30 May
30May

"The House by the Side of the Road," c.1896, originally published in The Independent then later in Foss' own collection titled Dreams in Homespun, in 1897  [According to The Alumnæ News of The Normal College, City of New York, September 1897, the sentiments of this poem were inspired by the Roadside Settlement in Des Moines, Iowa. The wording was inspired by Homer, and Mr. Foss prefaces his beautiful poem with "He was a friend to man, and lived in a house by the side of the road" attributed to Homer. I'm not the best of Greek scholars, but I believe the excerpt would be: "Axylus: in Arisba fair he dwelt / With riches blest, near to the public way / His dwelling: thus a general friend to man / He lov'd them all, and all their wants reliev'd..." And if Foss' poetry weren't enough to give me joy, he was also a librarian! SWOON 

The first and highest law must be the love of man to man. Homo homini Deus est — this is the supreme practical maxim, this is the turning point of the world's History. ~Ludwig Feuerbach, The Essence of Christianity


Love someone who doesn't deserve it. ~Author Unknown


Kind people are the best kind of people. ~Author Unknown


The more sympathy you give, the less you need. ~Malcolm S. Forbes


Treat everyone you meet as if they are God in drag. ~Ram Dass


Always carry with you a little reasonable doubt, should you meet someone who needs to be found innocent. ~Robert Brault,


It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens. ~Baha'u'llah
There are no traffic jams when you go the extra mile. ~Kenneth McFarland


The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~Nelson Henderson


If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl. ~H.L. Mencken


To err on the side of kindness is seldom an error. ~Liz Armbruster,


Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. ~James Matthew Barrie


In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy. ~Karl Reiland


How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
~William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, much later adapted to "So shines a good deed in a weary world" by David Seltzer for the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Thanks Aidan!)
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. ~William Penn


The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. ~Benjamin Disraeli


How beautiful a day can be
When kindness touches it!
~George Elliston, Cinderella Cargoes, 1929


'Xtend to everyone a kindly greeting. ~"Alphabetical Aphorisms," in The Myrtle, 1884 January 26th


When you can be the sunshine in someone's life, or the warm rain, why would you be the cold north wind? ~Robert Brault,


Sometimes someone says something really small, and it just fits right into this empty place in your heart. ~From the television show My So-Called Life
Dear Lord, may I ever refrain
From speaking ill of others;
May I have kindly thoughts, as well,
For all my earthly brothers!
May I, dear Heavenly Father,
Radiate pure love for all...
May I see good in everyone;
May I pray for those in woe...
If I can do these things, O Lord,
While I am here on this earth,
I'll feel my life's not been in vain—
That I was blessed at my birth!
~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, "Blessed at Birth" (1940s)


Something that has always puzzled me all my life is why, when I am in special need of help, the good deed is usually done by somebody on whom I have no claim. ~William Feather, The Business of Life, 1949


Real charity doesn't care if it's tax-deductible or not. ~Dan Bennett


When your suffering is a little greater than my suffering I feel that I am a little cruel. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin


I soothe my conscience now with the thought that it is better for hard words to be on paper than that Mummy should carry them in her heart. ~Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl


Sweet, cheerful words, coming from a kind heart, are worth more than gold and gems... ~Rosella Rice, "Deacon John Flint," in Arthur's Home Magazine, April 1870



Always be a little kinder than necessary. ~James M. Barrie

Even when you do not feel big hearted, you can give yourself permission to act that way. ~Lama Willa Miller


Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame. ~Alexander Pope, Epilogue to the Satires, 1738


There's a lot of not caring that goes under the name of minding your own business. ~Robert Brault,
Life is short but there is always time for courtesy. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Social Aims


The best practical advice I can give to the present generation is to practice the virtue which the Christians call love. ~Bertrand Russell


Don't cast a shadow on anyone unless you're providing shade. ~Terri Guillemets


If we cannot be clever, we can always be kind. ~Alfred Fripp


To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving. ~Max Beerbohm


Treat each person as if their heart was breaking. More often than not, you will be right. ~David Weedmark


One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him. ~Booker T. Washington

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