William James Quote: We have grown literally afraid to be poor....

We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise anyone who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble and pant with the money-making street, we deem him spiritless and lacking in ambition.

— William James

Source: The Varieties of Religious Experiences - 1902

pant general inner literally scramble

Select Quotes by William James

Metaphysics means nothing but an unusually obstinate effort to think clearly.

— William James

Source: Principles of Psychology - Chapter 6 - 1890

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

— William James

In youth we may have an absolutely new experience, subjective or objective, every hour of the day. Apprehension is vivid, retentiveness strong, and our recollections of that time, like those in a time spent in rapid and interesting travel, are of something intricate, multitudinous, and long-drawn-out. But as each passing year converts some of this experience into automatic routine which we hardly note at all, the days and the weeks smooth themselves out in recollection to a contentless unit, and the years grow hollow and collapse.

— William James

Source: Principles of Psychology - Chapter 11 - 1890