“Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. Be heroes in an army of construction.”

— Helen Keller, "Strike Against War," speech in Carnegie Hall (1916)

About Helen Keller

1880 – 1968

American author and activist, deaf and blind from infancy, author of "The Story of My Life".

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.”

“A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.”

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”