Quotes from Desiderata: Words For Life

Max Ehrmann ·  48 pages

Rating: (819 votes)


“Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love – for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you from misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


“With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


“You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


“Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


“If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life



“Whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding
as it should.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


“Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.


With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


“Go Placidly, Amid the noise and Haste & Remember what peace there may be in silence...”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


“Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life



“As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.”
― Max Ehrmann, quote from Desiderata: Words For Life


About the author

Max Ehrmann
Born place: in Indiana, The United States
Born date September 26, 1872
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Happiness is something that comes from our own hearts, not from other people.”
― Lynn Austin, quote from While We're Far Apart


“You know when I told you the joke about how a friend will help you move, but a real friend will help you move a body? I was only kidding.”
― Brad Thor, quote from Black List


“Save the people you love, who cares about the rest of the world? - Uncle Jake”
― Michael Buckley, quote from The Council of Mirrors


“Crane’s hand rose up on its own to wipe the lone tear that was making its descent from the corner of her eye. She was afraid. She was afraid of him, and he was in love with her fear. “Oh, my love…” Crane murmured.”
― Cerece Rennie Murphy, quote from Order of the Seers


“...but I realized now that love was more than a feeling. Love was something you did for another person...”
― Sherry Jones, quote from The Jewel of Medina


Interesting books

The Invisible Game: The Mindset of a Winning Team
(126)
The Invisible Game:...
by Zoltan Andrejkovics
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
(43.8K)
Oranges Are Not the...
by Jeanette Winterson
My Soul to Take
(38.6K)
My Soul to Take
by Rachel Vincent
A Mango-Shaped Space
(23.7K)
A Mango-Shaped Space
by Wendy Mass
A Visit from the Goon Squad
(149.1K)
A Visit from the Goo...
by Jennifer Egan
The Lost Colony
(125.6K)
The Lost Colony
by Eoin Colfer

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.