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.