Quotations about:
strive
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Well begun is half done; dare to be wise; begin!
[Dimidium facti qui coepit habet; sapere aude;
incipe!]Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 1, ep. 2 “To Lollius,” l. 40ff (1.2.40-41) (20 BC) [tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]
(Source)
See Aristotle.
(Source (Latin)). Other translations:The facte begun, to one halfe is done, be wyse and take good harte:
Begin.
[tr. Drant (1567)]Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.
[tr. Cowley (17th C)]Set forth, thou'rt half thy way.
Dare to be wise: Begin.
[tr. Fanshawe; ed. Brome (1666)]Begin: 'tis half the work: assume the power
To live: expect not for a fairer hower.
[tr. "Dr. W."; ed. Brome (1666)]He that hath once begun a good design,
Hath finish't half; dare to be wise, begin.
[tr. Creech (1684)]Dare to be wise; begin; for, once begun,
Your task is easy; half the work is done.
[tr. Francis (1747)]In virtue's race to start is half to win;
Come then, be wise -- take courage and begin!
[tr. Howes (1845)]He has half the deed done, who has made a beginning. Boldly undertake the study of true wisdom: begin it forthwith.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]Come now, have courage to be wise: begin:
You're halfway over when you once plunge in.
[tr. Conington (1874)]Make a good start, and you are sure to win.
So, then, have courage to be wise! Begin!
[tr. Martin (1881)]Whoever has begun a deed, by so doing has accomplished half of it. Dare to be wise. Begin.
[tr. Elgood (1893)]Well begun
Is half done. Dare to be wise. Get under way!
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]Once you start, it's nearly done. Be brave and wise:
Begin.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]To begin a job is half the labor: be brave
Enough to be wise: begin!
[tr. Raffel (1983)]Get yourself going and you'll be halfway there;
Dare to be wise; get started.
[tr. Ferry (2001)]Well begun is half done. Dare to be wise.
Start now.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]Who’s started has half finished: dare to be wise: begin!
[tr. Kline (2015)]He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin!
[Bartlett's]
You don’t become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, then doing it so hard that you become great in the process.
Randall Munroe (b. 1984) American webcomic writer, roboticist, programmer
XKCD, # 896 “Marie Curie” (9 May 2011)
(Source)
Whatever you are, be a good one.
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) English novelist
(Attributed)
Attributed in Laurence Hutton, "A Boy I Knew," St Nicholas Magazine (Mar 1897), where it was originally given as "Whatever you are, try to be a good one." Often attributed to Abraham Lincoln (first recorded in 1946). For more information, see here.
That is the question of the New Frontier. That is the choice our nation must make — a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort — between national greatness and national decline — between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of “normalcy” — between determined dedication and creeping mediocrity. All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust, we cannot fail to try.
You can’t always get what you want.
But if you try sometimes,
You just might find
You get what you need.Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger (b. 1943) English musician, songwriter, producer, actor
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” [with Keith Richards] (1969)
(Source)
Do thou thy best, and leave to God the rest.
James Howell (c. 1594–1666) Welsh historian and writer
Paroimiographia [Παροιμιογραφία]: Proverbs, or, Old Sayed Sawes & Adages, “New Sayings,” 2nd Century (1659)
(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."
















