Quotes about practice
page 35

John F. Kennedy photo
John F. Kennedy photo
Benjamin Creme photo
Rebecca West photo

“Love is a practical desire for the good of another. It is much easier to talk about than to carry into action because it requires such sensitivity and unselfishness.”

Wendy Beckett (1930–2018) British Catholic nun and presenter of documentaries for the BBC on the history of art

Source: Sister Wendy Beckett, from a The Telegraph interview titled 'Culture Clinic: Sister Wendy Beckett' dated 8 May 2009.

Annie Besant photo

“I could not in good conscience vote for a party that thinks protecting the most vulnerable people in society, those who are yet to be born, issues around euthanasia, other pro-life issues and indeed generally people who have a faith and want to practice it, I couldn't vote for a party that thinks that is somehow incompatible with the modern world.”

Rob Flello (1966) British politician (born 1966)

Source: 'This is blatant discrimination': Christian politician deselected by Lib Dems says it was because of abortion and gay marriage views https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/this-is-blatant-discrimination-christian-politician-deselected-by-lib-dems-says-it-was-because-of-abortion-and-gay-marriage-views (13 November 2019)

Richard Brinsley Sheridan photo

“Take our constitution, wanting certainly as it did many reforms, yet, practically, it afforded the best security that human wisdom had ever given to man.”

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) Irish-British politician, playwright and writer

Speech in the House of Commons (21 July 1812), quoted in The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time, Vol. XXIII (1812), column 1156

Sufyan al-Thawri photo

“He who spends life in remoteness is much better, for it was the practice of the foremost saintly people. They liked to live comely instead of grandeur.”

Sufyan al-Thawri (716–778) Muslim Scholar and founder of Thawri Madhhab

Source: The Sayings and Teachings of the Great Mystics of Islam (2004), p. 29

Leo Tolstoy photo
J. Howard Moore photo
Diadochos of Photiki photo
Leopold II of Belgium photo

“I have only one goal and one desire, namely to give myself a practical instruction, to get to know the world and its inhabitants. There will come times when this knowledge will be of use to me.”

Leopold II of Belgium (1835–1909) King of the Belgians

https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-1-0 Prince Leopold II on his second wedding trip in a letter to his father Leopold I of Belgium in 1854.

Honoré de Balzac photo

“Practice spoke its positive language to Theory whose word is always in the Future.”

Illusions perdues, part III. Ève et David (Ève and David), later Les Souffrances de l'inventeur (The Inventor's Sufferings).
Original: (fr) La Pratique parlait son langage positif à la Théorie dont la parole est toujours au Futur.

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston photo

“Now the English nation is able to make war, but it will only do so where its own interests are concerned. We are a simple and practical nation, a commercial nation; we do not go in for chivalrous enterprises or fight for others as the French do.”

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865) British politician

Remarks to Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (10 March 1839), quoted in Memoirs of Prince Adam Czartoryski and His Correspondence with Alexander I, Vol. II, ed. Adam Gielgud (1888), p. 340
1830s

Mary Ruwart photo
Robert Menzies photo
William G. Boykin photo

“In every case, here's the challenging bottom line: practicing tough love is- without question- toughest on the man who loves the most.”

William G. Boykin (1948) Recipient of the Purple Heart medal

Source: Man to Man: Rediscovering Masculinity in a Challenging World (2020), p. 99

Richard Price photo
Jason Tanamor photo
Aristotle photo
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe photo
Isaac Amani Massawe photo

“Crimes are born in our minds and in the end are put into practice.”

Isaac Amani Massawe (1951) Tanzanian Roman Catholic archbishop

The Bishop of Moshi: "The loss of moral values threatens our common existence" http://www.fides.org/en/news/62146-AFRICA_TANZANIA_The_Bishop_of_Moshi_The_loss_of_moral_values_threatens_our_common_existence (22 April 2017)

Wendy Rogers (politician) photo

“No one should be forced to take the vaccine. The globalists are practicing for the Mark of the Beast.”

Wendy Rogers (politician) (1954) American politician

26 July 2021 https://twitter.com/wendyrogersaz/status/1419773739693137927

Prevale photo

“One who practices psychological violence against others is usually a devious, damned cowardly and disgustingly treacherous person.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Colui che pratica violenza psicologica contro gli altri di solito è una persona subdola, dannatamente codarda e disgustosamente infida.
Source: prevale.net

Mao Zedong photo

“Armed with Marxist-Leninist theory and ideology, the Communist Party of China has brought a new style of work to the Chinese people, a style of work that essentially entails integrating theory with practice, forging close links with the masses and practicing self-criticism.”

