William Lyon Phelps Quotes

The happiest people in this world are those who have the most interesting thoughts.

A bibliophile of little means is likely to suffer often. Books don't slip from his hands but fly past him through the air, high as birds, high as prices.

The highest happiness on earth is the happiness of marriage.

I believe a knowledge of the Bible without a college course is more valuable than a college course without a Bible.

In the whole story of Jesus Christ, the most important event is the resurrection.

I divide all readers into two classes: those who read to remember and those who read to forget.

The belief that youth is the happiest time of life is founded on fallacy. The happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts, and we grow happier as we grow older.

One of the secrets of life is to keep our intellectual curiosity acute.

To a man the greatest blessing is individual liberty; to a dog it is the last word in despair.

A cat pours his body on the floor like water. It is restful just to see him.

If happiness truly consisted in physical ease and freedom from care the happiest, individual would not be either a man or a woman it; it would be, I think a cow.

In a start-up company, you basically throw out all assumptions every three weeks.

PAINT THE WALLS OF your mind With many beautiful pictures.

There is a strange reluctance on the part of most people to admit that they enjoy life.

You can learn more about human nature by reading the Bible than by living in New York.

The greatest of all the arts is the art of living together!

A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better than the view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands.

The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.

The highest happiness on earth is marriage. Every man who is happily married is a successful man even if he has failed in everything else.

Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down.

God speaks to me not through the thunder and the earthquake, nor through the ocean and the stars, but through the Son of Man, and speaks in a language adapted to my imperfect sight and hearing.

Honesty is not necessarily the best policy. The best policy would be to acquire a reputation for honesty and then to cheat at the psychological moment.

The fear of life is the favorite disease of the 20th century.

Why is it so many people are afraid to admit they are happy?

At a certain age some people's minds close up; they live on their intellectual fat.

If at first you don't succeed, find out if the loser gets anything.

A student never forgets an encouraging private word, when it is given with sincere respect and admiration.

The happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts.

Two persons who love each other are in a place more holy than the interior of a church.

One appreciates that daily life is really good when one wakes from a horrible dream, or when one takes the first outing after a sickness. Why not realize it now?

Never try to outsmart a woman, unless you are another woman.

Every time you acquire a new interest, even more, a new accomplishment, you increase your power of life.

If I were running the world I would have it rain only between 2 and 5 a.m. Anyone who was out then ought to get wet.

Life, with all it's sorrows, cares, perplexities and heart-breaks, is more interesting than bovine placidity, hence more desirable. The more interesting it is, the happier it is.

Whenever it is in any way possible, every boy and girl should choose as his life work some occupation which he should like to do anyhow, even if he did not need the money.

Real happiness is not dependent on external things.

How essential it is in youth to acquire some intellectual or artistic tastes, in order to furnish the mind, to be able to live inside a mind with attractive and interesting pictures on the walls.

There is never much trouble in any family where the children hope someday to resemble their parents.

The principle of happiness should be like the principle of virtue: it should not be dependent of things, but be a part of personality [and character].

My religious faith remains in possession of the field only after prolonged civil war with my naturally skeptical mind.

Marriage is a fine and sacred thing if you make it so.

You can be deprived of your money, your job and your home by someone else, but remember that no one can ever take away your honor.

The kind of happiness that stays with you is the happiness that springs from inward thoughts and emotions.

Being educated means to prefer the best not only to the worst but to the second best.

A middle-aged cat will often play as unreservedly as a kitten, though he knows perfectly well it is only a game.

The belief that youth is the happiest time of life is founded upon a fallacy. The happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts and we grow happier as we grow older.

Whenever it is possible a boy should choose some occupation which he should do even if he did not need the money.

This is the final test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.

If happiness truly consisted in physical ease and freedom from care then the happiest individual... would be I think an American cow.

Why is it that so many people are afraid to admit that they are happy?