Samuel Smiles
Scottish author and reformer best known for Self-Help (1859), a Victorian bestseller on character, thrift and perseverance.
4 quotes in this collection. Read them below, share your favourites, or follow the related links to explore similar voices.
All quotes by Samuel Smiles
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“Good actions give strength to ourselves, and inspire good actions in others.”
Meaning: In Duty, a later book from 1880, Smiles argued that conduct spreads like an example. Doing right strengthens your own resolve while quietly setting a standard around you. Choose one small act today, such as crediting a colleague or finishing a promised task, and see how others follow. -
“The crown and glory of life is Character.”
Meaning: Smiles closed his book with a chapter on character, claiming it outweighs wealth, rank and talent. Reputation built through honest choices lasts. Practice it daily: when a small shortcut tempts you at work, keep your word instead, and notice how people begin to trust you with larger responsibilities. -
“We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success.”
Meaning: In a chapter of Self-Help about experience, Smiles points out that mistakes teach lessons that easy wins hide. Success feels good but rarely explains itself. After your next setback, write down three specific causes and one change you will make, so the failure pays you back. -
“Help from without is often enfeebling in its effects, but help from within invariably invigorates.”
Meaning: Smiles opened Self-Help in 1859 arguing that progress comes mainly from individual effort, not rescue by others or institutions. Outside support is useful but cannot replace practice. Pick one skill you keep postponing and give it thirty daily minutes of your own effort, asking for help only after trying.