“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”

— William Ellery Channing, "Self-Culture," address, Boston, September 1838

About William Ellery Channing

1780 – 1842

American Unitarian preacher and writer.

“Labor is discovered to be the grand conqueror, enriching and building up nations more surely than the proudest battles.”

“The plant grows in the mist and under clouds as truly as under sunshine; so does the heavenly principle within.”

“God be thanked for books. They are the voices of the distant and the dead.”

“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.”