William Phelps Quotations

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

Nature makes boys and girls lovely to look upon so they can be tolerated until they acquire some sense

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

I am glad my ancestors arrived on the Mayflower, but I am gladder that there are nine generations between us.

Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation.

The average Englishman does not see why a stranger should accost him with jocosity - many Englishmen do not see why a stranger should accost them at all

The fear of life is the favorite disease of the twentieth century

I cannot explain to another the joy and the happiness I get out of teaching. It is more than a profession, an occupation, a vocation, a struggle; it is a passion, for I love to teach. ... I love to teach as a painter loves to paint, as a singer loves to sing, and as a musician loves to play. Every strong man loves to run a race.

The happiest person is he who thinks the most interesting thoughts.

The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves, they are the cause of happiness in others.