William Jones Quotes & Sayings

The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity is of wonderful structure, more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin and more exquisitely refined than either. — William Jones

[I]n every part of this eastern world, from Pekin to Damascus, the popular teachers of moral wisdom have immemorially been poets ... — William Jones

Wherever we direct our attention to Hindu literature the notion of infinity presents itself. — William Jones

Never neglect an opportunity for improvement. — William Jones

My opinion is, that power should always be distrusted, in whatever hands it is placed. — William Jones

In the whisper of the leaves appears an interchange of love. — William Jones

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind. — William Jones

Seven hours to law, to soothing slumber seven,
Ten to the world allot, and all to heaven. — William Jones

My companions said to me, if I would visit the grave of my friend, I might somewhat alleviate my worries. I answered "could she be buried elsewhere than in my heart? — William Jones

Of all the things that it is possible to donate, to donate your own body is infinitely more worthwhile. — William Jones

I have carefully and regularly perused the Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion that the volume contains more sublimity, purer morality, more important history, and finer strains of eloquence, than can be collected from all other books, in whatever language they may have been written. — William Jones

I am no Hindu, but I hold the doctrine of the Hindus concerning a future state (rebirth) to be incomparably more rational, more pious, and more likely to deter men from vice than the horrid opinions inculcated by Christians on punishments without end. — William Jones

The Bible is the light of my understanding, the joy of my heart, the fullness of my hope, the clarified of my affections, the mirror of my thoughts, the consoler of my sorrows, the guide of my soul through this gloomy labyrinth of time, the telescope went from heaven to reveal to the eye of man the amazing glories of the far distant world. — William Jones

The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists; there is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothic and the Celtic, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanscrit; and the old Persian might be added to the same family. — William Jones

Live as if you already are what you wish to become. — William Jones

Go boldly forth, my simple lay,Whose accents flow with artless ease,Like orient pearls at random strung. — William Jones

An experiment in nature, like a text in the Bible, is capable of different interpretations, according to the preconceptions of the interpreter. — William Jones

Cruelty to dumb animals is one of the distinguishing vices of low and base minds. Wherever it is found, it is a certain mark of ignorance and meanness; a mark which all the external advantages of wealth, splendour, and nobility, cannot obliterate. It is consistent neither with learning nor true civility. — William Jones