(zh-CN) 以马克思列宁主义的理论思想武装起来的中国共产党,在中国人民中产生了新的工作作风,这主要的就是理论和实践相结合的作风,和人民群众紧密地联系在一起的作风以及自我批评的作风。
1950s, On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People (1957)

Robert Kocharyan photo
Ayuel Monykuch photo
Louis Portella Mbuyu photo

“It is not enough to proclaim the word of God without putting it into practice in every Christian’s daily life. The word of God has to be lived in every person’s daily activities and in communion with other people.”

Louis Portella Mbuyu (1942) Congolese catholic bishop

homily at the celebration of the Mass to mark the Golden Jubilee anniversary of Dei Verbum https://cnsng.org/makepdf.php?tab=1365 (November 23, 2015)

Jon Kabat-Zinn photo
Jon Kabat-Zinn photo
Natalie Goldberg photo
Emma Goldman photo

“Patients are not consumers, but sick, scared, vulnerable. Doctors and nurses are practicing a calling, a vocation, a craft and an art.”

Victoria Sweet Physician

San Francisco Catholic https://catholic-sf.org/news/slow-medicine

Natalie Goldberg photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo

“My favorite part of my job is never having to doubt that I’m doing something of value. And I don’t mean this in the global sense; there are more practical ways to help people. But I do think that--and this may be selfish--I am working at something that’s making me a better human.”

Kirstin Chen Singaporean writer

As quoted in "Kirstin Chen Ventures Out Of Singapore With Novel Set In 1950s Maoist China" in Forbes (27 April 2018) https://www.forbes.com/sites/priscaang/2018/04/27/kirstin-chen/?sh=235a75302016

“There is a dire need of the formation of our community. Besides academic education, practical education is also important. Human values can wash away the stigma of corruption.”

Bishop Indrias Rehmat is the new bishop of Faisalabad: We must rienforce education http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Bishop-Indrias-Rehmat-is-the-new-bishop-of-Faisalabad:-We-must-rienforce-education--47433.html (2019)

Mary Baker Eddy photo

“God doesn’t give up on anyone. He has not given up on you. Neither should we lose heart in our efforts to convince people, by reason and by practical love, that choosing life is always the right option.”

Kevin Doran (1953) Irish bishop

Homily of Bishop Kevin Doran for Day for Life Sunday 2017 – ‘Promotion of a culture which protects life and respects women’ https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2017/10/02/homily-of-bishop-kevin-doran-for-day-for-life-sunday-2017-promotion-of-a-culture-which-protects-life-and-respects-women/ (2 October 2017)

Frithjof Schuon photo
William H. Rehnquist photo

“I've often started off with a lawyer joke, a complete caricature of a lawyer who's been nasty, greedy, and unethical. But I've stopped that practice. I gradually realized that the lawyers in the audience didn't think the jokes were funny and the non-lawyers didn't know they were jokes.”

William H. Rehnquist (1924–2005) Chief Justice of the United States

1997 speech at University of Virginia Law School, as quoted in Marc Galanter, Lowering the Bar: Lawyer Jokes and Legal Culture (2006), p. 3.
Books, articles, and speeches

Eliphas Levi photo

“To practice magic is to be a quack; to know magic is to be a sage.”

Eliphas Levi (1810–1875) French writer

Source: Miscellaneous Quotes On the Subjects of Magic and Magicians

Sheyene Gerardi photo
Knute Rockne photo

“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.”

Knute Rockne (1888–1931) American college football player and college football coach (1888-1931)

As quoted in The Reader's Digest Vol. 135 (1989), p. 34
Variant: One man practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it.

Robert Louis Stevenson photo

“In many ways an artistic nature unfits a man for practical existence.”

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer

A Lodging for the Night.
The New Arabian Nights (1882)

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj photo

“We have a long-term goal to build the foundation for continued, practical cooperation by continuously holding official and unofficial meetings based on the principle of respecting the rights and proposals of the participants.”

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (1963) Mongolian politician

Source: "Mongolian president signals intention to help resolve N.K. nuclear standoff" in Yonhap News Agency https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20160716002400315 (16 July 2016)

Charles Maung Bo photo

“We thought that we are on the way to democracy, to freedom. But again, now, it collapsed again to the military and we have no right to speak about human rights and we have practically no dialogue.”

Charles Maung Bo (1948) Burmese Roman Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal

Source: Cardinal Bo: Called to be a voice for human rights in Myanmar https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248937/cardinal-bo-called-to-be-a-voice-for-human-rights-in-myanmar (9 September 2021)

Angela Davis photo
Shashi Tharoor photo

“Secularism as principle and practice is in danger, but I do not see it falling anytime soon: India embodies tolerance and pluralism in its very essence, and I do not believe that forces of hatred can permanently overcome our fundamental secularism.”

