All that I have accomplished ... has been by that plodding, patient, persevering process of accretion which builds the ant heap particle by particle, thought by thought, fact by fact.
Elihu BurrittAll the beautiful orders of architecture and creations of the pencil, all the conceptions of the beautiful in nature and art and humanity, are inventions extorted, as it were, from the mind to extend and increase the pleasures of sense.
Elihu BurrittForming characters! Whose? Our own or others? Both. And in that momentous fact lies the peril and Responsibility of our existence.
Elihu BurrittOur minds are like certain vehicles,--when they have little to carry they make much noise about it, but when heavily loaded they run quietly.
Elihu BurrittBe ever gentle with the children God has given you; watch over them constantly; reprove them earnestly, but not in anger. In the forcible language of Scripture, "Be not bitter against them." "Yes, they are good boys," I once heard a kind father say. "I talk to them very much, but do not like to beat my, children--the world will beat them." It was a beautiful thought not elegantly expressed.
Elihu Burritt