Quotes about gift
page 6

Edwin Boring photo

“The gift of professional maturity comes only to the psychologist who knows the history of his science.”

Edwin Boring (1886–1968) American psychologist

Cited in: David Ballin Klein (1977) The Unconscious: Invention Or Discovery? p. iii;
A History of Experimental Psychology, 1929

Gerard Manley Hopkins photo
Pope Benedict XVI photo
Orson Scott Card photo
Martin Harris photo

“BE IT KNOWN unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen. OLIVER COWDERY DAVID WHITMER MARTIN HARRIS”

Martin Harris (1783–1875) Book of Mormon witness

Book of Mormon, 1830 Edition, p. 585 (1830)

Henri Fantin-Latour photo
Norman Spinrad photo

““Genius such as yours is a genetic gift.”
“So I have heard from my parents.””

Source: The Void Captain's Tale (1983), Chapter 7 (p. 83)

Kurt Lewin photo
Francesco Berni photo

“But little virtue hath the tardy gift.”

Francesco Berni (1497–1535) Italian poet

Che poco grato e 'l don chi tardi viene.
XLV, 56
Rifacimento of Orlando Innamorato

Thomas Brooks photo
Norodom Ranariddh photo
Coventry Patmore photo
Tom Price (U.S. politician) photo
Mahatma Gandhi photo

“Some of my corresponents seem to think that I can work wonders. Let me say as a devotee of truth that I have no such gift. All the power I may have comes from God. But He does not work directly. He works through His numberless agencies. In this case it is the Congress.”

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India

Young India (8 October 1924). Quoted in Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi (1945), edited by Jag Parvesh Chander, Indian Printing Works, page 242 http://archive.org/stream/teachingsofmahat029222mbp#page/n247.
1920s

Samuel Butler (poet) photo

“He ne'er consider'd it, as loth
To look a gift-horse in the mouth.”

Samuel Butler (poet) (1612–1680) poet and satirist

Canto I, line 490
Source: Hudibras, Part I (1663–1664)

Ray Comfort photo
G. K. Chesterton photo
E.L. Doctorow photo
Joseph Goebbels photo

“Old Christmas Songs. I feel something like a longing for a lost homeland.
We are giving gifts to each other. A beautiful, old New Testament from Hertha Holk is my greatest joy. I thank her for being my solace and my strength.”

Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945) Nazi politician and Propaganda Minister

Alte Weihnachtslieder. Ich habe etwas wie Sehnsucht nach einem verlorenen Vaterland.
Wir beschenken uns. Ein schönes, altes Jesustestament von Hertha Holk ist meine größte Freude. Ich danke ihr, dass sie mein Trost und meine Stärke ist.
Michael: a German fate in diary notes (1926)

Margaret Cho photo
Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo

“Oh, glory of the morning!
Oh, ye gifted, young, and brave!
What end have ye, but midnight;
What find ye but the grave?”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

One Day
The Golden Violet (1827)

Willa Cather photo
Lawrence M. Schoen photo

“Prophecy is first and foremost a self-serving gift.”

Lawrence M. Schoen (1959) American writer and klingonist

Source: Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard (2015), Chapter 38, “Loose Ends” (p. 354)

Don Willett photo
Maria Mitchell photo

“I know I shall be called heterodox, and that unseen lightning flashes and unheard thunderbolts will be playing around my head, when I say that women will never be profound students in any other department except music while they give four hours a day to the practice of music. I should by all means encourage every woman who is born with musical gifts to study music; but study it as a science and an art, and not as an accomplishment; and to every woman who is not musical, I should say, 'Don't study it at all;' you cannot afford four hours a day, out of some years of your life, just to be agreeable in company upon possible occasions. If for four hours a day you studied, year after year, the science of language, for instance, do you suppose you would not be a linguist? Do you put the mere pleasing of some social party, and the reception of a few compliments, against the mental development of four hours a day of study of something for which you were born? When I see that girls who are required by their parents to go through with the irksome practising really become respectable performers, I wonder what four hours a day at something which they loved, and for which God designed them, would do for them. I should think that to a real scientist in music there would be something mortifying in this rush of all women into music; as there would be to me if I saw every girl learning the constellations, and then thinking she was an astronomer!”

Maria Mitchell (1818–1889) American astronomer

Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters and Journals (illustrated) by Maria Mitchell, 1896, p. 189.

