#commence

I first began to read religious books at school, and especially the Bible, when I was eleven years old; and almost immediately commenced a habit of secret prayer. ↗

— Francis W. Newman

#began #bible #books #commenced #eleven

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success. ↗

— Robert Orben

#caps #ceremony #commencement #dressed #event

All the gestures of children are graceful; the reign of distortion and unnatural attitudes commences with the introduction of the dancing master. ↗

— Joshua Reynolds

#children #commences #dancing #distortion #gestures

As soon as man enters into a state of society he loses the sense of his weakness; equality ceases, and then commences the state of war. ↗

— Charles de Secondat

#commences #enters #equality #his #into

It is evident that in the period designated as that of the kings, when Rome commenced her career of conquest, she was, for that time and country, a great and wealthy city. ↗

— Goldwin Smith

#city #commenced #conquest #country #designated

When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Our answers were thing like astronaut, president, or in my case… princess. When we were ten, they asked again and we answered - rock star, cowboy, or in my case, gold medalist. But now that we've grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how 'bout this: who the hell knows?! This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions, its time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere chill. Fall in love - a lot. Major in philosophy 'cause there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind. Then change it again, because nothing is permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can. That way, someday, when they ask again what we want to be… we won't have to guess. We'll know. [from the movie] ↗

— Stephenie Meyer

#graduation #change

We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better. ↗

— J.K. Rowling

#harvard-commencement-speech #imagination #magic #change

Of your own indefatigable labor from early dawn and of your explicit instructions, that the batteries should reserve their ammunition, until the grand charge should commence, for which the enemy were undoubtedly preparing. ↗

— John Bigelow

#batteries #charge #commence #dawn #early

Unlike any other creature on this planet, human beings can learn and understand without having experienced. They can think themselves into other peoples’ places. Of course, this is a power like my brand of fictional magic that is morally neutral. One might use such a power to manipulate or control, just as much as to understand or sympathize. And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or peer inside cages. They can close their hearts and minds to any suffering that does not touch them personally. They can refuse to know. I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think that they have any fewer nightmares than I do. ↗

— J.K. Rowling

#jk-rowling #experience

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death. ↗

— Albert Einstein

#cease #commence #death #growth #intellectual