Arnold Toynbee

Historian British 1889 – 1975

Wrote comprehensive world history; analyzed civilizations and historical cycles.

373 quotes

"The greatest luxury is freedom of thought and action."
Freedom
"Our work is the presentation of our capabilities."
Work
"In the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years."
Life
"To live is to choose; but to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for."
Wisdom
"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."
Love
"A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."
Inspiration
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."
Wisdom
"We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime, within man is the soul of the whole."
Philosophy
"Time is the only currency that matters; spend it wisely."
Time
"All progress is built upon dissatisfaction with the status quo."
Change
"The function of the imagination is not to make strange things settled, so much as to make settled things strange."
Imagination
"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart."
Beauty
"A society's quality is reflected in how it treats its most vulnerable members."
Justice
"Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will make it right."
Faith
"The only real failure is giving up."
Perseverance
"Music has the power to move the human heart in ways that words alone cannot."
Music
"In diversity there is beauty and strength."
"The greatest adventure of life is discovering who you are and what you came to do."
Adventure
"Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to maintain a good attitude while waiting."
Patience
"A person is as healthy as the thoughts they think."
Health
"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."
"Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
Kindness
"There is no greater power than the power of habit."
Power
"Money is not the root of all evil; it is the love of money that is the root of all evil."
Money
"Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create."
Fear
"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be."
"Creativity is the residue of time wasted."
Creativity
"A dream without a plan remains a dream."
Dreams
"The greatest gift you can give anyone is your time and attention."
Relationships
"Humor is the best defense against the troubles of life."
Humor