David Livingstone Quotes & Sayings

It is far easier to travel than to write about it. — David Livingstone

It is hard to work for years with pure motives, and all the time be looked upon by most of those to whom our lives are devoted as having some sinister object in view. — David Livingstone

Sympathy is no substitute for action. — David Livingstone

I am willing to go anywhere, anywhere, anywhere-provided it be forward. — David Livingstone

I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose. — David Livingstone

Shall I tell you what supported me through all those years of exile among a people whose language I could not understand and whose attitude towards me we always uncertain and often hostile? It was this: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world". — David Livingstone

I will go anywhere, provided it is forward. — David Livingstone

Creeping with awe to the verge, I peered down into a large rent which had been made from bank to bank of the broad Zambezi, and saw that a stream of a thousand yards broad leaped down a hundred feet [30 m] and then became suddenly compressed into a space of fifteen to twenty yards. — David Livingstone

Anywhere, provided it be forward
farther still farther into the night. — David Livingstone

Providence seems to call me to the regions beyond — David Livingstone

It is not all pleasure this exploration. — David Livingstone

All that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine Book. — David Livingstone

Cannot the love of Christ carry the missionary where the slave-trade carries the trader? I shall open up a path to the interior or perish. — David Livingstone

Education has been given us from above for the purpose of bringing to the benighted the knowledge of the Saviour. — David Livingstone

The mere animal pleasure of travelling in a wild unexplored country is also great. The effect of travel on a man whose heart is in the right place is that the mind is made more self-reliant: it becomes more confident of its own resources, there is greater presence of mind. — David Livingstone

I am a missionary, heart and soul. God had an only Son, and He was a missionary and a physician. I am a poor, poor imitation of Him, or wish to be. In this service I hope to live; in it I wish to die! — David Livingstone

Remember us in your prayers that we grow not weary in well doing. It is hard to work for years with pure motives, and all the time be looked upon by most of those to whom our lives are devoted as having some sinister object in view. Disinterested labor - benevolence - is so out of their line of thought, that many look upon us as having some ulterior object in view; but He who died for us, and Whom we ought to copy, did more for us than we can do for any one else. He endured the contradiction of sinners. We should have grace to follow in His steps. — David Livingstone

The brisk exercise imparts elasticity to the muscles, fresh and healthy blood circulates through the brain, the mind works well, the eye is clear, the step is firm, and a day's exertion always makes the evening's repose thoroughly enjoyable. — David Livingstone

Christ alone can save the world, but Christ cannot save the world alone. — David Livingstone

I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. — David Livingstone

Fastings and vigils without a special object in view are time run to waste. — David Livingstone

This generation can only reach this generation. — David Livingstone

There is one safe and happy place, and that is in the will of God. — David Livingstone

Fear God and work hard. — David Livingstone

I'd rather be in the heart of Africa in the will of God, than on the throne of England, out of the will of God. — David Livingstone

God had only one Son, and He was a missionary. — David Livingstone

To be aroused in the dark by five feet of cold, green snake gliding over one's face is unpleasant. — David Livingstone

It is my desire to show my attachment to the cause of Him who died for me by devoting my life to His service. — David Livingstone

It is working with clients and changing that perception. I don't mind if market commentators have that view. It's the view that clients have that matters. — David Livingstone

The islands above the falls are covered with foliage as beautiful as can be seen anywhere. Viewed from the mass of rock which overhangs the fall, the scenery was the loveliest I had seen. — David Livingstone

The end of the [geographical] exploration is the beginning of the [missionary] enterprise. — David Livingstone

God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours. — David Livingstone

I will go anywhere, provided it be forward. — David Livingstone

I'll go anywhere as long as it's forward. — David Livingstone

Lion's fat is regarded as a sure preventive of tsetse or bungo. This was noted before, but I add now that it is smeared on the ox's tail, and preserves hundreds of the Banyamwesi cattle in safety while going to the coast; it is also used to keep pigs and hippopotami away from gardens: the smell is probably the efficacious part in "Heresi," as they call it. — David Livingstone

