Purpose

So long as body and mind preserve their soundness, the "way" will be found by the resolute "will."
~ William Henry ("W.H.") Davenport Adams, The Secret of Success; or, How to Get on in the World (1879). Chapter IV. The Three P's -- Punctuality, Prudence, and Perseverance

The heart without a hopeful aspiration must necessarily grow cold and dreary; the mind without a healthy ambition will soon become dwarfed to little things; and blank and cheerless, indeed, must be the existence -- miserably profitless the career -- of a man without a purpose.
~ William Henry ("W.H.") Davenport Adams, The Steady Aim; A Book of Examples And Encouragements From Modern Biography (1863). Preface

Action cannot be higher than motive.
~ William Rounseville (W.R.) Alger, The School of Life (1881). Studies in the School of Life

An aimless man will always be a nameless man.
~ William Rounseville (W.R.) Alger, The School of Life (1881). Rules in the School

Small causes can bring about great effects, when time and facts conspire to help them.
~ William Rounseville (W.R.) Alger, The Friendships of Women (1868). Preface

The only living end or aim of every thing we experience, of every truth we are taught, is the practical use we make of it for the enrichment of the soul, the attuning of the thoughts and passions, the exaltation of life.
~ William Rounseville (W.R.) Alger, The School of Life (1881). Lesson of Exemplification

I always get back to the question, is it really necessary that men should consume so much of their bodily and mental energies in the machinery of civilised life? The world seems to me to do much of its toil for that which is not in any sense bread. Again, does not the latent feeling that much of their striving is to no purpose tend to infuse large quantities of sham into men's work?
~ William Allingham, in William Allingham: A Diary (1907). Chapter VI. 1864

We are the children of chaos, and the deep structure of change is decay. At root there is only corruption, and the unstemmable tide of chaos. Gone is purpose; all there is left is direction. This is the bleakness we have to accept as we peer deeply and dispassionately into the heart of the Universe. Yet when we look around and see beauty, when we look within and experience conciousness, and when we participate in the delights of life, we know in our hearts that the heart of the Universe is richer by far. But that is sentiment, and is not what we should know in our minds.
~ Peter William (P.W.) Atkins, The Second Law (Scientific American Library Paperback; October 1994)

[A]s man depends absolutely upon his maker for every thing, it is necessary that he should in all points conform to his maker's will. ... This will of his maker is called the law of nature.
~ William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-69). Introduction, Section 2: Of the Nature of Laws in General

Oh that men would seek immortal moments.
~ William Blake, Annotations to Lavater (1788).

Perhaps the will, at its deepest, does not connote self-assertion and dominance but love and acquiescence; not the will to power but the will to prayer.
~ William E. Barrett, The Illusion of Technique: A Search for Meaning in a Technological Civilization (1978).

The cause of Freedom is the cause of God!
~ William Lisle Bowles, from Sonnets, and Other Poems, (4th edition; 1796). A Poetical Address to the Right Honourable Edmund Burke (1791).

A song is like a newspaper. It's capable of carrying a number of different messages. Some of them are advertisers, some of them are editorial, some of them are reportage, some of them are sport. So, as a songwriter you can use any of those.
~ Billy Bragg, CNN TV (17 December 2002). The political music of Billy Bragg

For what cause were things made and called good,
But to be loved?
~ William Browne, of Tavistock, Britannia's Pastorals, Book I (1613). Song II

Causes stir the world. It is because it goes deep. It is because it extends wide, and because it reaches into a future beyond the power of man to see.
~ William Jennings Bryan, final remarks in Tennessee v. Scopes (21 July 1925).

There is always some principle that dominates a cause.
~ William Jennings Bryan, Address at the Constitutional Convention of Illinois, House of Representatives, Springfield IL (24 March 1920).

These struggling tides of life that seem
In wayward, aimless course to tend,
Are eddies of the mighty stream
That rolls to its appointed end.
~ William Cullen Bryant, from Poems (1847 edition). The Crowded Street

[Control] can never be a means to anything but more control.
~ William S. Burroughs, The Naked Lunch (1959).

