quotations about gratitude
We absolve a friend from gratitude when we remind him of a favor.
CHRISTIAN NESTELL BOVEE
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought
The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find in every hour some heavenly blessings.
HENRY WARD BEECHER
Life Thoughts
Gratitude is a virtue that has commonly profit annexed to it.
EPICURUS
attributed, Day's Collacon
Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.
A. A. MILNE
Winnie-the-Pooh
Those who have the ability to be grateful are the ones who have the ability to achieve greatness.
STEVE MARABOLI
Life
We seldom find people ungrateful so long as we are in a condition to render them service.
FRANCOIS DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD
Maxims and Moral Reflections
From the moment we expect gratitude, we forfeit it.
IVAN PANIN
Thoughts
The feeling of gratitude has all the ardor of a passion in noble hearts.
ACHILLES POINCELOT
attributed, Day's Collacon
When gratitude has become a matter of reasoning there are many ways of escaping from its bonds.
GEORGE ELIOT
Middlemarch
Gratitude is best and most effective when it does not evaporate itself in empty phrases.
ISAAC ASIMOV
Foundation and Empire
Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul; and the heart of man knoweth none more fragrant. While its opponent, ingratitude, is a deadly weed; not only poisonous in itself but impregnating the very atmosphere in which it grows, with fetid vapors.
HOSEA BALLOU
Treasury of Thought
Gratitude is a substitute for the countergift, the promise of a return that would not be a return, that is, the promise of further, commensurate gifts.... It vows future action based on imagination and reflection, not automatic equivalence.
STEPHEN H. WEBB
The Gifting God
A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most perfect prayer.
GOTTHOLD EPHRAIM LESSING
Minna Von Barnhelm
I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite -- only a sense of existence.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
letter to Harrison Blake, December 6, 1853
Unwanted favours gain no gratitude.
SOPHOCLES
Oedipus at Colonus
Wherever I find a great deal of gratitude in a poor man, I take it for granted there would be as much generosity if he were a rich man.
ALEXANDER POPE
Thoughts on Various Subjects
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
MARCEL PROUST
Pleasures and Days
Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.
JOHN ORTBERG
When the Game Is Over
There is a selfishness even in gratitude when it is too profuse; to be over-thankful for one favor is in effect to lay out for another.
RICHARD JUN CUMBERLAND
What Next?
Great things happen to those who don't stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.
ROY T. BENNETT
The Light in the Heart