William penn quotes

The humble, meek, merciful, and just are everywhere of one religion; and when death has taken off the mask they will know one another, though the diverse liveries they wear here make them strangers.

Never esteem people (including yourself) more because they have money, nor think less of anyone (including yourself) because they lack it. Virtue is the only just reason for respecting anyone, lack of virtue the only reason for holding anyone in low regard.

Be sure that religion cannot be right that a man is the worse for having.

It is a severe rebuke upon us, that God makes us so many allowances, and we make so few to our neighbour.

They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies.

Peace can only be secured by justice; never by force of arms.

In marriage do thou be wise: prefer the person before money, virtue before beauty, the mind before the body; then thou hast a wife, a friend, a companion, a second self.

Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit.

Do good with what thou hast, or it will do thee no good.

We need to stop arguing about Christ and start living like Christ.

Knowledge is the treasure of a wise man.

Never despise what you don't understand.

No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself.

The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.

I shall pass through life but once. Let me show kindness now, as I shall not pass this way again.

Never give out while there is hope; but hope not beyond reason, for that shows more desire than judgement.

The truest end of life is to know the life that never ends.

People are more afraid of the laws of Man than of God, because their punishment seems to be nearest.

I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.

[Tho]ugh death be a dark passage; it leads to immortality, and that is recompense enough for suffering of it. And yet faith lights us, even through the grave....And this is the comfort of the good, and the grave cannot hold them, and they live as they die. For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.

A good End cannot sanctify evil Means; nor must we ever do Evil, that Good may come of it.

The country life is to be preferred, for there we see the works of God; but in cities little else but the works of men. And the one makes a better subject for contemplation than the other.

Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than the arguments of its opposers.

Death then, being the way and condition of life, we cannot love to live if we cannot bear to die.

Friendship is the next pleasure we may hope for: and where we find it not at home, or have no home to find it in, we may seek it abroad. It is an union of spirits, a marriage of hearts, and the bond thereof virtue.

In all debates, let truth be thy aim, not victory, or an unjust interest.

Neither great nor good things were ever attained without loss and hardships. Those that would reap and not labour, must faint with the wind, and perish in disappointments; but an hair of my head shall not fall, without the providence of my Father that is over all.

Naked Truth needs no shift.

That which the people called Quakers lay down as a main fundamental in religion is this- That God, through Christ, hath placed a principle in every man, to inform him of his duty, and to enable him to do it; and that those that live up to this principle are the people of God, and those that live in disobedience to it, are not God's people, whatever name they may bear, or profession they may make of religion. This is their ancient, first, and standing testimony: with this they began, and this they bore, and do bear to the world.

Avoid flatterers, for they are thieves in disguise.

If thou wouldst conquer thy weakness, thou must never gratify it. No man is compelled to evil: his consent only makes it his. It is no sin to be tempted, but to be overcome.

Silence is Wisdom where Speaking is Folly.

True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.

Nor must we always be neutral where our neighbors are concerned: for tho' meddling is a fault, helping is a duty.

All excess is ill, but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is quarrelsome, lascivious, impudent, dangerous and mad. In fine, he that is drunk is not a man: because he is so long void of Reason, that distinguishes a Man from a Beast.

The way, like the cross, is spiritual: that is an inward submission of the soul to the will of God, as it is manifested by the light of Christ in the consciences of men, though it be contrary to their own inclinations.

Unless virtue guide us our choice must be wrong.

Did we believe a final Reckoning and Judgment; or did we think enough of what we do believe, we would allow more Love in Religion than we do; since Religion it self is nothing else but Love to God and Man. Love is indeed Heaven upon Earth; since Heaven above would not be Heaven without it: For where there is not Love; there is Fear: But perfect Love casts out Fear. Love is above all; and when it prevails in us all, we shall all be Lovely, and in Love with God and one with another.

It would be far better to be of no church than to be bitter of any.

The unspoken word never defeats one. What one does not say does not have to be explained.

Those who live to live forever, never fear dying.

The wisdom of nations lies in their proverbs, which are brief and pithy. Collect and learn them; they are notable measures of directions for human life; you have much in little; they save time in speaking; and upon occasion may be the fullest and safest answer.

Let men be good, and the Government cannot be bad.

Nothing shows our weakness more than to be so sharp-sighted at spying other men's faults, and so purblind about our own.

Men being born with a title to perfect freedom and uncontrolled enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature. No one can be put out of his estate and subjected to the political view of another, without his consent.

Always remember to bound thy thoughts to the present occasion.

Truth never lost ground by enquiry.

Men are generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children.

Between a Man and his Wife nothing ought to rule but Love. Believe nothing against another but on good authority; and never report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to some other to conceal it.

It is wise not to seek a secret, and honest not to reveal one.

The best recreation is to do good.

We have a call to do good, as often as we have the power and occasion.

He that has more Knowledge than Judgment, is made for another Man's use more than his own.

Religion is the fear of God, and its demonstration good works; and faith is the root of both: For without faith we cannot please God; nor can we fear what we do not believe.

The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.

Let us see what love can do.

If thou thinkest twice before thou speakest once, thou wilt speak twice the better for it.

Anything less than full justice is cruelty.

Show is not substance; realities govern wise men.

Religion itself is nothing else but Love to God and Man. He that lives in Love lives in God, says the Beloved Disciple: And to be sure a Man can live no where better.

