R.S. Thomas Quotes

The bee, though it finds every rose has a thorn, comes back loaded with honey from his rambles; and why should not other tourists do the same?

Wise men, like wine, are best when old; pretty women, like bread, are best when young.

At every crossroad, follow your dream. It is courageous to let your heart lead the way.

Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away.

The distances between the stars seem brief by contrast to the distances between each of us and his fellows.

Music first and last should sound well, should allure and enchant the ear. Never mind the inner significance.

The coldest word was once a glowing new metaphor.

Genius is not inspired. Inspiration is perspiration.

What is all Knowledge too but recorded Experience, and a product of History; of which, therefore, Reasoning and Belief, no less than Action and Passion, are essential materials?

First, study the present construction. Second, ask for all past experiences ...study and read everything you can on the subject.

For all right judgment of any man or things it is useful, nay, essential, to see his good qualities before pronouncing on his bad.

The depth of our despair measures what capability and height of claim we have to hope.

Like mighty eagle soaring light. O'er antelopes on Alpine height. The anchor heaves, the ship swings free, The sails swell full. To sea, to sea!

If there were dreams to sell, Merry and sad to tell, And the crier rung his bell, What would you buy?

Silence is the eternal duty of man.

Worrying is the most natural and spontaneous of all human functions.

There is some secret stirring in the world, / A thought that seeks impatiently its word.

Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice.

Saints are what they are not because their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everyone else.

The sacred attitude is, then, one of deep and fundamental respect for the real in whatever new form it may present itself.

All that's bright must fade, The brightest still the fleetest; All that's sweet was made But to be lost when sweetest.

The winds of change are blowing across Ontario.

I conceive ethics as a branch of psychology.

Shining through tears, like April suns in showers, that labor to overcome the cloud that loads em.

Every person of learning is finally his own teacher.

It is only by the exercise of reason that man can discover God.

We must be compelled to hold this doctrine to be false, and the old and new law called the Old and New Testament, to be impositions, fables and forgeries.

Evils, like poisons, have their uses, and there are diseases which no other remedy can reach.

Length is usually intensity. Not time.

Real flight and dreams of flight go together. Both are part of the same movement. Not A before B, but all together.

What America needs is a good five-cent cigar.

I make no pretense to accuracy. I shall be quite content if the sensibilities of no one are wounded by anything I may reduce to type.

What this country needs is a really good 5-cent cigar

The deepest need of men is not food and clothing and shelter, important as they are. It is God.

Come, ye saints, look here and wonder, See the place where Jesus lay; He has burst His bands asunder; He has borne our sins away; Joyful tidings, Yes, the Lord has risen to-day.

The soft mellow warble of the bluebird, heard at its best throughout spring and early summer, is one of the sweetest, most confiding and loving sounds in nature.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is that penetrating light which shines through the darkness of our lives.

Choose your friends with caution. Plan your future with purpose. Frame your life with faith.

There are lives to brighten. There are hearts to touch. There are souls to save.

When you’re on the Lord’s errand, you’re entitled to the Lord’s blessings.

You have a heritage honor it. You have posses a testimony share it. You will face temptations withstand it. You know the truth live it.

I use game theory to help myself understand conflict situations and opportunities.

The freedom of America is the freedom to live your own life and take your own chances.

Compassion is good but politicians have turned compassion into the welfare state.

Intellectuals may like to think of themselves as people who "speak truth to power" but too often they are people who speak lies to gain power.

High tax rates that people don't actually pay do not bring the government as much revenue as lower tax rates that they do pay.

There is no question that liberals do an impressive job of expressing concern for blacks. But do the intentions expressed in their words match the actual consequences of their deeds?

People who identify themselves as conservatives donate money to charity more often than people who identify themselves as liberals. They donate more money and a higher percentage of their incomes.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology accepts blacks in the top ten percent of students, but at MIT this puts them in the bottom ten percent of the class.

The spirit of a person's life is ever shedding some power, just as a flower is steadily bestowing fragrance upon the air.