The first principle of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating. Cesar Chavez
Actions speak louder than words. Early 17th century proverb
The great thaw of the 12th century was not achieved by contemplation alone – that can exist at all times – but by action. Kenneth Clark s2e13: Civilisation: The Great Thaw, BBC 1969
Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it. Isaac Newton, Principia Mathematica, Laws of Motion I
The alternation of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impressed; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impressed. ibid. Laws of Motion II
To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction; or, the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts. ibid. Laws of Motion III
Action is consolatory. It is the enemy of thought and the friend of flattering illusions. Joseph Conrad
A man’s most open actions have a secret side to them. Joseph Conrad
I have owed to them
In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration: – feelings too
Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,
As may have had no trivial influence
On that best portion of a good man’s life,
His little, nameless, unremembered, acts
Of kindness and of love. William Wordsworth, Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, 1798
Great actions are not always tue sons
Of great and mighty resolutions. Samuel Butler, 1612-1680, English poet, Hudibras
Actions receive their tincture from the times,
And as they change are virtues made or crime. Daniel Defoe, 1660-1731, A Hymn of the Pillory, 1703
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain
Actions speaks louder than words but not nearly as often. Mark Twain
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. Mark Twain
Action is character. F Scott Fitzgerald
Away with slavish words and servile thoughts! William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus II i 18, Aaron soliloquy
Acts of black night. ibid. V i 64, Aaron to Lucius
To accomplish great things we must not only act but dream, not only plan but also believe. Anatole France
It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion. Anatole France
The most decisive actions of our life – I mean those that are most likely to decide the whole course of our future – are most often unconsidered actions. André Gide
The greatest pleasure I know, is to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident. Charles Lamb
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. Albert Einstein, attributions & variations
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little. Edmund Burke
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Edmund Burke, attributions & variations inc John Stuart Mill, address University of St Andrew 1st February 1867
cf.
Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing. John Stuart Mill, address University of St Andrews 1st February 1867, attributions & variations
A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions, but by his inaction, and in either case, he is justly accountable to them for the injury. John Stuart Mill
All that makes existence valuable to anyone depends on the enforcement of restraints upon the actions of other people. John Stuart Mill
We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed in action, and can only fitfully guide it by taking thought. Alfred North Whitehead
Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. Benjamin Disraeli
Man is only truly great when he acts from the passions. Benjamin Disraeli, Coningsby
Measure a man by his actions fully from the beginning to the end. Tupac Shakur
The immature think that knowledge and action are different, but the wise see them as the same. Bhagavad Gita: El Canto del Senor
Freedom from activity is never achieved by abstaining from action. Nobody can become perfect by merely ceasing to act. In fact, nobody can ever rest from his activity even for a moment. All are helplessly forced to act. ibid.
A man who renounces certain physical actions but still lets his mind dwell on the objects of his sensual desire, is deceiving himself. He can only be called a hypocrite. The truly admirable man controls his senses by the power of his will. All his actions will be disinterested. Activity is better than inertia. Act, but with self-control.
Abandon all attachment to the results of action and attain supreme peace. ibid.
Knowledge, the object of knowledge and the knower are the three factors which motivate action; the senses, the work and the doer comprise the threefold basis of action. ibid.
Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. Thomas Jefferson
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. Dale Carnegie
Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Fresh activity is the only means of overcoming adversity. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit. Conrad Hilton
Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk. Lucius Annaeus Seneca
The basis of action is lack of imagination. It is the last resource of those who know not how to dream. Oscar Wilde
Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! Let us represent worthily for one the foul brood to which a cruel fate consigned us! What do you say? Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot
The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. Jacob Bronowski
The secret of getting things done is to act. Dante
He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions. Louisa May Alcott