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo
Bill Clinton photo

“I have met all the most gifted people in our generation and you're the best.”

Bill Clinton (1946) 42nd President of the United States

To Hillary Rodham Clinton when they both attended Yale University, repeated in a 2007 campaign speech. http://economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9904609
2000s

“Sollima was considered to be the intellectual among the Western filmmakers. I enjoyed working with him. He was a very intelligent and gifted man.”

Donald O'Brien (actor) (1930–2003) Italian film and TV actor

Euro Trash Cinema magazine interview (March 1996)

Stanley Baldwin photo
Merrick Garland photo

“This is the greatest honor of my life, other than Lynn agreeing to marry me 28 years ago. It's also the greatest gift I have ever received except, and there's another caveat, the birth of our daughters.”

Merrick Garland (1952) American judge

[Remarks by the President Announcing Judge Merrick Garland as his Nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick, Garland, w:Merrick Garland, The White House, March 16, 2016, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Remarks_by_the_President_Announcing_Judge_Merrick_Garland_as_his_Nominee_to_the_Supreme_Court#Remarks_by_Judge_Garland]; quote then excerpted in:
[March 18, 2016, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/key-quotes-obamas-nomination-merrick-garland-37695552, ABC News, Quotes on Obama's Nomination of Merrick Garland, Associated Press, March 16, 2016]
Remarks by Judge Garland upon nomination to Supreme Court of the United States (2016)

Peter F. Drucker photo
Bouck White photo
John Ruskin photo

“Of all God's gifts to the sight of man, colour is the holiest, the most divine, the most solemn.”

Volume II, chapter V, section 30.
The Stones of Venice (1853)

Thierry Henry photo

“Ronaldinho is a special player, but Thierry Henry is probably technically the most gifted footballer ever to play the beautiful game.”

Thierry Henry (1977) French association football player

Zinedine Zidane http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/16/thierry-henry-sky-sports-pundit-playaer
About

E.E. Cummings photo
Michael Elmore-Meegan photo
Sun Ra photo
Aldous Huxley photo
Albrecht Thaer photo

“Arriving in Berlin, I found myself in my element, and began to breathe freely. Jerusalem and Lessing had given us letters of introduction to the greatest men in Berlin; but they knew us already, Leisewitz as author of "Julius Von Tarent," and myself as author of my Dissertation. We had daily the choice of the first society; covers were laid for us in the first families daily, for dinner as well as supper. Von Zetlitz sent a general invitation that covers were laid for us every day during our stay in Berlin. Most of the time we could spare was divided between physicians and philosophers, of which the latter had the greater share. Spalding, Mendelsohn, Eberhard, Engel, Nicolai, Reichard, and Madame Bamberger, daughter of Doctor Sack, Bishop of Berlin, honoured us with their most sincere friendship. The latter, a highly gifted and accomplished lady, possessed the rare art of spreading over the most abstract hypothesis and theorem the brightest and most charming light; Jerusalem, the father of the ill-fated Werther (see the "Sorrows of Werther," by Goethe), used to send her his works to correct, and she alone was able to console and comfort him, when he was informed of the death of his beloved son. This amiable lady assumes in common life the character of a plain woman, and when at court, as friend of the Queen and the Princess Amalie, she won all hearts by her truly noble man ners and unconstrained courtesy: at court beloved, she was admired, nay, adored in the philosophical clubs. But do not think that here alone we spent all our time; Madame Bamberger knew how to blend study with amusement; she issued frequently cards of invitation to select parties, for suppers and balls, and her house was the point of union of all that was learned, beautiful, and amiable. Thus Berlin became my Paradise. I had the most tempting offers from the Minister of State to stay here; but the illness of my father obliged me, after a stay of three months, to return home. I visited Lessing on my journey back; stayed two days, which were the most interesting of all days I ever remember.”

Albrecht Thaer (1752–1828) German agronomist and an avid supporter of the humus theory for plant nutrition

My Life and Confessions, for Philippine, 1786

Arnold Schwarzenegger photo
Susan Cooper photo

“No, he is not of the Dark. But he is very useful. A man so wrapped in his own ill-will is a gift to the Dark from the earth. It is so easy to give him suitable ideas…Very useful, indeed.”

Susan Cooper (1935) English fantasy writer

Source: The Dark Is Rising (1965-1977), The Grey King (1975), Chapter 9 “The Grey King” (p. 108)

Jerome David Salinger photo

“Life is a gift horse in my opinion.”

