Purity is Precious ~ A Collection of Quotes

Purity

n. [L. puritas, form purus.]

1. Freedom from foreign admixture or heterogeneous matter; as the purity of water, of wine, of spirit; the purity of drugs; the purity of metals.

2. Cleanness; freedom from foulness or dirt; as the purity of a garment.

The purity of a linen vesture.

3. Freedom from guilt or the defilement of sin; innocence; as purity of heart or life.

4. Chastity; freedom from contamination by illicit sexual connection.

5. Freedom from any sinister or improper views; as the purity of motives or designs.

6. Freedom from foreign idioms, from barbarous or improper words or phrases; as purity of style or language.

~ Webster's 1828 Dictionary

A Young Girl Reading by Michael Peter Ancher

"To be pure is to be single-minded. It is to have a single goal, a single focus, and a single purpose for ourselves and our lives. That is biblical purity, and from it springs moral behaviour – the good we do with our bodies. At its core, purity is having a heart for the Lord that isn’t watered down or polluted by lesser things.”

~ Lydia Brownback,  Purity: A Godly Woman's Adornment

The Knitting Girl by William Adolphe Bouguereau

"We need to keep most careful watch over our heart, so that nothing shall ever tarnish its purity. Any corrupt thought, dallied with even for a moment, leaves a stain upon the mind which may never be effaced."

~ J. R. Miller

Innocence by Maria Ilieva

"There is dullness, monotony, sheer boredom in all of life when virginity and purity are no longer protected and prized.” 

~ Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity

Girl Holding a Lily by John Simmons

“To be disgraced in the eye of the world, to wear the appearance of infamy while her heart is all purity, her actions all innocence, and the misconduct of another the true source of her debasement, is one of those circumstances which peculiarly belong to the heroine's life, and her fortitude under it what particularly dignifies her character. Catherine had fortitude too; she suffered, but no mumur passed her lips.”

~ Jane Austen, Excerpt from Northanger Abbey

Camille by Sir Frank Dicksee

“I took it for granted that there must be a few men left in the world who had that kind of strength. I assumed that those men would also be looking for women with principle. I did not want to be among the marked-down goods on the bargain table, cheap because they’d been pawed over. Crowds collect there. It is only the few who will pay full price. "You get what you pay for.”

~ Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity

Girl Reading by Charles E. Perugini

"...a very few months had taught him, by the force of contrast, to place a yet higher value on the sweetness of her temper, the purity of her mind, and the excellence of her principles."

~ Jane Austen, Excerpt from Mansfield Park

Portrait of a Girl by Hellen Allingham

"I do not preach any new truth. I do not have any new doctrine... We must have a revival that will mean purity of heart as a normal standard for everybody. We must be clean people, and not only clean outside."

~ A.W. Tozer

Miss Betty Pollock by John William Waterhouse

"See, in this lily, my daughter, the symbol of innocence. Its leaves are finer than richest satin, and its whiteness equals that of the driven snow. Happy is the daughter whose heart also is pure, for remember the words, 'The pure in heart shall see God.' The more pure the colour, the more difficult to preserve its purity. The slightest spot can spoil the flower of the lily, and so one word can rob the mind of its purity. Let the rose," said he, pointing to that flower, "be the image of modesty. The blush of a modest girl is more beautiful than that of the rose." 

Mary's father then made a bouquet of lilies and roses, and, giving it to Mary, he said, "These are brothers and sisters, whose beauty no other flowers can equal. Innocence and modesty are twin sisters, which cannot be separated. Yes, my dear child, God in His goodness has given to modesty, innocence for a sister and companion, in order that she might be warned of the approach of danger. Be always modest, and you will be always virtuous. Oh, if the will of God be so, I pray that you may be enabled to preserve in your heart the purity of the lily!" 

Brought up under the care of a father so wise and loving, Mary grew up like the flowers of her garden, fresh as the rose, pure like the lily, modest as the violet, and full of promise for the future, as a beautiful shrub in the time of flourishing."

~ The Basket of Flowers by Christoph von Schmid

Sisters by John Everett Millais

“When God calls on you to pursue purity, you are not being asked to do what will deprive you of joy. In fact, you are being called to do what will bring you the greatest joy! To choose purity is to put yourself under God’s blessing.” 

~ Randy Alcorn, The Purity Principle: God’s Safeguards for Life’s Dangerous Trails

Head Study of a Young Girl by William Adolphe Bouguereau 

“Young men do not respect girls they can take advantage of - and they do not as easily take advantage of girls they respect.”

“When you chose to follow the way of purity, did you expect it to be easy? When you decided to wait for the best, did you think that waiting would be fun? Did you think that your faith would not be tested? When you decided to take the narrow path, did no one warn you that difficulties, hardship, and tears would be part of the journey, and that you would often face rejection from others and be forced to walk alone? My daughter, that which you wait for the longest you treasure the most, and through much struggle the prize is won.”

