199 Quotes by Norman Cousins

Silence must be comprehended as not solely the absence of sound. It is the natural environment for serenity and contemplation. Life without silence is life without privacy. The difference between sanity and madness is the quality of our thoughts. Silence is on the side of sanity.

Progress begins with the belief that what is necessary is possible.

The library is not a shrine for the worship of books. It is not a temple where literary incense must be burned or where one's one devotion to the bound book is expressed in ritual. A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas - a place where history comes to life.

Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.

The way a book is read which is to say, the qualities a reader brings to a book can have as much to do with its worth as anything the author puts into it.

Time given to thought is the greatest time saver of all.

People who develop the habit of thinking of themselves as world citizens are fulfilling the first requirement of sanity in our time

The starting point for a better world is the belief that it is possible.

Nothing is more powerful than an individual acting out of his conscience, thus helping to bring the collective conscience to life