William Lyon Phelps Quotations

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good plays, good company, good conversation - what are they? They are the happiest people in the world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

If I didn't start painting, I would have raised chickens.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

Unlimited power is worse for the average person than unlimited alcohol; and the resulting intoxication is more damaging for others. Very few have not deteriorated when given absolute dominion. It is worse for the governor than for the governed.

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.

Real happiness is not dependent on external things. The pond is fed from within. The kind of happiness that stays with you is the happiness that springs from inward thoughts and emotions. You must cultivate your mind if you wish to achieve enduring happiness.

Real happiness is not dependent on external things.

I find daily life not always joyous, but always interesting. I have some sad days and nights, but none that are dull. As I advance deeper into the vale of years, I live with constantly increasing gusto and excitement. I am sure it all means something; in the last analysis, I am an optimist because I believe in God. Those who have no faith are quite naturally pessimists and I do not blame them.

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

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.

The teacher should make a concerted effort never to lose his temper in the presence of the class. If a man, he may take refuge in profane soliloquies. If a woman, she may follow the example of one sweet-faced tranquil girl who went out in the yard and gnawed a post.

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

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?

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].

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

I do not know how wicked American millionaires are, but as I travel about and see the results of their generosity in the form of hospitals, churches, public libraries, universities, parks, recreation grounds, art museums and theatres I wonder what on earth we should do without them.

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.

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.

Herein lies the real value of education. Advanced education may or may not make men and women more efficient; but it enriches personality, increases the wealth of the mind, and hence brings happiness.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

The amazing activity of the cat is delicately balanced by his capacity for relaxation. Every household should contain a cat, not only for decorative and domestic values, but because the cat in quiescence is medicinal to irritable, tense, tortured men and women.

PAINT THE WALLS OF your mind With many beautiful pictures.

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

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

The highest happiness on earth is the happiness of marriage.