The best remedy for a sick church is to put it on a missionary diet. — David Livingstone

If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all. — David Livingstone

All I can say in my solitude is, May Heaven's rich blessing come down on every one - American, English, Turk - who will help to heal this open sore of the world. — David Livingstone

And although I see few results, future missionaries will see conversions following every sermon. May they not forget the pioneers who worked in the thick gloom with few rays to cheer, except such as flow from faith in the precious promises of God's Word. — David Livingstone

Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give. — David Livingstone

Without Christ, not one step; with Him, anywhere! — David Livingstone

If success attend me, grant me humility; If failure, resignation to Thy will. — David Livingstone

If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice? — David Livingstone

God had an only Son and He made Him a missionary. — David Livingstone

People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. — David Livingstone

Passing inside they looked towards the bed. Dr. Livingstone was not lying on it, but appeared to be engaged in prayer, and they instinctively drew backwards for the instant. Pointing to him, Majwara said, "When I lay down he was just as he is now, and it is because I find that he does not move that I fear he is dead." They asked the lad how long he had slept? Majwara said he could not tell, but he was sure that it was some considerable time: the men drew nearer. A candle stuck by its own wax to the top of the box, shed a light sufficient for them to see his form. Dr. Livingstone was kneeling by the side of his bed, his body stretched forward, his head buried in his hands upon the pillow. For a minute they watched him: he did not stir, there was no sign of breathing; then one of them, Matthew, advanced softly to him and placed his hands to his cheeks. It was sufficient; life had been extinct some time, and the body was almost cold: Livingstone was dead. — David Livingstone

I will try and remember always to approach God in secret with as much reverence in speech, posture, and behavior as in public. Help me, Thou who knowest my frame and pitiest as a father his children. — David Livingstone

I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk when we remember the great sacrifice which he made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us. — David Livingstone

I am a missionary, heart and soul. — David Livingstone

There is a Ruler above, and His Providence guides all things. He is our Friend and has plenty of work for all His people to do. It is such a blessing and a privilege to be led into His work instead of into the service of the hard taskmasters - the Devil and sin. — David Livingstone

What a villain you are, to boast of killing women and children of your own nation! What will God say when you appear before him?" "He will say," replied he, "that I was a very clever fellow. — David Livingstone

For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice. — David Livingstone

If we have not enough in our religion to share it with all the world, it is doomed here at home. — David Livingstone

I have found that I have no unusual endowments of intellect, but this day I resolve that I will be an uncommon Christian. — David Livingstone

I am immortal till my work is accomplished — David Livingstone

Death alone will put a stop to my effort! — David Livingstone

Men are immortal till their work is done. — David Livingstone

It's been busier than ever I guess they were having a going-out-of-business sale. — David Livingstone

Though there is antipathy in the human heart to the gospel of Christ, yet when Christians make their good work shine, all admire them. It is when great disparity exists between profession and practice that we secure the scorn of mankind. — David Livingstone

If you knew the satisfaction of performing a duty, as well as the gratitude to God which the missionary must always feel in being chosen for so noble and sacred a calling, you would feel no hesitation in embracing it. — David Livingstone

I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity. — David Livingstone

May the time come when rich men and great men would think it an honor to support whole stations of missionaries in Africa, instead of spending their money on hounds and horses. — David Livingstone

I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. — David Livingstone

Bin Nassib came last night and visited me before going home to his own house; a tall, brown, polite Arab. He says that he lately received a packet for Mr. Stanley from the American Consul, sealed in tin, and sent it back: this is the eleventh that came to Stanley. A — David Livingstone

I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward. — David Livingstone

Self-deception helps us deceive. — David Livingstone

Nothing earthly will make me give up my work in despair. — David Livingstone