Gregory I - It had been better not to begin a good work, than to th

It had been better not to begin a good work, than to think of desisting from one which has been begun.

Context

Gregory the Great. The Pope had sent a contingent of monks to bring Christianity to the people of England. However, the monks became immediately discouraged given the primitive state of the inhabitants, the climate, and the dangerous seas to voyage over. They asked permission of the Pope to withdraw. Gregory refused but sent Augustine of Canterbury to lead the contingent.

Topics

Citations

Gregory I, ~540-604, Roman Catholic Pope, Letter to Missionaries to England, ~596

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

Related Quotes

Margaret Thatcher

I've got a woman's ability to stick to a job and get on with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Victory belongs to the most persevering.

Ralph Bunche

To make our way, we must have firm resolve, persistence, tenacity. We must gear ourselves to work hard all the way. We can never let up.

David Livingstone

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

David Tudor

I persist in performing.

Harrison Ford

You may get real tired watching me, but I'm not going to quit.

Alice Paul

When you put your hand to the plow, you can't put it down until you get to the end of the row.

John Gresham Machen

Stay the course.

Karen O

I'm not a quitter. I believe in following things through.

Ovid

Either do not attempt at all, or go through with it.

Newt Gingrich

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.

Bobby Sands

We must see our present fight right through to the very end.

Jarvis Cocker

I guess I'm fairly insistent and maybe consistent. If I decide I'll do something, I generally will.

Winston Churchill

The only plan was to persevere.

Peter Falk

I just keep working.

Julian Edelman

We never quit.

Kyler Murray

I just hope everybody knows I never quit.

Luke Rockhold

To be stronger, you finish everything you start. You can't take a break.

Forrest Griffin

I'm kind of a grinder.

Nikita Thukral

I will continue to act for as long as I can.

Jos Buttler

One of the things that I like to pride myself on is being the guy who sees the game through till the end.

Sam Abell

Actually, ambition won't get you that far. You'll shift gears. You'll see something that's shinier. But if you believe... then you're the long-distance runner.

Carole King

It's a very worthy cause. This should happen, and I do believe that tenacity counts. Not going away matters.

Glen A. Larson

If you believe in something, you must will it through, because everything gets in the way. Everyone tries to steer the ship off course.

Kevin Costner

I don't give up. I'm a plodder. People come and go, but I stay the course.

About the Author

Gregory I

Born:
Nationality:
Profession:

Biography

Pope Gregory I, commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian Mission, to convert the then-pagan Anglo-Saxons in England to Christianity. Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. The epithet Saint Gregory the Dialogist has been attached to him in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues. English translations of Eastern texts sometimes list him as Gregory "Dialogos", or the Anglo-Latinate equivalent "Dialogus".

Gregory I Quotes