Admiration of great men, living or dead, naturally evokes imitation of them in a greater or less degree. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Obedience, submission, discipline, courage--these are among the characteristics which make a man. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Opportunities ... fall in the way of every man who is resolved to take advantage of them. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
To set a lofty example is the richest bequest a man can leave behind. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
All that is great in man comes through work; and civilization is its product. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The career of a great man remains an enduring monument of human energy. The man dies and disappears, but his thoughts and… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
All life is a struggle… Under competition the lazy man is put under the necessity of exerting himself; and if he will… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The highest culture is not obtained from the teacher when at school or college, so much as by our ever diligent self-education… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The work of many of the greatest men, inspired by duty, has been done amidst suffering and trial and difficulty. They have… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Wisdom and understanding can only become the possession of individual men by travelling the old road of observation, attention, perseverance, and industry. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Great men are always exceptional men; and greatness itself is but comparative. Indeed, the range of most men in life is so… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Men whose acts are at variance with their words command no respect, and what they say has but little weight. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
It is observed at sea that men are never so much disposed to grumble and mutiny as when least employed. Hence an… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The path of success in business is invariably the path of common-sense. Nothwithstanding all that is said about "lucky hits," the best… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Whatever is done for men takes away from the stimulus and necessity of doing things for themselves. The value of legislative as… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Fortune has often been blamed for her blindness; but fortune is not so blind as men are. Those who look into practical… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Experience serves to prove that the worth and strength of a state depend far less upon the form of its institutions than… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
It is the close observation of little things which is the secret of success in business, in art, in science, and in… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Nothing is more common than energy in money-making, quite independent of any higher object than its accumulation. A man who devotes himself… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Thus the brave and aspiring life of one man lights a flame in the minds of others of like faculties and impulse;… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
I see nothing quite conclusive in the art of temporal government, But violence, duplicity and frequent malversation. King rules or barons rule:… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
“Many are the lives of men unwritten, which have nevertheless as powerfully influenced civilization and progress as the more fortunate Great whose… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Even happiness itself may become habitual. There is a habit of looking at the bright side of things, and also of looking… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
England was nothing, compared to continental nations until she had become commercial... until about the middle of the last century, when a… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The crown and glory of life is character. It is the noblest possession of a man, constituting a rank in itself, and… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Men often discover their affinity to each other by the mutual love they have for a book. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The brave man is an inspiration to the weak, and compels them, as it were, to follow him. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Energy of will may be defined to be the very central power of character in a man. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The cheapest of all things is kindness, its exercise requiring the least possible trouble and self-sacrifice. Win hearts, said Burleigh to Queen… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Courage is by no means incompatible with tenderness. On the contrary, gentleness and tenderness have been found to characterize the men, no… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
For want of self-restraint many men are engaged all their lives in fighting with difficulties of their own making. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Men who are resolved to find a way for themselves will always find opportunities enough; and if they do not find them,… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Commonplace though it may appear, this doing of one's duty embodies the highest ideal of life and character. There may be nothing… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Energy enables a man to force his way through irksome drudgery and dry details and caries him onward and upward to every… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
The great leader attracts to himself men of kindred character, drawing them towards him as the loadstone draws iron. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
It will generally be found that men who are constantly lamenting their ill luck are only reaping the consequences of their own… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share Image
Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
The women of the poorer classes make sacrifices, and run risks, and bear privations, and exercise patience and kindness to a degree that the… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
The experience gathered from books, though often valuable, is but of the nature of learning; whereas, the experience gained from actual life is of… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
The wise man... if he would live at peace with others, he will bear and forbear. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
Those who are the most persistent, and work in the true spirit, will invariably be the most successful. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
The iron rail proved a magicians' road. It virtually reduced England to a sixth of its size. It brought the country nearer to the… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
This extraordinary metal, the soul of every manufacture, and the mainspring perhaps of civilised society. Of iron. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
The life of a good man is at the same time the most eloquent lesson of virtue and the most severe reproof of vice. — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
It is a grand old name, that of gentleman, and has been recognized as a rank and power in all stages of society. To… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
“Many are the lives of men unwritten, which have nevertheless as powerfully influenced civilization and progress as the more fortunate Great whose names are… — Samuel Smiles Copy Share
