“Common sense is seeing things as they are; and doing things as they ought to be.”

By what strange law of mind is it that an idea long overlooked, and trodden under foot as a useless stone, suddenly sparkles out in new light, as a discovered diamond?

It’s a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.

Sweet souls around us watch us still, press nearer to our side; Into our thoughts, into our prayers, with gentle helpings glide.

Dogs can bear more cold than human beings, but they do not like cold any better than we do; and when a dog has his choice, he will very gladly stretch himself on a rug before the fire for his afternoon nap.

A woman’s health is her capital.

Any mind that is capable of real sorrow is capable of good.

I never thought my book would turn so many people against slavery.

I did not write it. God wrote it. I merely did his dictation.

Fanaticism is governed by imagination rather than judgment.

The longest way must have its close – the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning.

The past, the present and the future are really one: they are today.

He who has nothing to lose can afford all risks.

Money is a great help everywhere; – can’t have too much, if you get it honestly.

All men are free and equal in the grave, if it comes to that.

It is no merit in the sorrowful that they weep, or to the oppressed and smothering that they gasp and struggle, not to me, that I must speak for the oppressed – who cannot speak for themselves.

To do common things perfectly is far better worth our endeavor than to do uncommon things respectably.

As President Nixon says, presidents can do almost anything, and President Nixon has done many things that nobody would have thought of doing.

To wish for change will change nothing; To make the decision to take action right now will change everything.

Jesus does not demand great actions from us, but simply surrender and gratitude.

When a man takes time to consider whether he will do a good or civil action, be assured he will never do it. The baser feelings, the calculations of interest and timidity, always prevail.

I am emboldened, not cowed, by the words and actions of Trump and his circle. I believe many others are as well. Together we will stand in opposition. I’m not going anywhere, and I won’t be silenced.

Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.

Feeling compassion for ourselves in no way releases us from responsibility for our actions. Rather, it releases us from the self-hatred that prevents us from responding to our life with clarity and balance.

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.