Desirable Quotes

• Abundance and vigor of automatic movements are desirable, and even a considerable degree of restlessness is a good sign in young children.

  G. Stanley Hall

  Children, Movement, Degrees

  11 Copy quote

• Knowledge indeed is a desirable, a lovely possession.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Lovely, Possession

  Thomas Jefferson (2004). “Light and Liberty: Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness”, p.13, Modern Library

  19 Copy quote

  Show source

• Let us, my dear contemporaries, arise above such narrow prejudices. If wisdom be desirable on its own account, if virtue, to deserve the name, must be founded on knowledge, let us endeavour to strengthen our minds by reflection till our heads become a balance for our hearts.

  Mary Wollstonecraft

  Heart, Reflection, Names

  Mary Wollstonecraft, Janet Todd (2008). “A Vindication of the Rights of Men; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution”, p.166, Oxford University Press

  21 Copy quote

  Show source

• All things desirable to men are contained in the Bible.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Men, All Things

  5 Copy quote

• Times of crisis, of disruption or constructive change, are not only predictable, but desirable. They mean growth. Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

  Inspirational, Mean, People

  37 Copy quote

• In all matters moderation is desirable. If a thing is carried to excess, it will prove a source of evil.

  Bahá'u'lláh

  Evil, Religion, Environmental

  9 Copy quote

• What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Priorities, May, Today

  8 Copy quote

• Education is learning to grow, learning what to grow toward, learning what is good and bad, learning what is desirable and undesirable, learning what to choose and what not to choose.

  Abraham Maslow

  Good And Bad, Grows, Undesirable

  "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature". Book by Abraham Maslow, 1971.

  272 Copy quote

  Show source

• Alternatives, and particularly desirable alternatives, grow only on imaginary trees.

  Saul Bellow

  Decision, Tree, Alternatives

  SAUL BELLOW (1944). “DANGLING MAN”

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• There is nothing, in itself, valuable or despicable, desirable or hateful, beautiful or deformed; but that these attributes arise from the particular constitution and fabric of human sentiment and affection.

  David Hume

  Beautiful, Science, Fabric

  David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.675, Delphi Classics

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• We belong to the community. It is not the tailor alone who is the ninth part of a man; it is as much the preacher, and the merchant, and the farmer. Where is this division of labor to end? and what object does it finally serve? No doubt another may also think for me; but it is not therefore desirable that he should do so to the exclusion of my thinking for myself.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Men, Thinking, Thoughtful

  Henry David Thoreau (2015). “Walden”, p.45, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• All genuine ideals have one thing in common: they express the desire for something which is not yet accomplished but which is desirable for the purpose of the growth and happiness of the individual.

  Erich Fromm

  Growth, Desire, Purpose

  Erich Fromm (1941). “Escape from Freedom”, Henry Holt & Company

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• Movies can be effective in influencing people to think in ways they might not otherwise be exposed to. Social commentary in films is most effective when you're not aware of a soapbox. Making the point without force-feeding the audience is the most desirable approach.

  Walter Koenig

  Thinking, People, Soapbox

  4 Copy quote

• Enough fine weather and money and a few memorable meals make any place desirable.

  Elizabeth McCracken

  Memorable, Weather, Meals

  4 Copy quote

• When you try to cool down hot emotions, what tends to happen is that you end up either repressing them or losing them altogether. Neither is desirable. Without emotion, much social interaction loses its meaning, or changes for the worse.

  Julian Baggini

  Trying, Hot, Losing

  "Calm? Why should I be calm?" by Julian Baggini, www.theguardian.com. March 2, 2009.

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

• The most desirable thing in life after health and modest means is leisure with dignity.

  Marcus Tullius Cicero

  Mean, Things In Life, Leisure

  9 Copy quote

• No doubt another may also think for me; but it is not therefore desirable that he should do so to the exclusion of my thinking for myself.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Thinking, Doubt, May

  Henry David Thoreau (1882). “Walden”, p.75

  10 Copy quote

  Show source

• Reason shows me that if my happiness is desirable and good, the equal happiness of any other person must be equally desirable.

  Henry Sidgwick

  Reason, Equal, Show Me

  31 Copy quote

• Imagine no limitations; decide what's right and desirable before you decide what's possible.

  Brian Tracy

  Inspirational, Life, Imagine

  FaceBook post by Brian Tracy from Jul 25, 2014

  15 Copy quote

  Show source
• 

  There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.

  Mark Twain

  Motivational, Forbidden Love, Temptation

  Mark Twain (2014). “Mark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America's Most-Revered Humorist”, p.31, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

  39 Copy quote

  Show source

• To be desired by those who are themselves highly desirable is in itself an aphrodisiac.

  Tobsha Learner

  Aphrodisiac

  Tobsha Learner (1996). “Quiver: a book of erotic tales”

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• Our wishes never seem so little desirable as when on the verge of accomplishment; we draw back instinctively, they look so different from what we expected.

  Geraldine Jewsbury

  Accomplishment, Expectations, Wish

  4 Copy quote

• This above all makes history useful and desirable; it unfolds before our eyes a glorious record of exemplary actions.

  Livy

  Eye, Records, Action

  "History of Rome". Book by Livy. Praefatio, section 10,

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• A little folly is desirable in him that will not be guilty of stupidity.

  Michel de Montaigne

  Stupidity, Littles, Guilty

  Michel de Montaigne, William Hazlitt, Orlando Williams Wight (1866). “Works of Michael de Montaigne: Comprising his essays, journey into Italy, and letters”, p.311

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• Is uniformity of opinion desirable? No more than that of face and stature.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Faces, Opinion, Conformity

  4 Copy quote