The exact objectives of Islam Inc. are obscure. Needless to say everyone involved has a different angle, and they all intend to cross each other up somewhere along the line.
~ William S. Burroughs, The Naked Lunch (1959). Islam Inc. And the Parties of Interzone

And yet I lift my sightless face
Toward the eerie light,
And tread the lonely way we trace
Across the haunted night.
~ William Wilfred Campbell, The Poems of Wilfred Campbell (1905). The Blind Caravan

We have only to keep the end in view, and have our hearts thoroughly engaged in the pursuit of it, and means will not be very difficult.
~ William Carey, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens (1792). Section 5: An Enquiry into the Duty of Christians in General, and What Means Ought to be Used, in Order to Promote This Work

[A]n earnest purpose finds time or makes time. It seizes on spare moments, and turns larger fragments of leisure to golden account.
~ William Ellery Channing (D.D.), Address Introductory to the Franklin Lectures, Boston MA (September 1838). On Self-Culture

Awake! Resolve earnestly on Self-culture.
~ William Ellery Channing (D.D.), Address Introductory to the Franklin Lectures, Boston MA (September 1838). On Self-Culture

It's a very intense thing. You feel like you are called to do it. I can't help it -- I have to play.
~ William Chapman Nyaho, The Seattle Times (20 February 2003). William Chapman Nyaho: Piano is his calling -- and his passion

And, this is a very good rule: to stick to your intention whether it be attended with inconveniences or not; to look upon yourself as bound to do it.
~ William Cobbett, Rural Rides (1830). From Weston, near Southampton, to Kensington

Our own will is all that is requisite; and, if we have not the will to avoid contempt, disgrace, and misery, we deserve neither relief nor compassion.
~ William Cobbett, Cobbett's Month Religious Tracts. Volume 1, Number 2 (1 April 1821). The Sin of Drunkenness

Have you any business with me, Sir Wilfull?
~ William Congreve, The Way of the World (1700). Act IV, scene i

I am somewhat dainty in making a Resolution -- because when I make it, I keep it.
~ William Congreve, The Way of the World (1700). Act III, scene xv

Wilfull will do't, that's the word. Wilfull will do't, that's my crest, -- my motto I have forgot.
~ William Congreve, The Way of the World (1700). Act IV, scene x

First you find the logical way, and when you find it, avoid it, and let your inner self break through and guide you. Don't try to be anybody but yourself.
~ Will Marion Cook, quoted in Duke Ellington, Music Is My Mistress (1973).

Religion, virtue, truth, whate'er we call
A blessing -- freedom is the pledge of all.
~ William Cowper, from Poems by William Cowper of the Inner Temple, Esq. (1782). Table Talk (written in 1781)

The busy trifler dreams himself alone,
Frames many a purpose, and God works his own.
~ William Cowper, from Poems by William Cowper of the Inner Temple, Esq. (1782). Expostulation

[T]hey whom truth and wisdom lead
Can gather honey from a weed.
~ William Cowper, from Poems by William Cowper of the Inner Temple, Esq. (1782). The Pineapple And The Bee (written in October 1779).

We must not ... be deterred by the nebulous character of some of the ideals which are floating through our minds. Ideals are always nebulous, and always resisted by the narrow sort of practical men who suggest that we are metaphysical dreamers unaware of the stern facts of life. Nevertheless, the actual progress of the world depends on the visions of idealists ...
~ William Leonard (W.L.) Courtney, Armageddon-And After (1914). Chapter III: Some Suggested Reforms. Ideal Aims

The life that conquers is the life that moves with a steady resolution and persistence toward a predetermined goal. The men who succeed are they who have thoroughly learned the immense importance of plan in life, and the tragic brevity of time.
~ William James "W.J." Dawson, The Making of Manhood (1894). Chapter III: The Power of Purpose

Confusing common causes with special causes will only make things worse.
~ W. Edwards Deming

It is important that an aim never be defined in terms of activity or methods. It must always relate directly to how life is better for everyone.
~ W. Edwards Deming, The New Economics For Industry, Government & Education, 2nd ed. (1993).

