1. To hate is to punish oneself. ~ Hosea Ballou
2. Suspicion is much more than a legal error, more often unfair than fair. He is not a friend of virtue, and always an enemy of happiness. ~ Hosea Ballou
3. Brevity and conciseness are the parents of correction. ~ Hosea Ballou
4. No one has a greater asset to his business than a man’s pride in his work. ~ Hosea Ballou
5. Energy, like the biblical grain of the mustard seed, will remove mountains. ~ Hosea Ballou
6. It’s easy to be beautiful; it’s hard to look like it. ~ Hosea Ballou
7. Tears of joy are like summer raindrops pierced by the sun’s rays. ~ Hosea Ballou
8. Let us strive to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace. ~ Hosea Ballou
9. True happiness is quite cheap, but how expensive we pay for its counterfeit. ~ Hosea Ballou
10. Suspicion is always the enemy of happiness. ~ Hosea Ballou
11. Theories are always very thin and insubstantial, only experience is tangible. ~ Hosea Ballou
12. Never let your zeal overcome your charity. The first is nothing more than human, the second is divine. ~ Hosea Ballou
13. Experience is hindsight knowledge. ~ Hosea Ballou
14. There is but one step from companionship to slavery when one associates with vice. ~ Hosea Ballou
15. It is appropriate for the philosopher and perhaps more for the Christian to exercise patience. ~ Hosea Ballou
16. Humanity, as a whole, is progressing, and philanthropy looks forward to it. ~ Hosea Ballou
17. As “cruelty has no remedy in law”, let avoiding it be a matter of honor for you. ~ Hosea Ballou
18. Tires the path that does not challenge. ~ Hosea Ballou
19. Exaggeration is blood related to falsehood and almost as reprehensible. ~ Hosea Ballou
20. All our possessions are nothing compared to health, strength and a clear conscience. ~ Hosea Ballou
21. Gratitude is the most beautiful flower that springs from the soul; and the heart of man knows no other more fragrant. ~ Hosea Ballou
22. It is in illness that we most feel the need for that sympathy that shows how much we depend on each other for our comfort and even our needs. ~ Hosea Ballou
23. It is my humble prayer that I may be of some use in my day and generation. ~ Hosea Ballou
24. There is no possible excuse for a cautious lie. ~ Hosea Ballou
25. If the children owe gratitude to their earthly father, how much more gratitude does the great family of men owe to our father in Heaven? ~ Hosea Ballou
26. There is no such thing as “best” in the world of individuals. ~ Hosea Ballou
27. Preaching is too useful, but practice is much more effective. ~ Hosea Ballou
28. There is no better rule to prove a doctrine than the question: Is it merciful or is it not merciful? ~ Hosea Ballou
29. Hypocrisy is more often dressed in the clothing of religion. ~ Hosea Ballou
30. Never be so brief as to become obscure. ~ Hosea Ballou
31. Although ambition as such is a vice, it is also often the parent of virtue. ~ Hosea Ballou
32. The claim almost always exaggerates the original and is therefore exposed. ~ Hosea Ballou
33. Falsehood is cowardice, truth courage. ~ Hosea Ballou
34. True sympathy is putting yourself in the other’s place; and we move in proportion to the reality of our imagination. ~ Hosea Ballou
35. Forty is the old age of youth, fifty is the youth of old age. ~ Hosea Ballou
36. The experience of others adds to our knowledge, but not to our wisdom; that is more expensive to buy. ~ Hosea Ballou
37. Servility is repugnant to a truly noble character, and breeds only contempt. ~ Hosea Ballou
38. Cloudy weather finally melts into beauty, and the brightest smiles of the heart are born from its tears. ~ Hosea Ballou
39. They sowed winds, and will reap storms. ~ Hosea Ballou
40. If his character is one of mercy, he has the image of Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life. ~ Hosea Ballou
41. Those who commit injustice bear the greatest burden. ~ Hosea Ballou
