William Ralph Inge quotes - page 2

The wise man is he who knows the relative value of things. (William Ralph Inge)
The fruit of the tree of knowledge, always drives man from some paradise or other. View quote
William Ralph Inge
So the pendulum swings, now violently, now slowly; and every institution not only carries within it the seeds of its own dissolution, but prepares the way for its most hated rival. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Events in the past may be roughly divided into those which probably never happened and those which do not matter. This is what makes the trade of historian so attractive. View quote
William Ralph Inge
The old civilisation, with all the brilliant qualities which make many moderns regret its destruction, rested on too narrow a base. The woman and the slave were left out, the woman especially by the Greeks, and the slave by the Romans. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Nature takes away any faculty that is not used. View quote
William Ralph Inge
A cat can be trusted to purr when she is pleased, which is more than can be said for human beings. View quote
William Ralph Inge
There are no rewards or punishments - only consequences. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Whoever marries the spirit of this age will find himself a widower in the next. View quote
William Ralph Inge
To marry is to get a binocular view of life. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Bereavement is the sharpest challenge to our trust in God; if faith can overcome this, there is no mountain which it cannot remove. (William Ralph Inge)
Faith is an act of rational choice, which determines us to act as if certain things were true, and in the confident expectation that they will prove to be true. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Prayer gives a man the opportunity of getting to know a gentleman he hardly ever meets. I do not mean his maker, but himself. View quote
William Ralph Inge
A man may build himself a throne of bayonets, but he can't sit on it. View quote
William Ralph Inge
No Christian can be a pessimist, for Christianity is a system of radical optimism. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Consciousness is a phase of mental life which arises in connection with the formation of new habits. When habit is formed, consciousness only interferes to spoil our performance. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Theater is, of course, a reflection of life. Maybe we have to improve life before we can hope to improve theater. View quote
William Ralph Inge
No word in our language - not even "Socialism" - has been employed more loosely than "Mysticism." The history of the word begins in close connexion with the Greek mysteries. A mystic is one who has been, or is being, initiated into some esoteric knowledge of Divine things, about which he must keep his mouth shut. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Public opinion, a vulgar, impertinent, anonymous tyrant who deliberately makes life unpleasant for anyone who is not content to the average person. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Literature flourishes best when it is half a trade and half an art. View quote
William Ralph Inge
True faith is belief in the reality of absolute values. (William Ralph Inge)
Faith always contains an element of risk, of venture; and we are impelled to make the venture by the affinity and attraction which we feel in ourselves. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Our test is infallible. Whatever view of reality deepens our sense of the tremendous issues of life in the world wherein we move, is for us nearer the truth than any view which diminishes that sense. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Every institution not only carries within it the seeds of its own dissolution, but prepares the way for its most hated rival. View quote
William Ralph Inge
What is originality? Undetected plagiarism. View quote
William Ralph Inge