R.S. Thomas Quotes

The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only.

Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward.

All things are artificial, for nature is the art of God.

Christmas works like glue, it keeps us all sticking together.

Animals have genes for altruism, and those genes have been selected in the evolution of many creatures because of the advantage they confer for the continuing survival of the species.

The pleasure of sin is soon gone, but the sting remains.

It is only to the happy that tears are a luxury.

Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how.

People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.

The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility.

We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.

All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain.

Jesus Lord, kind Pelican, Cleanse my filth with Thy blood, One drop of which can save The whole world from all its sin

The flesh endures the storms of the present alone; the mind, those of the past and future as well as the present. Gluttony is a lust of the mind.

How bravely Autumn paints upon the sky The gorgeous fame of Summer which is fled!

Genius defined: of inspiration 1% percent, of perspiration, 99%.

Composers and musicians have always starved and, as this is a sentimental country, we think the tradition should be continued.

No man can be happy without a friend, nor be sure of his friend till he is unhappy.

We do not exist for ourselves.

Homeopathy seemed . . . both mathematical and poetic.

It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, though it is a race dedicated to many absurdities and one which makes many terrible mistakes.

I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it.

Christ is lovely, Christ is very lovely, Christ is most lovely, Christ is always lovely, Christ is altogether lovely.

The first step toward heaven, is to see ourselves near hell.

Waste is worse than loss. The time is coming when every person who lays claim to ability will keep the question of waste before him constantly. The scope of thrift is limitless.

Skepticism is the highest duty and blind faith the one unpardonable sin.

There is the greatest practical benefit in making a few failures early in life.

Verse should be as natural As the small tuber that feeds on muck And grows slowly from obtuse soil To the white flower of immortal beauty

Men can intoxicate themselves with ideas as effectually as with alcohol or with bang and produce, be dint of serious thinking, mental conditions hardly distinguishable from monomania.

Life is good and is always trying to do us a good turn if we will only allow it to do so.

Your Constitution is all sail and no anchor.

Our liberty depends on freedom of the press.

Genius? Nothing! Sticking to it is the genius! ... I've failed my way to success.

If everybody knows all the tricks, it's no more magic.

It was both Abraham's and the Jews' privilege also that they should have this promise to all generations.

I'm not an Uncle Tom. . .. I'm going to be here for 40 years. For those who don't like it, get over it.

The ultimate court of appeal is observation and experiment... not authority.

It is the first of all problems for a man to find out what kind of work he is to do in this universe.

I cannot go on.... All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.

If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world.

In a government bottomed on the will of all, the... liberty of every individual citizen becomes interesting to all.

The soul gives unity to what it looks at with love.

We bring nothing to God, and He gives us everything.

Systems of schooling are over managed and under led.

I am really the most controversial artist in the world.

When afflictions arrest us, we shall murmur and grumble and struggle until we see that it is God that strikes.

People's behavior makes sense if you think about it in terms of their goals, needs, and motives.

Over this odd world, this half the world that's dark now, I have to hunt a thing that lives on tears.

All baseball fans can be divided into two groups: those who come to batting practice and the others. Only those in the first category have much chance of amounting to anything.

Taste cannot be controlled by law. We must resist at all costs any attempt to regulate our individual freedoms and to legislate our personal moralities.