nature are ever working and carrying us on with them, whether we know of them or not. But if we know them, we gain a great advantage.”

Annie Besant (1847–1933) British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator

Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man (1923)

Sun , Life , Law , Nature

“I dare be bold to affirm that, had the King of France beaten us, as we have done him, he would have been so modest as to have given us better terms than we have gained after all our glorious victories.”

Robert Walpole (1676–1745) British statesman

Source: Address https://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/walpole-robert-ii-1676-1745 to the electors of Kings Lynn for the general election of 1713 against the Treaty of Utrecht

Victory

“[T]he American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us, on we the people, who seek a more perfect union. This is a great nation. We are good people. And over the centuries, through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we′ve come so far, but we still have far to go.We′ll press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and significant possibilities. Much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain. Few people in our nation′s history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we′re in now.”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

2021, January, Presidential Inaugural Address (2021)

Peace , Time , Dependency , History

“...the Americans must have the Almighty dollar. Their cupidity renders them daring and indifferent to everything else. It is nothing to them to expose their lives and those of others in order to gain money. How materialistic these people are!”

Théodore Guérin (1798–1856) Catholic saint and nun from France

To the Right Reverend J. Bouvier, Bishop of Le Mans, Saint Mary's, 1849-07-08.

Indifference , Money , People

“And therefore just as a brigand caught in broad daylight in the act cannot persuade us that he did not lift his knife in order to rob his victim of his purse, and had no thought of killing him, we too, it would seem, cannot persuade ourselves or others that the soldiers and policemen around us are not to guard us, but only for defense against foreign foes, and to regulate traffic and fetes and reviews; we cannot persuade ourselves and others that we do not know that the men do not like dying of hunger, bereft of the right to gain their subsistence from the earth on which they live; that they do not like working underground, in the water, or in the stifling heat, for ten to fourteen hours a day, at night in factories to manufacture objects for our pleasure. One would imagine it impossible to deny what is so obvious. Yet it is denied.”

Leo Tolstoy The Kingdom of God Is Within You

Source: The Kingdom of God is Within You (1894), Chapter XII, Conclusion—Repent Ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

Hunger , Imagination , Night , Pleasure

“People, in general, are unaware of the danger they are in, that with no way to personally go into space, no need for their labor in the face of robotic artificial intelligence, and no way to gain an ownership share in the industry, they will be left behind both economically and politically, unless steps are taken during the startup period.”

Sheyene Gerardi Venezuelan actor and model

[NASA CLASS Announces Collaboration With Actress Sheyene Gerardi, http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=38c46884-5abc-491a-89aa-c9bb0b71195c]

Way , Personality , Intelligence , People

“One lesson of history is that every gain has its potential loss. The highest human achievements carry the danger of pride, and pride can lead blindly to disaster, just as failure can fortify the determination and so lead slowly towards triumph.”

Geoffrey Blainey (1930) Australian historian

The Great Seesaw: A New View of the Western World, 1750-2000 (1988)

Loss , Failure , History

“There are three methods to gaining wisdom. The first is reflection, which is the highest. The second is limitation, which is the easiest. The third is experience, which is the bitterest.”

Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher

Wisdom

“By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm.”

Tenzin Gyatso (1935) spiritual leader of Tibet

Courage , Confidence , Self-confidence , Problem

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Jim Elliot (1927–1956) Martyred Christian missionary to Ecuador

Fools

“I know that inner wisdom is more precious than wealth. The more you spend it, the more you gain.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

Wealth , Wisdom

“I'm persistent because I know social media is not a one-time thing. It's something that you get better and better with as you gain experience.”

Austin Cofran

Time

“If the many, the specialists, gain the day, it will be the end of science as we know it - of great science. It will be a spiritual catastrophe comparable in its consequences to nuclear armament.”

Karl Popper (1902–1994) Austrian-British philosopher of science

K. Popper, The Myth of the Framework, London: Routledge. As quoted in The Cambridge Companion to Karl Popper https://books.google.it/Brooks?id=ha6yDAAQBAJ&of=PA173 (2016) by J. Shearmur, G. Stokes

Science

“God is not interested in the freedom of black men or brown men or yellow men. God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race, the creation of a society where every man will respect the dignity and worth of personality. So when we sing We Shall Overcome, we are singing a hymn of faith, a hymn of optimism, a hymn of faith in the future.
I can still sing that song because I have faith in the future. I believe that we, as Negroes, are going to gain our freedom in America because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with the destiny of America.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

1960s, Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution (1965)

Personality , Optimism , Men , God

“Yesterday we fought a great battle and gained a great victory, for which all the glory is due to God alone.”

