#act

Belief creates the actual fact. ↗

— William James

#actual #belief #creates #fact

An act has no ethical quality whatever unless it be chosen out of several all equally possible. ↗

— William James

#chosen #equally #ethical #out #possible

How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive of all they do, and of all they are willing to endure. ↗

— William James

#fact #gain #happiness #how #in fact

It is well for the world that in most of us, by the age of thirty, the character has set like plaster, and will never soften again. ↗

— William James

#age #character #like #most #never

No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one's sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one's character may remain entirely unaffected for the better. ↗

— William James

#advantage #better #character #concrete #entirely

Our esteem for facts has not neutralized in us all religiousness. It is itself almost religious. Our scientific temper is devout. ↗

— William James

#devout #esteem #facts #itself #neutralized

The 'I think' which Kant said must be able to accompany all my objects, is the 'I breathe' which actually does accompany them. ↗

— William James

#accompany #actually #breathe #does #i

What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in fact) craves most is praise although the philosophers generally call it recognition! ↗

— William James

#call #craves #every #fact #generally

It is our duty still to endeavor to avoid war; but if it shall actually take place, no matter by whom brought on, we must defend ourselves. If our house be on fire, without inquiring whether it was fired from within or without, we must try to extinguish it. ↗

— Thomas Jefferson

#avoid #brought #defend #duty #endeavor

I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others. ↗

— Thomas Jefferson

#admit #any #bow #i #inquiry