William James

Find important quotes and citations by the author William James.

• Quote 3172

  The sovereign cure for worry is prayer.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3171

  There must be something solemn, serious, and tender about any attitude which we denominate religious. If glad, it must not grin or snicker; if sad, it must not scream or curse.
  by: William James

  More quotes on the topics: religion seriousness tenderness attitude serenity

• Quote 3170

  How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive of all they do, and of all they are willing to endure.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3169

  Man lives for science as well as bread.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3168

  The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3167

  The history of philosophy is to a great extent that of a certain clash of human temperaments.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3166

  The ideas gained by men before they are twenty-five are practically the only ideas they shall have in their lives.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3165

  Our esteem for facts has not neutralized in us all religiousness. It is itself almost religious. Our scientific temper is devout.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3164

  It is well for the world that in most of us, by the age of thirty, the character has set like plaster, and will never soften again.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3163

  A man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3162

  We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3161

  Our faith is faith in someone else's faith, and in the greatest matters this is most the case.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3160

  There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3159

  We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3158

  The hell to be endured hereafter, of which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioned our characters in the wrong way.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3157

  In the dim background of mind we know what we ought to be doing but somehow we cannot start.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3156

  It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence
  by: William James

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• Quote 3155

  Compared to what we ought to be, we are half awake.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3154

  If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3153

  One hearty laugh together will bring enemies into a closer communion of heart than hours spent on both sides in inward wrestling with the mental demon of uncharitable feeling.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3152

  To study the abnormal is the best way of understanding the normal.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3151

  Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3150

  Faith means belief in something concerning which doubt is theoretically possible.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3149

  A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3148

  If the grace of God miraculously operates, it probably operates through the subliminal door.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3147

  Knowledge about life is one thing; effective occupation of a place in life, with its dynamic currents passing through your being, is another.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3146

  Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3145

  An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3144

  There is an organic affinity between joyousness and tenderness, and their companionship in the saintly life need in no way occasion surprise.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3143

  We are doomed to cling to a life even while we find it unendurable.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3142

  There is but one cause of human failure. And that is man's lack of faith in his true Self.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3141

  We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3140

  The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3139

  If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3138

  To be a real philosopher all that is necessary is to hate some one else's type of thinking.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3137

  Where quality is the thing sought after, the thing of supreme quality is cheap, whatever the price one has to pay for it.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3136

  There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3135

  To change ones life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3134

  Human beings can alter their lifes by altering their attitudes of mind.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3133

  If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or future event, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3132

  I don't sing because I'm happy; I'm happy because I sing.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3131

  The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3130

  A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3129

  The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3128

  The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3127

  Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3126

  The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3125

  Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
  by: William James

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• Quote 3124

  Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing
  by: William James

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• Quote 3123

  Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.
  by: William James

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