Thomas Jackson (1824–1863) Confederate general

Although under a heavy fire for several continuous hours I received only one wound, the breaking of the longest finger of my left hand; but the doctor says the finger may be saved. It was broken about midway between the hand and knuckle, the ball passing on the side next to the forefinger. Had it struck the centre, I should have lost the finger. My horse was wounded, but not killed. Your coat got an ugly wound near the hip, but my servant, who is very handy, has so far repaired it that it doesn't show very much. My preservation was entirely due, as was the glorious victory, to our God, to whom be all the honor, praise, and glory. The battle was the hardest that I have ever been in, but not near so hot in its fire.
Letter to his wife after the First Battle of Bull Run (22 July 1861); as quoted in Memoirs of Stonewall Jackson by His Widow Mary Anna Jackson (1895) http://books.google.com/books?id=bG2vg5cH004C, Ch. XI : The First Battle of Manassas, p. 178

God , Victory

“And even if this causes major changes in our world, we have nothing to lose, because by opening the door that unites body and soul, what we will gain is total love.”

Paulo Coelho book Manuscript Found in Accra

Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), About sex

Soul , World , Love , Change

“[N]othing gains weight but by the addition of matter, nor loses it but by its subtraction—so inseparably are matter and weight united, as has been shewn above in the sixth essay.”

John Rey (1583–1645) French chemist

Art. XI. A Translation of Rey's Essays on the Calcination of Metals, &c. (1822), Essay XV. Air dimishes in weight in three ways. The balance is deceitful, the means of remedying that.

“Since I started on social networks, it has always been a dream to gain my first million followers, and now I have two?”

Rayssa Leal (2008) Youngest Brazilian skateboarder and athlete to win a medal at the Olympics

Rayssa Leal. Mateus Baeta: Conto de fadas à brasileira: Rayssa Leal é prata no skate street http://rededoesporte.gov.br/pt-br/noticias/conto-de-fadas-a-brasileira-rayssa-leal-conquista-prata-no-skate-street, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Brazil https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en.

Dreams

“Those at the top in brain science gained their pedestals by knowing more and more about less and less.”

Richard Bergland neuroscientist

The Fabric of Mind (1985)

Science

“Despite the important gains of antiracist social movements over the last half century, racism hides from view within institutional structures, and its most reliable refuge is the prison system.”

Angela Davis Are Prisons Obsolete?

Source: Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003), Chapter Five

“If you long for exceptional health, then try to forget about gaining wealth at the same time.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Time , Forgetting , Wealth , Health

“It doesn't take much energy to create the opportunities once you have gained the ability.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“You are not forced to turn this world into a hell, thinking that you will receive, or gain the passport of entering heaven.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Hell , Thinking , World

“Even the caterpillar must endure the dark journey before gaining wings and transforming into a butterfly. It is their spiritual struggle in life.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Life

“Warriors have an ulterior purpose for their acts, which has nothing to do with personal gain. The average man acts only if there is the chance for profit. Warriors act not for profit, but for the spirit.”

Carlos Castaneda book The Wheel of Time

Source: The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe], (1998), Quotations from "The Power of Silence" (Chapter 18)

Chance , Personality

“The customs of that most criminal nation have gained such strength that they have now been received in all lands. The conquered have given laws to the conquerors.”

Seneca the Younger (-4–65 BC) Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist

De Superstitione (On Superstition)
Source: Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe https://books.google.com.br/books?id=wefkDwAAQBAJ&pg=108 by Robert Orlando; p. 108

Law

“Can intellect aid understanding? It helps in the beginning but cannot give full enlightenment. The mind is the main instrument to gain enlightenment, but enlightenment is only reached when the mind stops.”

Baba Hari Dass (1923–2018) master yogi, author, builder, commentator of Indian spiritual tradition

Source: Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass (1977)

Understanding , Help

“Would we have played with our lives for nothing but worldly gain?
If our people had run after earth's goods and gold,
Need they have smashed idols, and not idols sold?”

Muhammad Iqbál (1877–1938) Urdu poet and leader of the Pakistan Movement

Source: Shikwa. https://archive.org/details/ShikwaJawabIShikwaIqbalsDialogueWithAllahTrKhushwantSinghIqbal

People

“Those are the lights on the head of death. Death puts them on like a hat and then shoots off on a gallop, gaining on us, getting closer and closer. Sometimes it turns off its lights. But death never stops.”

Carlos Castaneda book The Wheel of Time

Source: The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe], (1998), Quotations from A Separate Reality (Chapter 6)

Light , Death

“We wish a great Poland, great with its achievements, culture, forms of social life, its position in Europe. The only way to gain this is by socialism accepted by society, constantly enriched by the everyday life experience.”

Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014) Polish military officer and politician

Source: Excerpts of Martial law speech (14 December 1981)

Way , Life

“Gnosis truly, is a light which God casts into the heart. True knowledge of God is gained when the lover comes in contact with the Beloved through secret communion with Him.”

