The meanest, most contemptible kind of praise is that which first speaks well of a man, and then qualifies it with a "but". - Henry Ward Beecher
Besides anarchy, the worst thing in this world is government. - Henry Ward Beecher
Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends. - Henry Ward Beecher
We sleep, but the loom of life never stops, and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up in the morning. - Henry Ward Beecher
Now comes the mystery. - Henry Ward Beecher
The power of hiding ourselves from one another is mercifully given, for men are wild beasts, and would devour one another but for this protection. - Henry Ward Beecher
A book is good company. It is full of conversation without loquacity. It comes to your longing with full instruction, but pursues you never. - Henry Ward Beecher
Adversity, if for no other reason, is of benefit, since it is sure to bring a season of sober reflection. People see clearer at such times. Storms purify the atmosphere. - Henry Ward Beecher
Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep burning, unquenchable. - Henry Ward Beecher
Troubles are often the tools God fashions us for better things. - Henry Ward Beecher
The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next. - Henry Ward Beecher
The cynic is one who never sees a good quality in a man, and never fails to see a bad one. He is a human owl, vigilant in darkness, and blind to light, mousing for vermin, and never seeing noble game. - Henry Ward Beecher
We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves. - Henry Ward Beecher
the difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will and the other from a strong won't - Henry Ward Beecher
Never forget what a man says to you when he is angry. - Henry Ward Beecher
A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires. - Henry Ward Beecher
Fear secretes acids; but love and trust are sweet juices. - Henry Ward Beecher
Riches are not an end of life, but an instrument of life. - Henry Ward Beecher
Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore? - Henry Ward Beecher
We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started. - Henry Ward Beecher
There are more quarrels smothered by just shutting your mouth, and holding it shut, than by all the wisdom in the world. - Henry Ward Beecher
The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings. - Henry Ward Beecher
It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries in life. - Henry Ward Beecher
Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself - and be lenient to everybody else. - Henry Ward Beecher
The soul without imagination is what an observatory would be without a telescope. - Henry Ward Beecher
All words are pegs to hang ideas on. - Henry Ward Beecher
Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house. - Henry Ward Beecher
Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith. - Henry Ward Beecher
If a man harbors any sort of fear, it percolates through all his thinking, damages his personality, makes him landlord to a ghost. - Henry Ward Beecher
There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away. - Henry Ward Beecher
Death is the dropping of the flower, that the fruit may, swell. - Henry Ward Beecher
Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven. - Henry Ward Beecher
To become an able and successful man in any profession, three things are necessary, nature, study and practice. - Henry Ward Beecher
Repentance may begin instantly, but reformation often requires a sphere of years. - Henry Ward Beecher
Pride slays thanksgiving ... A prideful man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. - Henry Ward Beecher
It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see a stain upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words, that is friendship. - Henry Ward Beecher
The dog was created especially for children. He is the god of frolic. - Henry Ward Beecher
The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will; and the other from a strong won't. - Henry Ward Beecher
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. - Henry Ward Beecher
Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep-burning, unquenchable. - Henry Ward Beecher
The Bible is God's chart for you to steer by, to keep you from the bottom of the sea, and to show you where the harbor is, and how to reach it without running on rocks or bars. - Henry Ward Beecher
It usually takes 100 years to make a law, and then, after it's done its work, it usually takes 100 years to be rid of it. - Henry Ward Beecher
Do not be afraid of defeat. you are never so near victory as when defeated in a good cause - Henry Ward Beecher
Now comes the mystery! (last words) - Henry Ward Beecher
Men's best successes come after their disappointments. - Henry Ward Beecher
Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself-and be lenient to everybody else. - Henry Ward Beecher
You never know till you try to reach them how accessible men are; but you must approach each man by the right door. - Henry Ward Beecher
I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest who complained of bad luck. - Henry Ward Beecher
Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into. - Henry Ward Beecher