The darkest day in any man’s earthly career is that wherein he first fancies there is some easier way of gaining a dollar than by squarely earning it.
Horace Greeley (1881-1872) American newspaper editor, reformer, politician
(Attributed)
In Friends' Intelligencer (31 Aug 1867)
Quotations by:
Greeley, Horace
Abstaining is favorable both to the head and the pocket.
Horace Greeley (1881-1872) American newspaper editor, reformer, politician
(Attributed)
(Source)
Quoted in Maturin Murray Ballou, Edge-Tools of Speech (1886).
Fame is a vapor; popularity an accident; riches take wings; the only earthly certainty is oblivion ….
Horace Greeley (1881-1872) American newspaper editor, reformer, politician
Recollections of a Busy Life, ch. 18 (1868)
(Source)
Quoted by Mark Twain in his Notebook (1869), and often attributed to him. Frequently misquoted as "Fame is a vapor; popularity an accident; riches take wings; those who cheer today will curse tomorrow; only one thing endures: character." More discussion of this quotation here.
The illusion that times that were are better than those that are, has probably pervaded all ages.
Horace Greeley (1881-1872) American newspaper editor, reformer, politician
The American Conflict: a history of the great rebellion in the United States, ch. 1 “Our Country After the Revolution” (1864)
Full text.