Management by results is confusing special causes with common causes.
~ W. Edwards Deming

There must be consistency in direction.
~ W. Edwards Deming

We are here to make another world.
~ W. Edwards Deming

[A]s we had no part of our will in our entrance into this life, we should not presume to any in our leaving it, but soberly learn to will that which He wills, whose very will giveth being to all that it wills.
~ William Drummond (of Hawthornden), from Flowers of Zion; or Spiritual Poems (1623). A Cypress Grove

What doth it serve earth's beauty to behold,
The mountain's pride, the meadow's flow'ry grace,
The stately comeliness of forests old,
The sport of floods which would themselves embrace?
~ William Drummond (of Hawthornden), from Poems: Amorous, Funerall, Divine, Pastorall, in Sonnets, Songs, Sextains, Madrigals (1616). What doth it Serve

'T is what you will, -- or will be what you would.
~ Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, Divine Weekes and Workes (1578). First Week, Third Day

[A] few basic themes underlie all of (your living). Moreover, these themes spiral around the root theme of your whole life. The root theme is often so universal, touching upon all things at once, as to be difficult to describe. It is as though all of life is a spiral searching its own core, and in the center is a peace that encompasses all and asks nothing further.
~ Wilson Van Duesen, The Natural Depth In Man.

He who would tell a tale must look toward three ideals: to tell it well, to tell it beautifully, and to tell the truth. ... The first is the Gift of God, the second is the Vision of Genius, but the third is the Reward of Honesty.
~ William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois, The Quest of the Silver Fleece (1911). Note from the Author

Ill that he blesses is our good,
And unblessed good is ill;
And all is right that seems most wrong.
If it be his sweet will.
~ Frederick William Faber, The Will of God.

Ride on, ride on, triumphantly,
Thou glorious will, ride on!
~ Frederick William Faber, The Will of God.

I think that no condition, no government can destroy the will among a few to be individualists.
~ William Faulkner, in Faulkner in the University (1959).

Purpose is the natural expression of who you are. It utilizes all your gifts and talents. It's your passion and you are very good at it. Life purpose is the very essence of you.
~ Bill Ferguson

It is Will which gives birth to conduct and character, and makes the difference between a person and a thing.
~ William Fleming, A Manual of Moral Philosophy (1860). Part I, Book III: Of the Difference Between Desiring and Willing

The issues we face in the 21st century are complex, but our goals are simple. We're going to build a stronger business, and make a better world.
~ William Clay Ford, Jr., Speech at the Ford Motor Company Annual Meeting of Stockholders (10 May 2001).

What is the use of lying when truth, well distributed, serves the same purpose?
~ William Edward (W.E.) Forster, in Life of the Right Honourable William Edward Forster, Volume 2 (1888). Chapter IV

A lot of people seem deeply worried about the current state of society. To some extent that has always been so. Human affairs have always been messy. But this is a mess with a difference. It has a bit of the dread that comes from turning unexpectedly into a spooky dead-end, and having to ask -- Where do we go now?
~ William D. Gairdner, The Trouble With Democracy: A Citizen Speaks Out (March 2001). Introduction

Be firm! -- Be true!
And though it cose thee all thou hast,
Assert that right while life shall last.
~ William Davis Gallagher, from Miami Woods, A Golden Wedding, and Other Poems (1881). V. Miscellaneous: Be Firm -- Be True

People can achieve meaning in their lives only if they have made commitments beyond the self -- religious commitments, commitments to loved ones, to one's fellow humans, to excellence, to some conception of an ethical order -- you give life meaning through your commitments.
~ John William Gardner

People run around searching for identity, but it isn't handed out free any more -- not in this transient, rootless society. Your identity is what you have committed yourself to. You build meaning into your life through your commitments -- whether to your religion, to your conception of an ethical order, to your family, group or community, to the rights of others, to unborn generations.
~ John William Gardner

My reliance for the deliverance of the oppressed universally is upon the nature of man, the inherent wrongfulness of oppression, the power of truth, and the omnipotence of God.
~ William Lloyd Garrison, from The Liberator, (November 1853).

Apt quotations carry convictions.
~ William Ewart Gladstone

Where a will is, there's a way.
~ William Schwenck (W.S.) Gilbert, Iolanthe (1882 opera).

If he who employs coercion against me could mould me to his purposes by argument, no doubt he would. He pretends to punish me because his argument is strong; but he really punishes me because his argument is weak.
~ William Godwin, An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793).

The cause of justice is the cause of humanity. Its advocates should overflow with universal good will. We should love this cause, for it conduces to the general happiness of mankind.
~ William Godwin, An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793).

