"William Lyon Phelps" was an American author, critic and scholar. He taught the first American university course on the modern novel. He was a well-known speaker who drew large crowds. He had a radio show, wrote a daily syndicated newspaper column, lectured frequently, and published numerous popular books and articles.

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I divide all readers into two classes: Those who read to remember and those who read to forget.

A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better than the view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands.

Whenever it is possible, a boy should choose some occupation which he should do even if he did not need the money.

This is the final test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.

If you develop the absolute sense of certainty that powerful beliefs provide, then you can get yourself to accomplish virtually anything, including those things that other people are certain are impossible.

Whenever it is in any way possible, every boy and girl should choose as his life work some occupation which he should like to do anyhow, even if he did not need the money.

You can learn more about human nature by reading the Bible than by living in New York.

The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves, they are the cause of happiness in others.

A cat pours his body on the floor like water. It is restful just to see him.

One of the secrets of life is to keep our intellectual curiosity acute.

If happiness truly consisted of physical ease and freedom from care, then the happiest individual would not be either a man or a woman; it would be, I think, an American cow.

The fear of life is the favorite disease of the twentieth century.