Generosity Quotes

To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. (Confucius)
Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need. View quote
Kahlil Gibran
He who gives only what he would as readily throw away gives without generosity; for the essence of generosity is in self-sacrifice. View quote
Henry Taylor
Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present. View quote
Albert Camus
We would all like a reputation for generosity and we'd all like to buy it cheap. View quote
Mignon McLaughlin
Generosity during life is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality and benevolence, the other from pride or fear. View quote
Horace Mann
What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one. View quote
François de La Rochefoucauld
Suffering can become a means to greater love and greater generosity. View quote
Mother Teresa
Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. View quote
Richard Dawkins
The sea - this truth must be confessed - has no generosity. No display of manly qualities - courage, hardihood, endurance, faithfulness - has ever been known to touch its irresponsible consciousness of power. View quote
Joseph Conrad
Generosity is nothing else than a craze to possess. All which I abandon, all which I give, I enjoy in a higher manner through the fact that I give it away. To give is to enjoy possessively the object which one gives. (Jean-Paul Sartre)
Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity. View quote
José Martí
The pain of sexual frustration, of repressed tenderness, of denied curiosity, of isolation in the ego, of greed, suppressed rebellion, of hatred poisoning all love and generosity, permeates our sexuality. What we love we destroy. View quote
Germaine Greer
Deeds that seemed unimportant at the time would prove to have been momentous; a tiny act of selfishness and unkindness or, conversely, an unconsidered act of generosity would become the measure of a human life. View quote
Karen Armstrong
Generosity is a virtue for individuals, not Governments. When governments are generous it is with other people's money, other people's safety, other people's future. View quote
P. D. James
I knew how it was with drunks. They ran out of generosity, even for themselves. View quote
Ross Macdonald
True generosity means accepting ingratitude. View quote
Coco Chanel
Generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is giving me that which you need more than I do. View quote
Kahlil Gibran
Commitment becomes hysterical when those who have nothing to give advocate generosity, and those who have nothing to give up preach renunciation. View quote
Eric Hoffer
That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing. View quote
Simone de Beauvoir
I am prone to envy. It is one of my three default emotions, the others being greed and rage. I have also experienced compassion and generosity, but only fleetingly and usually while drunk, so I have little memory. (Augusten Burroughs)
True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. Time and love are the most valuable possession you can share. View quote
Suze Orman
I discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor but also an example of life's mystery and unpredictability, of life's generosity and beauty, a worthy object of repeated and ever changing contemplation. View quote
Jane Smiley
When they favor the access of other people to education and health care, the countries of the North not only demonstrate generosity or solidarity, but also implement the principles of respecting and promoting human rights. View quote
Omar Bongo
I would argue that the next President, either Bush or Gore, should strike a 'national' posture, exhibiting generosity toward the defeated opponent, but proceeding with determination to implement an agenda. View quote
Richard V. Allen