Choose a friend as thou dost a wife, till death separate you.

Force may subdue, but love gains, and he that forgives first wins the laurel.

Oppression makes a poor country.

If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him. Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.

A good end cannot sanctify evil means; nor must we ever do evil that good may come of it. We are too ready to retaliate, rather than forgive, or gain by love and information. And yet we could hurt no man that we believe loves us. Let us, then, try what love will do: for if men do once see that we love them, we should soon find they would not harm us. Force may subdue, but love gains; and he that forgives first, wins the laurel.

If it be an evil to judge rashly or untruly any single man, how much a greater sin it is to condemn a whole people.

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.

Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants.

Death is only a horizon, and a horizon is only the limit of your sight. Open your eyes to see more clearly.

The adventure of the Christian life begins when we dare to do what we would never tackle without Christ.

Experience is a safe guide.

Man, being made reasonable, and so a thinking creature, there is nothing more worthy of his being than the right direction and employment of his thoughts; since upon this depends both his usefulness to the public, and his own present and future benefit in all respects.

Next to God, thy parents.

To do evil that good may come of it is for bunglers in politics as well as morals.

A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably.

No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.

He that does good for good's sake seeks neither paradise nor reward, but he is sure of both in the end.

There can be no Friendship where there is no Freedom.

Love is indeed Heaven upon Earth; since Heaven above would not be Heaven without it: For where there is not Love; there is Fear: But perfect Love casts out Fear. And yet we naturally fear most to offend what we most Love.

In the rush and noise of life, as you have intervals, step home within yourselves and be still. Wait upon God, and feel His good presence; this will carry you evenly through your day's business.

Where Example keeps pace with Authority, Power hardly fails to be obey'd.

Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire.

Love labor: for if thou dost not want it for food, thou mayest for physic. It is wholesome for thy body and good for thy mind.

There can be no friendship where there is no freedom. Friendship loves a free air, and will not be fenced up in straight and narrow enclosures.

That all persons living in this province, who confess and acknowledge the one Almighty and eternal God, to be the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the world; and that hold themselves obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall, in no ways, be molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion, or practice, in manners of faith and worship, nor shall they be compelled, at any time, to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry whatever.

True Godliness doesn't turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it, and excites their endeavors to mend it. ...We have nothing that we can call our own; no, not our selves: for we are all but Tenants, and at Will, too, of the great Lord of our selves, and the rest of this great farm, the World that we live upon.

Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them, and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. Wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad; if it be ill, they will cure it. But if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavour to warp and spoil it to their turn.

Passion is a sort of fever in the mind, which ever leaves us weaker than it found us.

If a civil word or two will render a man happy, he must be a wretch indeed who will not give them to him. Such a disposition is like lighting another man's candle by one's own, which loses none of its brilliancy by what the other gains.

It were happy if we studied nature more in natural things; and acted according to nature, whose rules are few, plain, and most reasonable.

We are too careless of posterity; not considering that as they are, so the next generation will be.

If we would mend the World, we should mend Ourselves; and teach our Children to be, not what we are, but what they should be.

Knowledge is the treasure, but judgment the treasurer, of a wise man.

Inquiry is human; blind obedience brutal. Truth never loses by the one but often suffers by the other.

Were the superfluities of a nation valued, and made a perpetual tax or benevolence, there would be more alms-houses than poor, schools than scholars, and enough to spare for government besides.

For though Death be a dark passage, it leads to immortality, and that is recompence enough for suffering of it.

Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.

We are told truly that meekness and modesty are the rich and charming garments of the soul. The less showy our outward attire is, the more distinctly and brilliantly does the beauty of these inner garments shine.

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.

Death cannot kill what never dies.

He that lives in love lives in God.

To be furious in religion is to be irreligiously religious.

Love is the hardest lesson in Christianity; but, for that reason, it should be most our care to learn it.

For we put the power in the people.

The Remedy often proves worse than the Disease.

Wit gives an edge to sense, and recommends it extremely.

Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.

My prison shall be my grave before I will budge a jot; for I owe my conscience to no mortal man.

Let the people think they govern and they will be governed.

Levity of behavior, always a weakness, is far more unbecoming in a woman than a man.

O Lord, help me not to despise or oppose what I do not understand.

What man in his right mind would conspire his own hurt? Men are beside themselves when they transgress against their convictions.

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do ... let me do it now.

Friendship is the union of spirits.

Love grows. Lust wastes by Enjoyment, and the Reason is, that one springs from an Union of Souls, and the other from an Union of Sense.

Friendship is the union of spirits, a marriage of hearts, and the bond thereof virtue

True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.

For nothing reaches the heart but what is from the heart, or pierces the conscience but what comes from a living conscience

Patience and Diligence, like faith, remove mountains.

Force may make hypocrites, but it can never make converts.

Where thou art Obliged to speak, be sure speak the Truth: For Equivocation is half way to Lying, as Lying, the whole way to Hell.

If you protect a man from folly, you will soon have a nation of fools.

We are inclined to call things by the wrong names. We call prosperity 'happiness', and adversity 'misery' eventhough adversity is the school of wisdom and often the way to eternal happiness.

If thou wouldn't conquer thy weakness thou must not gratify it.

No people can be truly happy... if abridged of the freedom of their consciences