Helen Keller Quotes

“No loss by flood and lightning, no destruction of cities and temples by the hostile forces of nature, has deprived man of so many noble lives and impulses as those which his intolerance has destroyed.”

“I grow more and more suspicious of the political powers that take men away from their work and set them shooting one another.”

“I do not mean to object to a thorough knowledge of the famous works we read. I object only to the interminable comments and bewildering criticisms that teach but one thing: there are as many opinions as there are men.”

“The human being is born with an incurable capacity for making the best of things.”

“Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged.”

“A smile goes a long way, but you must first start it on its journey.”

“As selfishness and complaint pervert the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision.”

“I am only one,But still I am one.”

“Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.”

“The civilization of a state should be measured by the amount of suffering it prevents and the degree of happiness it makes possible for its citizens.”

“Relationships are like Rome -- difficult to start out, incredible during the prosperity of the 'golden age', and unbearable during the fall. Then, a new kingdom will come along and the whole process will repeat itself until you come across a kingdom like Egypt... that thrives, and continues to flourish. This kingdom will become your best friend, your soul mate, and your love.”

“Happiness is a state of mind, and depends very little on outward circumstances.”

“The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.”

“Life is an exciting business, and most exciting when it is lived for others.”

“The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.”

“Once I knew the depth where no hope was and darkness lay on the face of all things. Then love came and set my soul free. Once I fretted and beat myself against the wall that shut me in. My life was without a past or future, and death a consummation devoutly to be wished. But a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hands that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped up with the rapture of living. I do not know the meaning of the darkness, but I have learned the overcoming of it.”

“Defeat is simply a signal to press onward.”

“Few pleasures there are indeed without an aftertouch of pain, but that is the preservation which keeps them sweet.”

“If we do not like our work, and do not try to get happiness out of it, we are a menace to our profession as well as to ourselves.”

“My friends have made the story of my life.”

“We, the people, are not free. Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It means we choose between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. We elect expensive masters to do our work for us, and then blame them because they work for themselves and for their class.”

“Worse than being blind would be to be able to see but not have any vision.”

“There is beauty in everything, even in silence and darkness.”

“World peace will never come until the passion of supremacy is combated.”

“Trying to write is very much like trying to put a Chinese puzzle together. We have a pattern in mind which we wish to work out in words; but the words will not fit the spaces, or, if they do, they will not match the design.”