~ Sarah Mally, Before You Meet Prince Charming: A Guide to Radiant Purity

Lilac by Davidson Knowles

"There is no more beautiful adornment to womanly character than purity, and a girl does well to see that everything that concerns her dress and behavior when away from her home, on the street, or otherwise in the eyes of the public, is decent, clean, modest, and quiet. 

Purity is a precious virtue. Christ has said, "Blesses are the pure in heart for they shall see God." They perceive His nearness and this knowledge of His presence gently keeps them on the right path. Happy is the girl who walk along the way that abides with Him."

~ Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale

Julia Among the Roses by Daniel Ridgeway Knight

"If a girl will come to God with her perplexities and tell Him the struggle she is having with “foes within,” and fully consecrate her life to Him, saying from the depth of her heart, “Lord, I give my life to Thee. Thou mayest have every part of it. Cleanse my heart and make it a fit place for Thee to dwell,” and trusting God to do what she has asked Him to do, she may have a pure heart. 

God will cleanse out those sinful principles from her nature and make her a conqueror. Not that she will no more be tempted; but instead of those inward struggles that are so hard to master, she will find inward grace and strength to overcome. 

There is a heavenly Visitor who will come in and fill the heart that is fully given to God, so that instead of those sinful impulses ruling there, this sweet Spirit of God will reign."

~ Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale

Contemplation by Frank Dicksee

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

~ Philippians 4:8

Painting by John William Waterhouse

"...but be thou an example of the believers,

in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

 ~ 1 Timothy 4:12

These quotes on purity would also make excellent copywork for young ladies. ~ JES

Tamar's Tears ~ A Lesson in Purity

Ode to the Proverbs 31 Woman

"…but thou excellest them all…"

~ Proverbs 31:29b

Many ladies begrudge the Proverbs 31 woman. Perhaps they think her too perfect for this world. Maybe her standards are too high?

When I read about her, I am inspired! She is an excellent model for us, showcasing the opportunities the "keeper at home" has to serve her household. She illustrates that the believing woman is special and highly valued, in fact she is "far above rubies". The world may suggest that the submissive, christian female must walk like a mechanical-minded mummy but the virtuous woman teaches us that it is not so.

She is a paradigm that while a godly woman is help meet to her husband, mother to her children, or a single daughter of the King, she is glowing with wisdom. She is a capable, educated, skilled and creative servant of Christ. Her example to the world is that believing women are not robots, slaves, homely, worn out, sloppy housewives, but beautifully industrious, and ready to bless all who surround her. What a wonderful mentor we have in this "woman that feareth the Lord"!

"Give her of the fruit of her hands;

and let her own works praise her in the gates."

~ Proverbs 31:31

This post may be shared with some or all of the following lovely link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you, dear ladies, for hosting these!

Lovely Lilacs

Lilacs by Edmund Blair Leighton

"Your lilacs are in leaf, ours are in bloom."

~ Excerpt from Letter of Jane Austen to Her Sister Cassandra

Isn't this the most loveliest of paintings! The purple lilacs waiting to be gathered by this maiden… I can almost smell the floral fragrance from this garden. Edmund Blair Leighton certainly knows how to capture the romance of yesteryears in his period paintings. Thanks to the foresight of the puritan women who brought lilacs from England, the New World was first filled with their beauty in the 1700's.

Gardening Activity:

Grow your own lilacs. Fall is the perfect time to plant these hardy plants which require little maintenance.

Study of Purple Lilacs by Paul DeLongpre

"In the garden below were lilac-trees purple with flowers,

and their dizzily sweet fragrance drifted up to the window on the morning wind."

~ Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

You will find more information on how to take care of lilacs here.

Basket of Lilacs by Paul De Longpre 

"When the skies are of sapphire radiance

And the apple tree boughs are ablow,

Then the lilacs hang out in the garden

Their clusters of purple and snow."

~ The Poetry of Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lilacs and Roses by Paul DeLongpre

"She had stood at this window in all weathers: when locust and lilac made even ugly little Weston enchanting, and all the windows were open to floods of sweet spring air; when tie dry heat of autumn burned over the world; when the common little houses and barns, and the bare trees, lay dazzling and transfigured…"

~ Mother by Kathleen Norris

"... exactly as I've pictured it," she said. "There is no honeysuckle over the windows, but there is a lilac tree by the gate, and—yes, there are the muslin curtains in the windows. How glad I am …"

~ Anne Of The Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

A Study of Lilac and Roses by Madeleine LeMaire

"And that," said Mary with solemn delight, pointing under a big lilac bush,

"is where he perched on the little heap of earth and showed me the key."

~ The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:

but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

~ Isaiah 40:8

All the fine print…

Book Excerpts from Growing Lilacs, United States Department of Agriculture, Home & Garden Bulletin Number 199

   Thank you to the Graphics Fairy for some of the lovely lilac graphics.

This post may be shared with some or all of the following lovely link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday,  Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you, dear ladies, for hosting these!