A man is very apt to complain of the ingratitude of those who have risen far above him. -
Samuel Johnson
Take full account of the excellencies which you possess, and in gratitude remember how you would hanker after them, if you had them not. -
Marcus Aurelius
The gratitude of most men is but a secret desire of receiving greater benefits. -
Francois de la Rochefoucauld
There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain. -
Samuel Johnson
That possession which we gain by the sword is not lasting; gratitude for benefits eternal. [La., Non est diuturna possessio in quam gladio ducimus; beneficiorum gratia sempiterna est] -
Curtius Rufus Quintus
I hate ingratitude more in a man; Than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness, Or any taint of vice whose strong corruption Inhabits our frail blood. (Twelfth Night or What You Will) -
William Shakespeare
Whoever has lived long enough to find out what life is, knows how deep a debt of gratitude we owe to Adam, the first great benefactor of our race. He brought death into the world. -
Mark Twain
I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. -
Gilbert Keith Chesterton