My one purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God, which, I believe, comes through knowing Christ.
~ Billy Graham

Blind zeal is soon put to a shameful retreat, while holy resolution, built on fast principles, lifts up its head like a rock in the midst of the waves.
~ William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armour (1665).

The question before us is how to become one in spirit, not necessarily in opinion.
~ William Rainey Harper, Remarks at the first faculty meeting, University of Chicago (1 October 1892).

But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we came from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest.
~ Stephen William Hawking, A Brief History of Time (1988).

He who thinks first of himself, either in the world or in a popular assembly, will be sure to turn attention away from his claims, instead of fixing it there. He must make common cause with his hearers. To lead, he must follow the general bias.
~ William Hazlitt, from The Spirit of the Age (1825). Horne Tooke

To noble minds which duty binds
No sacrifice is hard.
~ William (W.E.) Hickson, from The Singing Master, No. 4 (1836). The Mights and the Rights

Most motives in life, even bad motives, lie nearer the surface than most people commonly pretend.
~ William Dean Howells, Ragged Lady (1899).

Man lives for science as well as bread.
~ William James, in The Nation (1875). On Vivisection

Man needs a rule for his will, and will invent one if one be not given him.
~ William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890). Vol. 2. Chapter XXI: The Perception of Reality

No date, no position is insignificant, if the life that fills it out be only genuine.
~ William James, in Memories and Studies (1911). Address at the Emerson Centenary in Concord (originally delivered at the Centenary of the Birth of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 25 May 1903)

The true ... is only the expedient in the way of our thinking, just as the right is only the expedient in the way of our way of behaving.
~ William James, from The Meaning of Truth: A Sequel To 'Pragmatism' (1909). Preface

We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.
~ William James, in The Letters of William James Vol. 2 (1920). Letter to E.L. Godkin (Christmas Eve 1895)

Where quality is the thing sought after, the thing of supreme quality is cheap, whatever be the price one has to pay for it.
~ William James, An Address at Stanford University on Founders' Day (1906). Stanford's Ideal Destiny

The more you practice what you know, the more shall you know what to practice.
~ William Jenkin

I have no rule in life except to do the thing directly before me the best I know how, then take up the next job.
~ William Travers Jerome, in Courtroom Warrior: The Combative Career of William Travers Jerome (1963).

I was myself an advocate so long, that I never mind what advocates say, but what they prove.
~ Sir William Jones, in Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Correspondence, of Sir William Jones (1804). Letter to Mrs. Sloper (13 October 1790)

Man does not drift into goodness, -- the chance port of an aimless voyage. He must fight ever for his destination, ready to battle, with calmness and constant courage, against fog, darkness, adverse winds, and dangers that should only inspire to greater effort.
~ William George Jordan, The Crown of Individuality (1909). XIV. Power of Individual Purpose

Purpose is the backbone of a life of courage.
~ William George Jordan, The Power of Purpose (1910). I. Power of Individual Purpose

I like to feel that what I'm doing portrays this: a family where there is love between mother, father and the kids. It's a subject that is dear to me.
~ Bill Keane, King Features About the Cartoonist

As a matter of fact, we have to have a will. It's beneficial and recommended that everybody have a will.
~ William J. "Pete" Knight, Interview in SCVTV: Local Television for Santa Clarita (1 April 2004). Newsmaker of the Week

And if you will here stop, and ask yourselves, why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.
~ William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728).

It is not even true that the end of man should be to find peace at the last. It should be to do his duty and tell the truth.
~ William Edward Hartpole (E.H.) Lecky, The Map of Life: Conduct and Character (1899). Chapter IV

'I will' is a bond, an oath, a prophecy.
~ William James Linton, Claribel and Other Poems (1865). Definitions. Willing

I can tell you ... how to get to what you want. You've just got to keep a thing in view and go for it and never let your eyes wander to right or left or up or down. And looking back is fatal.
~ William John Locke, Septimus (1908). Chapter V

[T]he aim of culture is to make us better company as men and women of the world.
~ William Hurrell (W.H.) Mallock, The New Republic: Or, Culture, Faith, and Philosophy in an English Country House, Volume II (1877). Book III. Chapter II

[A]nd then the sage gave him the history of man in a single line; it was this: he was born, he suffered, and he died. There was no meaning in life, and man by living served no end. It was immaterial whether he was born or not born, whether he lived or ceased to live. Life was insignificant and death without consequence.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage (1915).

