Mirrors, those revealers of the truth, are hated; that does not prevent them from being of use. 

~ Victor Hugo, novelist and dramatist (26 Feb 1802-1885)

When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen. 

~ Samuel Lover, songwriter, composer, novelist, and artist (24 Feb 1797-1868) 

The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience. 

~ W.E.B. Du Bois, educator, civil rights activist, and writer (23 Feb 1868-1963) 

It’s not the load that breaks you, it’s the way you carry it.

~ Lou Holtz

Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career.

~ A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. 

~ Toni Morrison, novelist, editor, professor, Nobel laureate (b. 18 Feb 1931)

Time is the fairest and toughest judge. 

~ Edgar Quinet, historian (17 Feb 1803-1875) 

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. 

~ Henry Adams, historian and teacher (16 Feb 1838-1918)

In some circumstances, the refusal to be defeated is a refusal to be educated. 

~ Margaret Halsey, novelist (13 Feb 1910-1997)

The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. 

~ Charles Darwin, naturalist and author (12 Feb 1809-1882) 

Green can be very frustrating. Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.

~ Erich Fromm

What for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cudgel but the irresistible power of unarmed truth. 

~ Bois Pasternak, poet and novelist (10 Feb 1890-1960)

Activism is the rent I pay for living on the planet. 

~ Alice Walker, author (b. 9 Feb 1944) 

A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist. 

~ Louis Nizer, lawyer (6 Feb 1902-1994) 

All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions. 

~ Adlai Stevenson, governor, ambassador (5 Feb 1900-1965) 

Poor is the power of the lead that becomes bullets compared to the power of the hot metal that becomes types. 

~ Georg Brandes, critic and scholar (4 Feb 1842-1927) 

It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing. 

~ Gertrude Stein, novelist, poet, and playwright (3 Feb 1874-1946)

Books are humanity in print. 

~ Barbara Tuchman, author and historian (30 Jan 1912-1989)

Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it. 

~ Colette, author (28 Jan 1873-1954) 

Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that! 

~ Lewis Carroll, mathematician and writer (27 Jan 1832-1898)