Dorothea Dix

“I have had so much at heart. Defeated, not conquered; disappointed, not discouraged. I have but to be more energetic and more faithful in the difficult and painful vocation to which my life is devoted.”

“The rose is the flower and handmaiden of love - the lily, her fair associate, is the emblem of beauty and purity.”

“I was early taught by sorrow to shed tears, and now when sudden joy lights up, or any unexpected sorrow strikes my heart, I find it difficult to repress the full and swelling tide of feeling.”

“Jasmine, the name of which signifies fragrance, is the emblem of delicacy and elegance. It is reared with difficulty in New England, but at the South, puts forth all its graces.”

“I shall try and effect all that is before me to perform; and God, I think, will surely give me strength for His work so long as He directs my line of duty.”

“My happiest hours are spent in school, surrounded by those I hope to benefit.”

“Your minds may now be likened to a garden, which will, if neglected, yield only weeds and thistles; but, if cultivated, will produce the most beautiful flowers, and the most delicious fruits.”

“Men need knowledge in order to overpower their passions and master their prejudices.”

“By all means, have you give great attention to your arithmetic, as its advantages are so many and important.”

“In order to do good, a man must be good; and he will not be good except he have instruction by counsel and by example.”

“Attention to any subject will in a short time render it attractive, be it ever so disagreeable and tedious at first.”

“We are not sent into this world mainly to enjoy the loveliness therein, nor to sit us down in passive ease; no, we were sent here for action. The soul that seeks to do the will of God with a pure heart, fervently, does not yield to the lethargy of ease.”

“There is, I think, great difficulty in writing of one's self: it is almost impossible to present subjects where the chief actor must be conspicuous and not seem to be, or really be, egotistical.”

“I would be cautious in embracing or rejecting doctrines. Had they been essential to our salvation, they would have been more explicitly declared in the Gospels, where we are so well taught the practice of every good word and work.”

“The olive branch has been consecrated to peace, palm branches to victory, the laurel to conquest and poetry, the myrtle to love and pleasure, the cypress to mourning, and the willow to despondency.”

“I may be too craving of that rich gift, the power of sharing other minds. I have drunk deeply, long, and oh! how blissfully at this fountain in a foreign clime. Hearts met hearts, minds joined with minds; and what were the secondary trials of pain to the enfeebled, suffering body when daily was administered the soul's medicine and food!”

“Always remember those things that tend to strengthen and improve your understanding. You cannot learn without attention, neither retain those lessons that you have once learnt without frequently reflecting upon and reviewing them in your mind; by this means, things long past will remain impressed upon your memory.”

“I worship talents almost. I sinfully dare mourn that I possess them not.”

“Why not, when it can be done without exposure or expense, let me rescue some of America's miserable children from vice and guilt?”

“The French, perhaps more than any other nation, cherish the memory of their dead by ornamenting their places of sepulture with the finest flowers, often renewing the garlands and replacing such plants as decay with vigorous and costly ones.”