HENRY: Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry VI, Part 3, Act 4, sc. 6, l. 39ff (4.6.39) (1591)
(Source)
Quotations about:
commitment
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Progress always involves risk. You can’t steal second base and keep one foot on first base.
Robert Quillen (1887-1948) American journalist and humorist
“Editorial Epigrams,” The Evening Repository (Canton, OH) (27 Mar 1924)
Also noted by him in the column "Corks and Curls," Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC) (11 Aug 1927): "Every big venture involves some risks. You can’t steal second and keep one foot on first."
This quotation is frequently attributed to Frederick B. Wilcox, who was the editor of A Little Book of Aphorisms (1947) where this was included, uncited.
More discussion about this quotation: The Big Apple: “You can’t steal second base while your foot is on first base”.
The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence.
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) French-American religious and writer [a.k.a. Fr. M. Louis]
“Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander”
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) US President (1961-63)
Letter to the National Conference of Christians and Jews Conference (26 Oct 1960)
(Source)
A man builds a fine house; and now he has a master, and a task for life; he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair, the rest of his days.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“Works and Days,” Society and Solitude, ch. 7 (1870)
(Source)
There is no greater mistake than to try to leap an abyss in two jumps.
David Lloyd George (1863-1945) Welsh politician, statesman, UK Prime Minister (1916-22)
War Memoirs of David Lloyd George, Vol. 2, ch. 24 (1933)
Not original with Lloyd George, but usually attributed to him. For more information, see here. Variants:
- "Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps."
- "The most dangerous thing in the world is to leap a chasm in two jumps."
- "Anything can be achieved in small, deliberate steps. But there are times you need the courage to take a great leap; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps."
- "There is nothing more dangerous than to leap a chasm in two jumps."
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead (1901-1978) American anthropologist
(Attributed)
Phrase frequently attributed to Mead, but not found in her writings. The first sentence, however, is trademarked.
Mead founded the Institute for Intercultural Studies in 1944 (it dissolved in 2009). Regarding this quote, the IIS noted on its still extant website:
We have been unable to locate when and where it was first cited, becoming a motto for many organizations and movements. We believe it probably came into circulation through a newspaper report of something said spontaneously and informally. We know, however, that it was firmly rooted in her professional work and that it reflected a conviction that she expressed often, in different contexts and phrasings.
Additional discussion about this quotation's origins: Never Doubt That a Small Group of Thoughtful, Committed Citizens Can Change the World; Indeed, It’s the Only Thing That Ever Has – Quote Investigator.
