The imagination is the secret and marrow of civilization. It is the very eye of faith.
Henry Ward BeecherIt is defeat that turns bone to flint, gristle to muscle, and makes men invincible.
Henry Ward BeecherChildren are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they are going to catch you in next.
Henry Ward BeecherWe pray for those who have ceased to pray. We pray for those that need prayer more than ever, that have fewer and fewer seasons even of thought, that grow hard with years, that are less and less troubled by sin, and that are more and more irreverent of religion. We pray for the children of Christian parents who sometimes weep at the memory of father and mother, but who never have thought of God.
Henry Ward BeecherWe only see in a lifetime a dozen faces marked with the peace of a contented spirit.
Henry Ward BeecherThe gravest events dawn with no more noise than the morning star makes in rising. All great developments complete themselves in the world and modestly wait in silence, praising themselves never, and announcing themselves not at all. We must be sensitive, and sensible, if we would see the beginnings and endings of great things. That is our part.
Henry Ward BeecherBadgered, snubbed and scolded on the one hand; petted, flattered and indulged on the other-it is astonishing how many children work their way up to an honest manhood in spite of parents and friends. Human nature has an element of great toughness in it.
Henry Ward BeecherAs for marigolds, poppies, hollyhocks, and valorous sunflowers, we shall never have a garden without them, both for their own sake, and for the sake of old-fashioned folks, who used to love them.
Henry Ward BeecherA coat that is not used, the moths eat; and a Christian who is hung up so that he shall not be tempted-the moths eat him; and they have poor food at that.
Henry Ward BeecherTake all the robes of all the good judges that have ever lived on the face of the earth, and they would not be large enough to cover the iniquity of one corrupt judge.
Henry Ward BeecherIf men had wings and bore black feathers, Few of them would be clever enough to be crows.
Henry Ward BeecherIf a man cannot be a Christian in the place where he is, he cannot be a Christian anywhere.
Henry Ward BeecherIt is the end of art to inoculate men with the love of nature. But those who have a psssion for nature in the natural way, need no pictures nor gallereies. Spring is their designer, and the whole year their artist.
Henry Ward BeecherReason is a permanent blessing of God to the soul. Without it there can be no large religion.
Henry Ward BeecherWhy is not a rat as good as a rabbit? Why should men eat shrimps and neglect cockroaches?
Henry Ward BeecherRemember God's bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!
Henry Ward BeecherIf a man harbors any sort of fear, it percolates through all his thinking, damages his personality, makes him landlord to a ghost.
Henry Ward BeecherIt is defeat that turns bone to flint; it is defeat that turns gristle to muscle; it is defeat that makes men invincible. Do not then be afraid of defeat. You are never so near to victory as when defeated in a good cause.
Henry Ward BeecherLife would be a perpetual flea hunt if a man were obliged to run down all the innuendoes, inveracities, and insinuations and misrepresentations which are uttered against him.
Henry Ward BeecherA thoughtful mind, when it sees a nation's flag, sees not the flag, but the nation itself.
Henry Ward BeecherNo matter what looms ahead, if you can eat today, enjoy the sunlight today, mix good cheer with friends today, enjoy it and bless God for it. Do not look back on happiness -- or dream of it in the future. You are only sure of today; do not let yourself be cheated out of it.
Henry Ward BeecherLiving is death; dying is life. We are not what we appear to be. On this side of the grave we are exiles, on that citizens; on this side orphans, on that children.
Henry Ward BeecherA Christian is nothing but a sinful man who has put himself to school for Christ for the honest purpose of becoming better.
Henry Ward BeecherThe call to religion is not a call to be better than your fellows, but to be better than yourself. Religion is relative to the individual.
Henry Ward BeecherOrdinarily rivers run small at the beginning, grow broader and broader as they proceed, and become widest and deepest at the point, where they enter the sea. It is such rivers that the Christian's life is like. But the life of the mere worldly man is like those rivers in Southern Africa, which, proceeding from mountain freshets, are broad and deep at the beginning, and grow narrower and more shallow as they advance. They waster themselves by soaking into the sands, and at last they die out entirely. The farther they run the less there is of them.
Henry Ward BeecherIf there's a job to be done, I always ask the busiest man in my parish to take it on and it gets done.
Henry Ward BeecherA man's ledger does not tell what he is, or what he is worth. Count what is in man, not what is on him, if you would know what he is worth-whether rich or poor.
Henry Ward BeecherThere are many trials in life which do not seem to come from unwisdom or folly; they are silver arrows shot from the bow of God, and fixed inextricably in the quivering heart - they are meant to be borne - they were not meant, like snow or water, to melt as soon as they strike; but the moment an ill can be patiently borne it is disarmed of its poison, though not of its pain.
Henry Ward Beecher