Abu Talib al-Makki Scholar, mystic

Source: The Sayings and Teachings of the Great Mystics of Islam (2004), p. 86

God , Light , Heart , Knowledge

“It seems to me that an age of belief sowed the good seed of which an age of unbelief, an age at least of less fervent belief, reaps the fruits. It strikes me that the moral precepts and moral influences of Christianity needed the dogmatic teaching and the systematic discipline of past times to gain for them a hold in the world. The sower may sometimes have sowed tares along with his wheat, but the wheat has survived the tares. I believe that many a man who has little faith in Christian theology is deeply influenced by Christian morality, and that he is altogether a different man from what he would have been had Christianity never been.”

Edward Augustus Freeman (1823–1892) English historian (1823-1892)

Source: 'The Morality of Field Sports', The Fortnightly Review (October 1869), quoted in E. A. Freeman, The Morality of Field Sports (1874), p. 12

Age , World , Time , Faith

“Charity is only authentic when it is disinterested and is freely given, when it is not done with the desire to obtain other goals, when it is not at the service of worldly tactics or used as proselytism, to gain political or religious supporters.”

Miguel Ángel Alba Díaz (1951) Mexican Roman Catholic bishop

Source: Inauguration of a joint project between the government and the Catholic Church, in favor of care and rehabilitation of drug addicts http://fides.org/en/news/18487-america_mexico_Inauguration_of_a_joint_project_between_the_government_and_the_Catholic_Church_in_favor_of_care_and_rehabilitation_of_drug_addicts (27 October 2008)

Support

“Men talk too much of gold and fame,
And not enough about a name;
And yet a good name's better far
Than all earth's glistening jewels are.
Who holds his name above all price
And chooses every sacrifice
To keep his earthly record clear,
Can face the world without a fear.Who never cheats nor lies for gain,
A poor man may, perhaps, remain,
Yet, when at night he goes to rest,
No little voice within his breast
Disturbs his slumber. Conscience clear,
He falls asleep with naught to fear
And when he wakes the world to face
He is not tainted by disgrace.”

Edgar Guest (1881–1959) American writer

Source: The Path to Home (1919), p.143 - A Good Name, stanzas 1 and 2.

Cheating , Night , Men , World

“When I'm drinking my Bonaparte shandy
eating more than enough apple pies
will I glance at my screen
and see real human beings
starve to death right in front of my eyes?
Nothing old, nothing new, nothing ventured,
nothing gained, nothing stillborn or lost,
nothing further than proof, nothing wilder than youth,
nothing older than time, nothing sweeter than wine,
nothing physically recklessly hopelessly blind,
nothing I couldn't say
Nothing. Why? 'Cos today nothing rhymed”

Gilbert O'Sullivan (1946) Irish singer-songwriter

"Nothing Rhymed" (song)
Gilbert O'Sullivan. A live performance. On YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtoefxZGR6U
Gilbert O'Sullivan. A performance with orchestra, c.2017. On YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-SWTPDPriA
Gilbert O'Sullivan. Observations about "Nothing Rhymed", fifty years on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2BlxtcH39Q (On YouTube)
(+ A cover version by Franklin Brown on YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6kuZyk5WJ8
(+ A cover version by Colleen Coughlan on YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcqndbjOPTs
(+ A cover version by Conor McCauley on YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nAb0-7J9d4
(+ A cover version by The Ocelots on YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRCDFiRaRA0
(+ Guitar instrumental by Phil McGarrick) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmzFaUC1rDI
Song lyrics
Source: Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Nothing Rhymed" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGE6gzkMAfw (song on YouTube)

Youth , Wine , Drink , Time

“I want to create new educational and work opportunities for young professionals in our country. I want them to gain experience and to become educated and trained to be owners and managers of all sectors of our society. While, at this time, we must rely on foreign know-how in the oil and gas sectors, the ground must be readied now for young Guyanese to assume those positions, regardless of their race, color or creed.”

Irfaan Ali (1980) President of Guyana

Source: Irfaan Ali (2022) cited in: " President pledges more oil and gas scholarships https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/01/01/news/guyana/president-pledges-more-oil-and-gas-scholarships/" in Stabroek News, 1 January 2022.

Training , Education , Time , Country

“[S]ome of last month’s job growth is a result of the December relief package. But without a rescue plan, these gains are going to slow. We can’t afford one step forward and two steps backwards. We need to beat the virus, provide essential relief, and build an inclusive recovery.”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

2021, March 2021, Remarks by President Biden Before Economic Briefing with Treasury Secretary Yellen

“If you are genuinely interested in press freedom, you should support actions against people who have unlawfully exploited the media as a tool to pursue their political or personal gains.”

John Lee Ka-chiu (1957) Chief Executive-elect of Hong Kong

"Who is John Lee? 12 quotes from Hong Kong’s unopposed leadership hopeful" in Hong Kong Free Press https://hongkongfp.com/2022/04/18/who-is-john-lee-12-quotes-from-hong-kongs-unopposed-leadership-hopeful/ (18 April 2022)

Freedom , Support , Personality , People