I want to make up my mind whether God is or God is not. I want to find out why evil exists. I want to know whether I have an immortal soul or whether when I die it is the end.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge (1944).

You can't learn too soon that the most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency.
~ W. Somerset Maugham, The Circle (1921).

Maybe I was born to play ball. Maybe I truly was.
~ Willie Howard Mays Jr.

While goals are chosen, a purpose is discovered. Our purpose is something we have been doing all along, and will continue to do, regardless of circumstances, until the day we die.
~ Peter McWilliams

On the door it says what to do to survive
But we were not born to survive
Only to live.
~ William Stanley (W.S.) Merwin, from The Lice (1967). The River of Bees

This way the dust, that way the dust.
I listen to both sides
But I keep right on.
This must be what I wanted to be doing,
Walking at night between the two deserts,
Singing.
~ William Stanley (W.S.) Merwin, from The Moving Target (1963). Air

Passion is power,
And, kindly tempered, saves. All things declare
Struggle hath deeper peace than sleep can bring.
~ William Vaughn Moody, The Masque of Judgment. Act III, scene ii (1900)

I shall go back into the darkness,
Not to dream but to seek the light again.
~ William H.A. Moore, in The Book of American Negro Poetry (1922). It Was Not Fate

I ... pondered how men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name.
~ William Morris, from A Dream of John Ball (1888).

What's right and good doesn't come naturally. You have to stand up and fight for it -- as if the cause depends on you, because it does.
~ Bill Moyers, Speech at the "Take Back America Conference," Washington DC (4 June 2003). Acceptance of America's Future Lifetime Leadership Award

I have borne allegiance to PRINCIPLES, rather than MEN.
~ William C. Nell, in The Liberator (16 December 1853)

He who lives to no purpose, lives to a bad purpose.
~ William Nevins, in Practical Thoughts (1836). 18. Detached Thoughts

Called a star's orbit to pursue,
What is the darkness, star, to you?
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Gay Science (1882). Prelude in German Rhymes (Joke, Cunning and Revenge)

For what purpose humanity is there should not even concern us: why you are here, that you should ask yourself: and if you have no ready answer, then set for yourself goals, high and noble goals, and perish in pursuit of them!
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible ...
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

The grand style follows suit with all great passion. It disdains to please, it forgets to persuade. It commands. It wills.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Twilight of the Idols (1888). Maxims and Arrows

Not every end is the goal. The end of a melody is not its goal, and yet if a melody has not reached its end, it has not reached its goal. A parable.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.
~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

It is our high purpose to devote our whole time, our whole energy to do good work.
~ William O'Dwyer, Inaugural Speech, Council Chambers at City Hall, New York City NY (1946).

A person needs to be "about something" at his or her core and feel deeply why some things are worthwhile and others are worth everything. Whether a person resolves this well or poorly, rightly or wrongly, the effort is crucial to being fully human.
~ William G. O'Neill, in National Defense University Press Joint Force Quarterly (JFQ; Spring 1996). Moral Obligation Versus "Beeper Ethics": A Review Essay

I desire no greater certainty in reasoning, than that by which chance is excluded from the present disposition of the natural world. Universal experience is against it: what does chance ever do for us?
~ William Paley, Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (1802).

Every person of every degree, state, sex, or condition without exception must have some personal and particular calling to walk in.
~ William Perkins, A Treatise of Vocations, or Callings of Men (1603).

There is one plain maxim, to which I have invariably adhered through life; that in every question in which my liberty or my property were concerned, I should consult and be determined by the dictates of common sense.
~ William Pitt (1st Earl of Chatham), Speech delivered in the House of Lords, Hansard (on the case of John Wilkes; 9 January 1770).

How man be so greedy
When there's so much left?
All things are God given
And they all have been blessed.
~ William Everett ("Billy") Preston, That's the Way God Planned It (1969 album).