Nine Stories (1953), Teddy (1953)

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo
Dennis Lehane photo
Carly Fiorina photo

“Donald Trump is Hillary Clinton’s Christmas gift wrapped up under a tree. I am the lump of coal in her stocking.”

Carly Fiorina (1954) American corporate executive and politician

Twitter http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/09/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-conspiracy/index.html (8 December 2015).
2010s, 2015

Henry Ford photo
Seneca the Younger photo

“Our feeling about every obligation depends in each case upon the spirit in which the benefit is conferred; we weigh not the bulk of the gift, but the quality of the good-will which prompted it.”
Eo animo quidque debetur quo datur, nec quantum sit sed a quali profectum voluntate perpenditur.

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

Alternate translation: The spirit in which a thing is given determines that in which the debt is acknowledged; it's the intention, not the face-value of the gift, that's weighed. (translator unknown).
Source: Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius), Letter LXXXI: On benefits, Line 6

Edward Hirsch photo
Kurien Kunnumpuram photo
Hans Christian Andersen photo
Albert Pike photo
Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo
Nisargadatta Maharaj photo

“(…) To be nothing, to have nothing, to keep nothing for oneself is the greatest gift, the highest generosity.”

Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981) Indian guru

Nothingness
Source: "I am That." P.107.

Richard Holt Hutton photo
Helen Keller photo
Wilfred Thesiger photo
Wolfram von Eschenbach photo
Maurice de Vlaminck photo

“The thought of becoming a painter never as much as occurred to me. I would have laughed out loud if someone had suggested that I choose painting as a career. To be a painter is not a business, no more than to be an artist, lover, racer, dreamer, or prizefighter. It is a gift of Nature, a gift..”

Maurice de Vlaminck (1876–1958) French painter

Quote of De Vlaminck; as cited in Vlaminck, Klaus G. Perls, The Hyperion Press, New York 1941, p. 51
To support his family of four, De Vlaminck had to find other means by which to earn a living, and ended up taking several other jobs, including working as a billiards players, a writer, a general worker, and even a cyclist
Quotes undated

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“The gods give no gifts without hooks embedded.”

Lois McMaster Bujold (1949) Science Fiction and fantasy author from the USA

Source: World of the Five Gods series, Paladin of Souls (2003), p. 157

Jello Biafra photo

“George H. W. Bush - "King George the 1st" - Beyond the Valley of the Gift Police”

Jello Biafra (1958) singer and activist

Biafra's Nicknames for Various Political Figures

H. G. Wells photo

“Boybuilding is a gift, it is an honor, and it is a privilege, although I'm hanging up my belt, I still want to be an ambassador for the sport and health and fitness.”

Iris Kyle (1974) American bodybuilder

In "IRIS KYLE WINS AGAIN" at bodybuilding.com (Sep 24, 2014).
Sourced quotes, 2014

Ben Carson photo

“I believe God has a specific purpose for me – and for every other person to whom he gives the gift of life.”

Ben Carson (1951) 17th and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; American neurosurgeon

Source: Take The Risk (2008), p. 133

Aldo Capitini photo

“And you mother still close to me,
you know that it is not enough to live an ordered and honest life.
You have been faithful for years to bring order into our house.
As soon as the dawn appeared in the night sky,
you rose towards the tasks awaiting you –
in the silence of a mental prayer.
Perhaps it is not enough even the overwhelming love,
to which you gave the sober expression of concrete acts.
The sacred wool, the steaming milk and the bed
composed with inimitable care by your hands.
Going back in time you recounted to your children their births,
and the birthdays have slowly vanished.
The beginning is now found from a thousand beginnings,
with the ancient, with the unknown, with Christ.
A present act includes them all,
opening after the events have passed.
And there is a severe duty for struggle,
something in our own life could be wrenched away by it.
The guards will soon appear,
and they will take me to my cell with the high window.
You will still be with me,
as mother and inexhaustible human presence.
Giving freely of your love, you still knew that your son is freedom.
You were a nearness, that always found something to do.
I have watched you unflinching under hardness and spite,
always moving, and acting,
holding back your inner rebellion you had pity on rage.
Now we are together to work and open all around.
In the loving gift to the world which ever crucifies us
is our fulfilment.
Seeing its limitations, still to treasure everything
is the gesture of infinite miracle,
and you were right: order comes from this principle,
the earthly goods, as our brothers the prophets tell us,
will be given unto us.”