Shashi Tharoor (1956) Indian politician, diplomat, author

Source: "Secularism as principle and practice in India is in ‘danger’: Shashi Tharoor" https://indianexpress.com/article/india/shashi-tharoor-new-book-securalism-religion-6912107/, The Indian Express, November 1, 2020.

Reza Goodary photo

“The way to success is only three things; practice, practice and practice.”

Reza Goodary (1988) Mixed martial artist

Source: Unfortunately, this perspective often causes us to become overwhelmed when it's time to start a project. It is not right to step on the heads of others to elevate yourself. Living in exile has its difficulties enough. So let us be proud with one heart, together and under the flag of our beloved country. https://www.ilna.news/fa/tiny/news-1126280 ILNA News, (September 4, 2021)

Reza Goodary photo

“I still have the motivation to practice and fight.”

Reza Goodary (1988) Mixed martial artist

Source: I do not remember much, I just know I did not even think that after 25 years from that day, I still have the motivation to practice and fight. https://www.iribnews.ir/00DSMD IRIB News, (August 31, 2021)

Vera Stanley Alder photo

“We will give two practical Courses of self-training, mental and physical, with which we can fit ourselves to become successful pioneers for the new age.”

Vera Stanley Alder (1898–1984) British artist

Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Introduction p. I - XII

Liu Shaoqi photo

“We Communists must not separate our study of theory from our ideological self-cultivation. We must remould ourselves and temper our proletarian ideology not only in the practice of revolution but in the study of Marxism-Leninism.”

Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969) 2nd President of the People's Republic of China (1898-1969)

Source: "How to Be a Good Communist - 4. The Unity of Theoretical Study and Ideological Self-Cultivation" https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/liu-shaoqi/1939/how-to-be/ch04.htm (July 1939)

Charles Fillmore photo
Charles Fillmore photo
Peng Shuai photo

“From the beginning year I was doing lot of fitness and also, like, I keep practice, try to improve my game. Maybe this time I find a way or I catch, like, right time.”

Peng Shuai (1986) Chinese female tennis player (1986-)

Source: "Playing All the Angles, Peng Shuai Keeps Her US Open Dream Alive" in ESPN https://www.espn.com/espnw/news-commentary/story/_/id/11454748/playing-all-angles-peng-shuai-keeps-us-open-dream-alive (2 September 2014)

“Legal practice has become globalized. And I advocate lawyers without borders and like doctors without borders so that you can practice anywhere in the world.”

Folake Solanke (1932) Nigerian lawyer

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6lqx-jLCac Folake Solanke in an interview with Channels.

Kyle Rittenhouse photo

“I want to be a lawyer. I want to go to law school.
Towards the end of [the] trial I’m like, ‘I want to go against corrupt piece of shit prosecutors like Thomas Binger and put them in their place and make sure they never practice law again.”

Kyle Rittenhouse (2003) former suspect in the killing of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Source: 7 December 2021 video interview https://rumble.com/vqd1hv-kyle-rittenhouse-reveals-he-plans-to-become-a-lawyer.html with Elijah Schaffer and Sydney Watson of Blaze TV reported by Gino Spocchi of The Independent https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/kyle-rittenhouse-blasts-piece-trial-183634529.html

Rachit Yadav photo

“We should admit some of the ineffective practices of our past labors. This confrontation needs be embraced by all of us on a personal level, at the local parish and throughout the diocese. There are many ways in which we can do this and now move forward. The mission of Christ is being strengthened.”

Stephen Jay Berg (1951) Fifth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pueblo

Source: All our confidence is in God’s merciful love https://www.dioceseofpueblo.org/news/all-our-confidence-gods-merciful-love (September 22, 2020)

Mirza Masroor Ahmad photo

“We should weigh out the consequences of everything we do, we should consider whether what we are doing is permissible or not. Habit has a big part in reformation of practice.”

Mirza Masroor Ahmad (1950) spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Eid and Friday Sermons
Source: Self-reformation: Breaking Bad Habits https://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/2013-12-20.html, Friday Sermon December 20th, 2013

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky photo
Jonathan G. A. Johnson photo

“It is important that we continue to practice good hand hygiene and physical distancing when necessary (due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic). Remember, if experiencing symptoms, stay at home and contact the Saba Health Care Foundation at telephone number 416-3288 to receive further instructions.”

Jonathan G. A. Johnson (1976) Island Governor of Saba since 2008.

Source: Jonathan G. A. Johnson (2021) cited in: " New positive COVID-19 case registered in Saba https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/new-positive-covid-19-case-registered-in-saba" in The Daily Herald, 4 May 2021.

Desmond Tutu photo
Edward Augustus Freeman photo
Jay Samit photo
Benjamin Disraeli photo

“The principle of the feudal system, the principle which was practically operated upon, was the noblest principle, the grandest, the most magnificent and benevolent that was ever conceived by sage, or ever practised by patriot.”

Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) British Conservative politician, writer, aristocrat and Prime Minister

Source: Speech in Shrewsbury (9 May 1843), quoted in Selected Speeches of the Late Right Honourable the Earl of Beaconsfield, Volume I, ed. T. E. Kebbel (1882), p. 51

Winston S. Churchill photo

“We desire to see the return of a liberal age where Parliaments will guard freedom, where science will open the banqueting halls to the millions, and where what Bismarck once called "practical Christianity" will mitigate suffering and misfortunes.”

Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Source: 'No Intervention In Spain' (8 January 1937), quoted in Winston Churchill, Step by Step, 1936–1939 (1939; 1947), p. 84

Luciano Suriani photo

“Churches and monasteries everywhere should not be seen only as "cultural treasures" needing to be preserved materially, but also with due respect for the conditions that enable Christian communities to practice their faith freely in those centres.”

Luciano Suriani (1957) Vatican archbishop and diplomat

Source: At The Service Of Dialogue And Peace https://cordmagazine.com/interview/archbishop-luciano-suriani-apostolic-nuncio-serbia-service-dialogue-peace/ (20 November 2017)

Jessamyn Stanley photo
Jessamyn Stanley photo

“It’s so idealized, like, your life must be perfect if you can hold a balance posture on the beach. But the actual practice of yoga isn’t about that at all. The image isn’t important. The practice is.”

Jessamyn Stanley (1987) American yoga teacher and author

Source: Finding a More Inclusive Vision of Fitness in Our Feeds, Jenna Wortham, July 6, 2017, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/magazine/finding-a-more-inclusive-vision-of-fitness-in-our-feeds.html,

Vera Stanley Alder photo

“We can get on top of the world in most circumstances if we know and practice correct breathing, but without it we will always be working on one cylinder, and at the bottom of our form. For correct breathing feeds our minds as well as our bodies.”

Vera Stanley Alder (1898–1984) British artist

Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Chapter XV The Essential Science of Breathing

Gerald Barbarito photo
Gilbert Murray photo
Gilbert Murray photo
Robert Sheckley photo

“I’ve heard that some of the larger spiders hunt songbirds. I have no objection to that. The spiders belong here, too. Let nature do what it needs to do. We who are people know more than to guide ourselves by nature’s practices.”

Robert Sheckley (1928–2005) American writer

The Tales of Zanthias (published in Weird Tales (July-August, 2003); reprinted in David G. Hartwell (ed.), Year’s Best Fantasy 4 (pp. 400-401))
Short fiction

James Baker photo
Dilgo Khyentse photo

“The Church therefore requires that the priest practice custody of the eyes, an integral part of modesty: we should never let our eyes fall on anything that would distract us from God or lead us into sin.”

Chad Ripperger (1964) American Roman Catholic priest and exorcist

Ripperger PhD, Fr Chad, Topics on Tradition, Sensus Traditionis. Kindle Edition, 2013, pg. 150

Tertullian photo
Frits Staal photo

“[A Hindu] may be a theist, pantheist, atheist, communist and believe whatever he likes, but what makes him into a Hindu are the ritual practices he performs and the rules to which he adheres, in short, what he does.”

Frits Staal (1930–2012) Dutch indologist

Ritual and Mantras: Rules without Meaning, quoted in An Introduction to Hinduism https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Introduction_to_Hinduism/KpIWhKnYmF0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA12 by Gavin D. Flood, p. 12.

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“Let us be practical and ask the question: How do we love our enemies?”

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

1950s, Loving Your Enemies (Christmas 1957)

Xi Jinping photo

“We don’t need ‘masters’ that dictate to other countries, let alone politicizing and turning the human rights issue into a tool, practicing double standards and interference in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of human rights.”

Xi Jinping (1953) General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and paramount leader of China

"Xi Jinping Defends China's Human Rights Record Amid Accusations Over Uyghur Camps" https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/china/xi-jinping-defends-chinas-human-rights-record-amid-accusations-over-uyghur-camps-articleshow.html in Republic World (25 May 2002)
2020s

J.C. Ryle photo
Dilgo Khyentse photo
Dilgo Khyentse photo
Benedict Rogers photo

“Dialogue for the sake of conversation serves no ethical, moral or practical purpose. Dialogue that is one way, or in which we are silent about our grave concerns about injustice, or where we end up kowtowing, appeasing or unwittingly complicit with evil, is immoral.”

Benedict Rogers (1974) London-based human rights activist

Vatican should talk to China — but not at any price https://www.ucanews.com/amp/vatican-should-talk-to-china-but-not-at-any-price/93985 (1 October 2021)