Free will is a disastrous and mean social myth. Using free will as an excuse, we condone a vicious attitude of revenge toward anyone who does wrong in our society. ... This attitude leads to a grossly expensive and hopeless systems of punishment in America, though much the same attitude can be found in most countries around the world. ... Without free will, justification for revenge disappears and rehabilitation is the main job of judicial systems and prisons. We will all live in a better society when the myth of free will is dispelled.
~ William (Will) B. Provine, Darwin Day Keynote Address (1998). Evolution: Free will and punishment and meaning in life

If a man would use illustration as a power for good, he must cultivate a refinement of thought in his own mind. He must have a clear perception of the truth itself, and of the fitness and fulness of the analogy by which he means to illuminate it; and then he must learn to present it gracefully, that it may attract without startling, and be a "power of surprise" without awakening either repulsion or alarm.
~ William Morley (W.M.) Punshon, The New Handbook Of Illustration (1874). Introduction

Intentionality enables people to create and maintain total environments that consistently and dependably invite the realization of human potential.
~ William Watson Purkey, in the Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice (1992). An Introduction To Invitational Theory

I am a heavy stone,
Roll'd up a hill by a weak child: I move
A little up, and tumble back again.
~ William Rider, The Twins: A Tragi-comedy (1655).

Money and women are the most sought after and the least known about of any two things we have.
~ Will Rogers

Plans get you into things, but you got to work your way out.
~ Will Rogers, quoted in Proverb Wit & Wisdom (1997).

I believe that, if there is no other vote for a particular office, that whatever is discernible would indicate, even in a small degree, an intent. That vote should be counted under my thinking.
~ William K. Rouverol, Testimony before the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board (24 November 2000).

When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn't just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that.
~ Wilma Rudolph, quoted in I Dream a World (1989).

I believe there are ways whose ends are life instead of death.
~ William Saroyan, from Inhale and Exhale (1936). Antranik of Armenia

Do not, for one repulse, forego the purpose
That you resolved to effect.
~ William Shakespeare, The Tempest. Act III, scene iii

Excellent! I smell a device.
~ William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night. Act II, scene iii

Find out the cause of this effect,
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect defective comes by cause.
~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Act II, scene ii

Foh! one may smell in such, a will most rank,
Foul disposition, thoughts unnatural.
~ William Shakespeare, Othello

For every man with his affects is born,
Not by might mast'red, but by special grace.
~ William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost. Act I, scene i

For what I will, I will, and there an end.
~ William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Act I, scene iii

I mean, sir, in delay
We waste our lights in vain, like lamps by day.
~ William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. Act I, scene iv

Infirm of purpose!
~ William Shakespeare, Macbeth. Act II, scene ii

It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul;
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!
It is the cause.
~ William Shakespeare, Othello

Men's natures wrangle with inferior things,
Though great ones are their object.
~ William Shakespeare, Othello. Act III, scene iv

My purpose is, indeed, a horse of that colour.
~ William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night. Act II, scene iii

O, this life
Is nobler than attending for a check,
Richer than doing nothing for a bribe,
Prouder, than rustling in unpaid-for silk.
~ William Shakespeare, Cymbeline. Act III, scene iii

O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Act I, scene ii

O you mighty gods!
This world I do renounce, and in your sights
Shake patiently my great affliction off.
If I could bear it longer, and not fall
To quarrel with your great opposeless wills,
My snuff and loathed part of nature should
Burn itself out.
~ William Shakespeare, King Lear. Act IV, scene vi

Our wills and fates do so contrary run
That our devices still are overthrown;
Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own.
~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Act III, scene ii

[S]o shall inferior eyes,
That borrow their behaviors from the great,
Grow great by your example and put on
The dauntless spirit of resolution.
~ William Shakespeare, King John. Act V, scene i

That what he will he does, and does so much
That proof is call'd impossibility.
~ William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida. Act V, scene v

The cause is in my will.
~ William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar. Act II, scene ii

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
~ William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice. Act I, scene iii

The flighty purpose never is o'ertook,
Unless the deed go with it.
~ William Shakespeare, Macbeth. Act IV, scene i

There's place and means for every man alive.
~ William Shakespeare, All's Well that Ends Well. Act IV

[T]o wilful men
The injuries that they themselves procure
Must be their schoolmasters.
~ William Shakespeare, King Lear. Act II, scene iv

What is your substance, whereof are you made,
That millions of strange shadows on you tend?
~ William Shakespeare, Sonnet 53

You take my house when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house; you take my life
When you do take the means whereby I live.
~ William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice. Act IV, scene i

The difference there is betwixt honour and honesty, seems to be chiefly in the motive. The mere honest man does that from duty, which the man of honour does for the sake of character.
~ William Shenstone, in Works in Verse and Prose, Vol. II (1764). Essays on Men, Manners, and Things. Of Men and Manners

We are led one thing at a time to that pure gain -- all that we lose.
~ William Stafford, from Allegiances (1970).

