Lydia Maria Child

“An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves.”

“The cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows, and the crimes of humanity, all lie in the one word 'love'.”

“Belief is the truth held in the mind; faith is a fire in the heart.”

“You find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make an honest effort to confer that pleasure on others?”

“The boughs that bear most hang lowest.”

“Law and justice are not always the same.”

“I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.”

“Every human being has a right to air, water, and sunshine.”

“Nature made us individuals, as she did the flowers and the pebbles; but we are afraid to be peculiar, and so our society resembles a bag of marbles, or a string of mold candles. Why should we all be alike?”

“The desire to be useful, deeply implanted in my nature, has been the main-spring of my exertions.”

“We first crush people to the earth, and then claim the right of trampling on them forever, because they are prostrate.”

“A human heart can never grow old if it takes a lively interest in the pairing of birds, the reproduction of flowers, and the changing tints of autumn leaves.”

“Misfortune is never mournful to the soul that accepts it; for such do always see that every cloud is an angel's face.”

“It is my earnest desire to see slavery abolished in this country.”

“The blessing of being able to write is that it is a refuge for my spirit.”