quotations about thought
The thoughts that come often unsought, and, as it were, drop into the mind, are commonly the most valuable of any we have, and therefore should be secured, because they seldom return again.
JOHN LOCKE
letter to Mr. Samuel Bold, May 16, 1699
The highest stage in moral culture at which we can arrive, is when we recognise that we ought to control our thoughts.
CHARLES DARWIN
The Descent of Man
Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth -- more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible; thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habits; thought is anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of the ages. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. It sees man, a feeble speck, surrounded by unfathomable depths of silence; yet it bears itself proudly, as unmoved as if it were lord of the universe. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.
BERTRAND RUSSELL
Why Men Fight: A Method of Abolishing the International Duel
There are little thoughts in your head that can grow until they eat your entire mind. Just tiny little thoughts--they are like a cancer, there is no telling what triggers the spread, or who will be struck, and why some get it and others are spared.
ANNE ENRIGHT
The Gathering
This is one of the disadvantages of wine, it makes a man mistake words for thoughts.
SAMUEL JOHNSON
The Life of Samuel Johnson
For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.
KAHLIL GIBRAN
The Prophet
You are the thinker of your thoughts and as such you are the maker of yourself and condition. Thought is causal and creative, and appears in your character and life in the form of results. There are no accidents in your life. Both its harmonies and antagonisms are the responsive chords of your thoughts. A man thinks, and his life appears.
JAMES ALLEN
Above Life's Turmoil
Thought is required wherever a statement is proved, or, it may be, a general truth enunciated.
ARISTOTLE
Poetics
The revelation of thought takes men out of servitude into freedom.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Conduct of Life
Freedom of speech and thought is not just for warm, fuzzy ideas that we find comfortable. It's for ideas that we find offensive.
FAREED ZAKARIA
Fareed Zakaria GPS, May 28, 2017
Whatever you do, you must remain nimble in your thinking. Do not become so attached to any one belief that you cannot see past it to another possibility.
CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI
Brisingr
Anything great that has been accomplished in the history of humanity has started with one small thought. We all have those thoughts; few people do anything with theirs, however. What do you intend to do with yours?
ERNIE J. ZELINSKI
Look Ma, Life's Easy
Come near me! I do weave
A chain I cannot break--I am possest
With thoughts too swift and strong for one lone human breast.
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
Revolt of Islam