You can't tell when strange things with meaning
will happen. I'm [still] here writing it down
just the way it was. "You don't have to
prove anything," my mother said. "Just be ready
for what God sends."
~ William Stafford, from The Way It Is (1993). Are You Mr. William Stafford?

The refutation of a sacrifice frequently consists in its acceptance.
~ Wilhelm Steinitz, in William Steinitz, Chess Champion: A Biography Of The Bohemian Caesar (1992).

The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.
~ Wilhelm Stekel

When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.
~ William (W.) Clement Stone, Success! Magazine (September 1987). The River of Success

The sand in the hourglass flows only one way. Don't waste precious time chasing someone else's definition of success. Live your life with purpose now.
~ William E. ("Bill") Strickland, Jr., Make the Impossible Possible: One Man's Crusade to Inspire Others to Dream Bigger and Achieve the Extraordinary (2007). Chapter Five: The Secret to Success

For every living creature that succeeds in getting a footing in life there are thousands or millions that perish. There is an enormous random scattering for every seed that comes to life. This does not remind us of intelligent human design. If a man in order to shoot a hare, were to discharge thousands of guns on a great moor in all possible directions; if in order to get into a locked room, he were to buy ten thousand casual keys, and try them all; if, in order to have a house, he were to build a town, and leave all the other houses to wind and weather -- assuredly no one would call such proceedings purposeful and still less would anyone conjecture behind these proceedings a higher wisdom, unrevealed reasons, and superior prudence.
~ John William Navin Sullivan

More men fail through lack of purpose than lack of talent.
~ William A. "Billy" Sunday

Bind together your spare hours ... by the cord of some definite purpose, and you know not how much you may accomplish.
~ William Mackergo Taylor, David, King of Israel: His Life and Its Lessons (1874). Chapter II: Medicinal Music

[W]e shall to our own intellectual satisfaction establish, if that may be, the existence of a Governing Will, from which the whole Universe proceeds and upon which it all depends.
~ William Temple (archbishop), The Faith And Modern Thought (1910). Lecture I. The Grounds Of Our Belief In God

Be peace on earth, be peace on earth,
To men of gentle will.
~ William Makepeace Thackeray, Doctor Birch and His Young Friends (1849). Epilogue

The measure of the worth of life is not the joy or misery found in the world, but the satisfaction that follows free and right activity.
~ (Archbishop) William Thomson, from Word, Work and Will (1879). The Worth of Life (1877 address)

Will direction explains it all.
~ William Hanna (W.H.) Thomson, Brain and Personality: or, The Physical Relations Of The Brain To The Mind (1906). Chapter IX. Practical Applications

Seek ye first the kingdom of nature that the kingdom of man might be realized.
~ Willi Unsoeld, Paper Presented at the Conference on Experiential Education, Estes Park CO (October 1974). Spiritual Values in Wilderness

For 50 or 60 years now, this thing has been following me. So the fact that I am coming out now to talk about it is like a burden being lifted, because I had this secret. And though many people did know about it, I hadn't gotten it off my shoulders. So this is what I wanted.
~ Essie Mae Washington-Williams, CBS TV "60 Minutes II" (17 December 2003). Essie Mae On Strom Thurmond

And rare is noble impulse, rare
The impassioned aim.
~ William Watson, from Lachrymae Musarum And Other Poems (1892). Shelley's Centenary

God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind that I will never die.
~ Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

If your knee's aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.
~ Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

The object of science is knowledge; the objects of art are works.
~ William Whewell, Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, Vol. 2 (1840). Part II. Book XI, Chapter VIII. Of Art and Science

It is a great mistake to try to do many things at once, for certainly none of them will be done well. Try one thing at a time, and do that thing well.
~ William C. Whitney

[L]et it always be our aim to live in a spirit of unity with each other, supporting one common cause, by spreading our influence for the good of mankind, with the hope that the period will ultimately arrive when the principles of universal peace will triumph throughout the world.
~ William Whipper, Speech delivered at the First African Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia PA (16 August 1837). Non-Resistance to Offensive Aggression

God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation Manners.
~ William Wilberforce, Journal entry (28 October 1787).

