Quotes of Note

I got an email that Dr. Andrew Groft is coming to speak in an area near me. It got me to thinking about a speech he gave that influenced me deeply. It was the commencement address at George Wythe College in 2006 called A Renaissance of Kings.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes. Some from the speech and a few related. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

"The world is different from past times. We have access to greater libraries than the kings of Europe, and greater opportunities for education than the Greek Nobles of the Golden Age. I predict that we are in the beginnings of what will someday be known as a Renaissance of Kings (and you must understand that the original meaning of king meant a man and a woman who gave and protected life). Our virtue dictates that we were born to be kings and queens—not to rule over others, nor to be ruled by others, but to give life and to make life better by the use of our noble minds and hearts. We were born to be noble fathers and mothers who rear their princes to goodness, knowledge, leadership and action. Jesus said that he came not only that we might have life, but that we might have it more abundantly. Jesus understood because he is a King."
— A Renaissance of Kings by Dr. Andrew Groft
George Wythe College 2006 Commencement Address

“… a life of purpose may or may not yield enormous and iconic impact, but it will always lead to small and significant impact.”
— A Renaissance of Kings by Dr. Andrew Groft
George Wythe College 2006 Commencement Address

“The slaves in Rome were incapable of leisure and so their masters gave them entertainment to keep them pacified.”
—Oliver DeMille, A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, p142

“…leisure means serving people, studying, learning, being involved in community service and government.”
—Oliver DeMille, A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, p142

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
— Santayana

“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”
— David McCullough

“The more conscious we are of ourselves and of our nature the more capable we are of guiding and controlling that nature.”
— Stephen Palmer, GWC ‘06

“One of the most important lessons to be learned from any study of humanity is that every single one of us has the simultaneous potential for nobility and depravity, for divinity and degeneracy.”
— Stephen Palmer, GWC ‘06

“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
— Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

“Today is the tomorrow I was so worried about yesterday.”
—Anthony Hopkins

"Dare to be yourself."
— Andre Gide