No town can fail of beauty, though its walks were gutters and its houses hovels, if venerable trees make magnificent colonnades along its streets.

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.

We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.

The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.

Some men are like pyramids, which are very broad where they touch the ground, but grow narrow as they reach the sky.

As for marigolds, poppies, hollyhocks, and valorous sunflowers, we shall never have a garden without them, both for their own sake, and for the sake of old-fashioned folks, who used to love them.

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.

The thistle is a prince. Let any man that has an eye for beauty take a view of the whole plant, and where will he see a more expressive grace and symmetry; and where is there a more kingly flower?

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.

He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.

Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.

Hope for love, pray for love, wish for love, dream for love…but don’t put your life on hold waiting for love.

You have to have faith if you want to make it out of the woods. Faith is your only hope for deliverance.

The shape of your life depends upon whether you choose to be the sculptor or the clay.

I didnt set out with the notion of running for elective office; it sort of grew over time. And I honestly at times questioned if progressive change can be effected through elected office.

We worship a mysterious not an anthropomorphic God.

An infinitude of tenderness is the chief gift and inheritance of all truly great men.

After listening to "Machine Gun" I have to take a nap.

You can lose your weight, but you can't lose your personality. And people's personalities don't change.

Before you judge people, judge yourself.