A man that is ashamed of passions that are natural and reasonable is generally proud of those that are shameful and silly. 

~ Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, author (26 May 1689-1762) 

The true test of a civilization is, not the census, nor the size of the cities, nor the crops - no, but the kind of man the country turns out. 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist (25 May 1803-1882) 

I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom. 

~ Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter, Nobel laureate (b. 24 May 1941) 

A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body. 

~ Margaret Fuller, author, critic, and women's rights advocate (23 May 1810-1850) 

The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.

~ William James, Philosopher, and Psychologist

And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence. 

~ Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (18 May 1872-1970) 

As a general truth, communities prosper and flourish, or droop and decline, in just the degree that they practise or neglect to practise the primary duties of justice and humanity. 

~ William Henry Seward, Secretary of State, Governor, and Senator (16 May 1801-1872) 

When you re-read a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in yourself than there was before. 

~ Clifton Fadiman, editor and critic (15 May 1904-1999) 

Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that. 

~ Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, preacher, journalist, and activist (12 May 1802-1861) 

Testing can show the presence of errors, but not their absence. 

~ Edsger Dijkstra, computer scientist (11 May 1930-2002) 

The world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape. 

~ Bono, musician and social activist (b. 10 May 1960) 

Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water. 

~ Christopher Morley, writer (5 May 1890-1957) 

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. 

~ Niccolo Machiavelli, political philosopher and author (3 May 1469-1527) 

All the time a person is a child he is both a child and learning to be a parent. After he becomes a parent he becomes predominantly a parent reliving childhood. 

~ Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author (2 May 1903-1998) 

A full belly to the labourer is, in my opinion, the foundation of public morals and the only source of real public peace. 

~ William Cobbett, journalist, pamphleteer, and farmer (1763-1835) 

The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience. 

~ Harper Lee, writer (28 Apr 1926-2016)