Helen Keller

Helen Keller

American author, disability-rights advocate, lecturer, and political activist whose life — deafblind from the age of nineteen months and yet author of fourteen books, graduate of Radcliffe, and lifelong campaigner for women's suffrage, labor rights, and pacifism — became one of the most-told stories of the twentieth century. Born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, her partnership with teacher Anne Sullivan, beginning when Keller was six, became the foundation for her education and is the central narrative of The Miracle Worker. Her quote 'The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart' remains one of the most-shared sentiments in American letters. She died in 1968 in Easton, Connecticut.

111

quotes in library

Quotes by Helen Keller

111 quotes
“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.”
responsibilitySpeeches and Letters
“I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.”
perspectiveThe Open Door
“The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”
workersThe Open Door
“True happiness is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
happinessThe Open Door
“Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!”
peaceSpeeches and Letters
“Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!”
peaceSpeeches and Letters
“Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings!”
peaceSpeeches and Letters
“Be ye not afraid.”
fearlessnessThe Open Door
“Tolerance is the first principle of community; it is the spirit which conserves the best that all men think.”
toleranceThe Open Door
“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.”
optimismOptimism
“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”
hopeOptimism
“Although I cannot see, I find a thousand things to enjoy.”
enjoymentThe World I Live In
“I do not look upon poverty as a calamity. I look upon it as something to overcome.”
povertyThe Open Door
“To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.”
natureThe World I Live In
“I love the texture of the world. The soft satin of grass against my cheek.”
touchThe World I Live In
“I am a happy person. I am happy because I am alive.”
happinessThe Open Door
“Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”
happinessOptimism
“In the deepest sense, the soul has no disability.”
soulThe Open Door
“There is much that I miss; but it does not occur to me to feel cheated by the universe.”
acceptanceThe Open Door
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