William James

Religion . . . is a man's total reaction upon life.

Religion . . . shall mean for us the feelings, acts and experiences of individual men in their solitude.

A thing is important if anyone think it important.

Whenever two men meet there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man was the other sees him, and each man as he really is.

Truth happens to an idea. It becomes true, is made true by events. Its verity is in fact an event, a process: the process namely of its verifying itself, its veri-fication. Its validity is the process of its valid-ation.

In the deepest heart of all of us there is a corner in which the ultimate mystery of things works sadly.

Regarding mutual tolerance: It is negative in one sense, but positive in another. It absolutely forbids us to be forward in pronouncing on the meaninglessness of forms of existence other than our own; and it commands us to tolerate, respect, and indulge those whom we see harmlessly interested and happy in their own ways, however unintelligible these may be to us. Hands off . . . .

Men habitually use only a small part of the power which they actually possess.

The sovereign cure for worry is prayer.

We hear in these days of scientific enlightenment a great deal of discussion about the efficacy of Prayer. Many reasons are given why we should not pray. Others give reasons why we should pray. Very little is said of the reason we do pray. The reason is simple: We pray because we cannot help praying.