William Lyon Phelps Quotes

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].

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

PAINT THE WALLS OF your mind With many beautiful pictures.

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

Real happiness is not dependent on external things.

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

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

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

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

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

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.