42. No reproach or complaint is as powerful as the silent influence of a good example. ~ Hosea Ballou
43. Self-esteem is the best of all. ~ Hosea Ballou
44. A good smile is the sun of wisdom. ~ Hosea Ballou
45. Illness is the retribution of outraged nature. ~ Hosea Ballou
46. Everything in the world exists to end up in a book. ~ Hosea Ballou
47. How quickly a truly benevolent act is rewarded by the awareness of having done it! ~ Hosea Ballou
48. Obedience sums up all our duty. ~ Hosea Ballou
49. A godly life is the strongest argument you can offer the skeptic. ~ Hosea Ballou
50. There is no immunity from the consequences of sin; punishment is swift and sure for one and all. ~ Hosea Ballou
51. Enthusiastic and impulsive people will sometimes misrepresent without thinking, but misrepresentation is a pretense of malice. ~ Hosea Ballou
52. Illness, by opening our eyes to the realities of life, is an indirect blessing. ~ Hosea Ballou
53. Between the humble and contrite heart and the majesty of Heaven there are no barriers; the only password is prayer. ~ Hosea Ballou
54. Hate is the revenge of the coward for having been intimidated. ~ Hosea Ballou
55. It is the nature of the intellect to strive to improve in intellectual power. ~ Hosea Ballou
56. Prosperity seems to be hardly certain, unless it is mixed with a little adversity. ~ Hosea Ballou
57. Doubt is an incentive for the truth and patient inquiry leads the way. ~ Hosea Ballou
58. Idleness is empty; the tree in which the sap is stagnant remains fruitless. ~ Hosea Ballou
59. There is an unavoidable standard of judgment regarding religious faith in doctrinal matters. Can you reduce it to practice? If not, don’t have any of that. ~ Hosea Ballou
60. Patience is sometimes tested by the fanaticism and foolishness of the self-righteous, wise and self-aware, who profess the religion of Christ, but stand on tiptoe. ~ Hosea Ballou
61. A religion that requires persecution to sustain itself is from the propagation of the devil. ~ Hosea Ballou
62. Faith, to be genuine and of any real value, must be the fruit of that divine love which Jesus manifested when he prayed for his enemies on the cross. ~ Hosea Ballou
63. It is a glorious occupation, life-giving and self-sufficient in its nature, to struggle with ignorance. ~ Hosea Ballou
64. Education begins at the mother’s knee, and every word spoken within the earshot of the children tends toward the formation of character. ~ Hosea Ballou
65. Moderation is the key to lasting enjoyment. ~ Hosea Ballou
66. Even when you have occasion to rebuke, try to do it with manifest kindness. The effect will be incalculably better. ~ Hosea Ballou
67. If we agree in love, there is no disagreement that can hurt us. ~ Hosea Ballou
68. Error is always busier than truth. ~ Hosea Ballou
69. A mother’s love, to a certain degree, sanctifies the most despicable offspring. ~ Hosea Ballou
70. The eye is the entrance to the soul. ~ Hosea Ballou
71. Honest and brave people have very little to say about their courage or their honesty. ~ Hosea Ballou
72. Most people who commit a sin expect some personal benefit to be derived from it, but blasphemy doesn’t even have this excuse. ~ Hosea Ballou
73. Has not God put up with you all these years? Be tolerant with others. ~ Hosea Ballou
74. Only what can be called true refinement is what elevates the soul of man, purifying morals, improving the intellect. ~ Hosea Ballou
75. The law of heaven is love. ~ Hosea Ballou
76. True repentance always involves reform. ~ Hosea Ballou
77. The sun has no need to boast of its brilliance, nor the moon of its splendor. ~ Hosea Ballou
78. It is good to be careful with those whose visual organs prevent your honest consideration. ~ Hosea Ballou
79. Prosperity often heralds adversity. ~ Hosea Ballou
80. A careless and blasphemous use of the name of the Divine Being is not only sinful, but is also prima facie evidence of vulgar associations. ~ Hosea Ballou
