Perfection Quotes
Nature has perfection, in order to show that she is the image of God and defects, to show that she is only his image.Blaise Pascal
Since no one is perfect, it follows that all great deeds have been accomplished out of imperfection. Yet they were accomplished, somehow, all the same.Lois McMaster Bujold, Mirror Dance, 1994, p. 287
Supreme happiness will be the greatest cause of misery, and the perfection of wisdom the occassion of folly.Leonardo DaVinci, The notebooks of Leonardo DaVinci by Macurdy
The surest hindrance of success is to have too high a standard of refinement in our own minds, or too high an opinion of the judgment of the public. He who is determined not to be satisfied with anything short of perfection will never do anything to please himself or others.Hazlitt
Be intent upon the perfection of the present day.William Law
Trifles go to make perfection, And perfection is no trifle.Michelangelo Buonarroti
It is an error to imagine that evolution signifies a constant tendency to increased perfection. That process undoubtedly involves a constant remodelling of the organism in adaptation to new conditions but it depends on the nature of those conditions whether the directions of the modifications effected shall be upward or downward.Thomas Huxley
Perfectionism is the enemy of creation, as extreme self - Solicitude is the enemy of well - Being.John Updike
This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfection.Saint Augustine
The pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement.George Will
American women expect to find in their husbands a perfection that English women only hope to find in their butlers.W. Somerset Maugham
Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.Harriet Braike
The indefatigable pursuit of an unattainable perfection, even though it consists in nothing more than the pounding of an old piano, is what alone gives meaning to our life on this unavailing star.Logan Pearsall Smith
Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person.Dr. David M. Burns
While one should always study the method of a great artist, one should never imitate his manner. The manner of an artist is essentially individual, the method of an artist is absolutely universal. The first is personality, which no one should copy; the second is perfection, which all should aim at.Oscar Wilde
It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are, the more gentle and quiet we become toward the defects of others.Francois Fenelon
A minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Clu
It seems to me that perfection of means and confusion of goals seems to characterize our age.Ralph Waldo Emerson
Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.Eugene Delacroix
Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.Dr. David M. Burns
Strive for excellence, not perfection.H. Jackson Brown Jr., O Magazine, December 2003
The perfection preached in the Gospels never yet built up an empire. Every man of action has a strong dose of egotism, pride, hardness, and cunning. But all those things will be forgiven him, indeed, they will be regarded as high qualities, if he can make of them the means to achieve great ends.Charles de Gaulle
But no perfection is so absolute, That some impurity doth not pollute.William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece Ver. 124
Poetry is an art, and chief of the fine arts; the easiest to dabble in, the hardest to reach true perfection.E. C. Stedman
Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person.Dr. David M. Burns
Perfection is the enemy of the good.Gustave Flaubert
Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.Kahlil Gibran
To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation.Francois de La Rochefoucauld
The summer night is like a perfection of thought.Wallace Stevens
Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence
Evolution crawls to imperfection. It ends in extinction.J. Gregory Keyes, "Babylon 5: Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps".
In order to deserve, we must pay our dues and steadily work for perfection. We must relish in struggle, and relinquish pride. We must dispel fear and seek enlightenment. We must shun division and honor love. We must know our hearts and seek to understand others. We must try, live, create, feel, grow and love.Bryant McGill, Stanford Lectures on Poetry, 1990
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.Aristotle
Have no fear of perfection - - You will never reach it.Salvador Dali
I am one of those who believe that spiritual progress is a rule of human life, but the approach to perfection is slow and painful. If a woman elevates herself in one respect and is retarded in another, it is because the rough trail that leads to the mountain peak is not free of ambushes of thieves and lairs of wolves.Kahlil Gibran, The Broken Wings
The chimerical pursuit of perfection is always linked to some important deficiency, frequently the inability to love.Bernard Grasset
Discretion is the perfection of reason, and a guide to us in all the duties of life.La Bruyere