Aldo Capitini (1899–1968) Italian philosopher and political activist
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury photo

“If they will abandon the habit of mutilating, murdering, robbing, and of preventing honest persons who are attached to England from earning their livelihood, they may be sure there will be no demand for coercion. Well, you will be told you have no alternative policy. My alternative policy is that Parliament should enable the Government of England to govern Ireland. Apply that recipe honestly, consistently, and resolutely for 20 years, and at the end of that time you will find that Ireland will be fit to accept any gifts in the way of local government or repeal of coercion laws that you may wish to give her. What she wants is government—government that does not flinch, that does not vary—government that she cannot hope to beat down by agitations at Westminster—government that does not alter in its resolutions or its temperature by the party changes which take place at Westminster.”

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903) British politician

Speech to the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations in St. James's Hall, London (15 May 1886), quoted in The Times (17 May 1886), p. 6. The Liberal MP John Morley responded https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1886/jun/03/tenth-night#S3V0306P0_18860603_HOC_120 by claiming that Salisbury was in favour of "20 years of coercion" for Ireland, which Salisbury contested https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1886/jun/04/personal-explanation#S3V0306P0_18860604_HOL_10.
1880s

Howard Bloom photo
Taliesin photo
John Hall photo

“Culture is good, genius is brilliant, civ1lization is a blessing, education is a great pr1vilege; but we may be educated villains.. The thing that we want most of ail is the precious gift of the Holy Ghost.”

John Hall (1829–1898) Presbyterian pastor from Northern Ireland in New York, died 1898

Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 320.

Plutarch photo

“Aristodemus, a friend of Antigonus, supposed to be a cook's son, advised him to moderate his gifts and expenses. "Thy words," said he, "Aristodemus, smell of the apron."”

Plutarch (46–127) ancient Greek historian and philosopher

44 Antigonus I
Apophthegms of Kings and Great Commanders

Thomas Moore photo
Aidan Nichols photo
Barry Goldwater photo
Randy Pausch photo
Gunnar Myrdal photo
Stanley Baldwin photo
Donald J. Trump photo

“Citizenship is not a gift we can afford to keep giving away.”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

Source: 2010s, 2015, Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again (2015), p. 28

Stephen King photo
Chinmayananda Saraswati photo

“What you have is all His Gift to you. What you do with what you have is your Gift to Him …”

Chinmayananda Saraswati (1916–1993) Indian spiritual teacher

Quotations from Gurudev’s teachings, Chinmya Mission Chicago
Variant: What you have is His gift to you; what you do with what you have is your gift to Him.

James A. Garfield photo
Thomas Bailey Aldrich photo
Samuel Adams photo
David Whitmer photo

“BE IT KNOWN unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen. OLIVER COWDERY DAVID WHITMER MARTIN HARRIS”

David Whitmer (1805–1888) Book of Mormon witness

Book of Mormon, 1830 Edition, p. 585 (1830)

Ebrahim Amini photo
Homér photo

“They remembered bed and took the gift of sleep.”

XVI. 481 (tr. Robert Fagles).
Odyssey (c. 725 BC)

Justin Trudeau photo

“The North American idea that diversity is strength, is our great gift to the world. No matter where you are from, or the faith you profess, nor the colour of your skin, nor whom you love, you belong here. This is home.”

Justin Trudeau (1971) 23rd Prime Minister of Canada; eldest son of Pierre Trudeau

While introducting Barack Obama to Parlement. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/obama-touches-down-in-ottawa-for-meeting-with-trudeau-pena-nieto/article30673135/ (June 28, 2016)
2016

L. Onerva photo

“The shape and texture of fruit is sensuous and fascinating, but the true delight blossoms when you experience the flavor of these colorful gifts of nature.”

DeBarra Mayo (1953) American martial artist

Bikini Body Fitness by DeBarra Mayo, Juicy, Sensuous, Tasty...and Healthy http://www.ujena.com/book.php?h=Ujena+News, December 22, 2006

Dejan Stojanovic photo

“Be aware of the high notes, of the blissful faces and their soft messages, and listen for the silent message of a highly decorated gift.”

Dejan Stojanovic (1959) poet, writer, and businessman

Emissaries http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/emissaries/
From the poems written in English