Policy ... is not my principle, and I am not ashamed to say it.
~ William Wilberforce (on the abolition of slavery), Speech, House of Commons (12 May 1789).

Each well-born soul must win what it deserves.
Let the fool prate of luck. The fortunate
Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves,
Whose slightest action or inaction serves
The one great aim.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, from Maurine and Other Poems (1888). Will

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,
As we voyage along through life:
'Tis the set of a soul
That decides its goal
And not the calm, or the strife.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, in Munsey's Magazine (1897). Fate

We find what we look for in this world.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, from The Heart of the New Thought (1902). A Worn Out Creed

The maintenance of the fighting force as a true people's army, and the promotion of the social progress of the people in all its classes, have been my object from the beginning of my reign. Anxious as I am, while strictly preserving the unity of people and Monarchy, to serve the interests of the whole, I am resolved, so soon as the war situation permits, to set to work on the building up of our internal political, economic, and social life.
~ Wilhelm II, Letter to the Chancellor of Prussia (4 April 1917).

GUARDEZ BIEN
~ motto of USS Jack Williams, (commissioned 19 September 1981).

This ladder is charity, the steps are virtues.
~ William of Shoreham, in The Poems of William of Shoreham: Ab. 1320 Vicar of Chart-Sutton (1902; English text)

My guiding principles in life are to be honest, genuine, thoughtful and caring.
~ Prince William, 21st birthday interview with the Press Association (PA), St James's Palace (21 June 2003).

Even when sense and purpose seem to escape us, we trust that one day we will understand. On that day we will come face to face with the author of life.
~ Philip W. Williams, in When A Loved One Dies (1976). Press On

Thanks to the Almighty, I am no longer sleepwalking through life.
~ Stanley Tookie Williams, in Institute for the Prevention of Youth Violence "Tookie's Corner" (tookie.com) (13 April 1997). The Apology

Our jobs may wear us out, but calling feeds the spirit.
~ Terrie Williams, A Plentiful Harvest: Creating Balance and Harmony Through the Seven Living Virtues (November 5, 2002).

You are the only young man that I know of who ignores the fact that the future becomes the present, the present becomes the past, and the past turns into everlasting regret if you don't plan for it!
~ Thomas Lanier ("Tennessee") Williams, The Glass Menagerie (1944). Scene Five

The jeweled prize
always
at our fingertips.
We will it so
and so it is
past all accident.
~ William Carlos Williams, from Journey to Love (1955). The Ivy Crown

Meaning doesn't lie in things. Meaning lies in us. When we attach value to things that aren't love -- the money, the car, the house, the prestige -- we are loving things that can't love us back. We are searching for meaning in the meaningless. Money, of itself, means nothing. Material things, of themselves, mean nothing. It's not that they're bad. It's that they're nothing.
~ Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles (1992).

The will needs a purpose.
~ Colin Henry Wilson, New Pathways in Psychology: Maslow and the Post-Freudian Revolution (1972).

There are only two stimulants to one's best efforts -- the fear of punishment, and the hope of reward.
~ John M. Wilson

If I had a nickel for every time I said "Why me?" I'd have probably said "Why me?" more often.
~ Tom Wilson, Ziggy

I'm not loose and indiscreet.
~ Bill Withers, from +'Justments (1974 album). You

Think you, mid all this mighty sum
Of things for ever speaking,
That nothing of itself will come,
But we must still be seeking?
~ William Wordsworth, from Lyrical Ballads (1798). Expostulation and Reply

"To every Form of being is assigned,"
Thus calmly spoke the venerable Sage,
"An active Principle."
~ William Wordsworth, The Excursion (1814). Book IX: Discourse of the Wanderer, and an Evening Visit to the Lake

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
~ William Butler Yeats, from Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1921). The Second Coming

I sought my betters: though in each
Fine manners, liberal speech,
Turn hatred into sport,
Nothing said or done can reach
My fanatic heart.
~ William Butler Yeats, from The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933). Remorse for Intemperate Speech (August 28, 1931)

You think it horrible that lust and rage
Should dance attendance upon my old age;
They were not such a plague when I was young;
What else have I to spur me into song?
~ William Butler Yeats, from New Poems (1938). The Spur