Robert Baden-Powell

“ A hunter when he is stalking wild animals keeps himself entirely hidden, so does the war scout when watching or looking for the enemy; a policeman does not catch pickpockets by standing about in uniform watching for them; he dresses like one of the crowd, and as often as not gazes into a shop window and sees all that goes on behind him reflected as if in a looking-glass. ”

“ Two steps to Happiness are: Taking life as a game and giving out Love.
Happiness is not mere pleasure not the outcome of wealth.
It is the result of active work rather than passive enjoyment of pleasure. ”

“ We use, therefore, the study of Nature as a first step to the realisation of the Creator. The dissection of a plant or bird, the observation of the habits of an animal or an insect, or the study of the stars and planets all command the eager interest of the girl, and if properly applied, reveal to her with absorbing force the miracle laws of Nature ”

“ To be a valuable citizen the first qualification is an understanding of the organization and administration of one's government. With more knowledge of the principles for which our government really stands there will come to the thinking American girl a desire to help definitely in the administration of those principles. Real social service will develop every Citizen Scout, give her a broader vision of life, awaken her sympathy and clear her intellect so that when she casts her vote she will do it with intelligence and with civic pride. ”

“ If it is slightly on one side, the wearer is good-natured; if it is worn very much on one side, he is a swaggerer; if on the back of his head, he is bad at paying his debts; if worn straight on the top, he is probably honest but very dull.
The way a man (or a woman) walks is often a good guide to his character—witness the fussy, swaggering little man paddling along with short steps and much arm-action; the nervous man's hurried, jerky stride; the slow slouch of the loafer; the smooth, quick, and silent step of the Scout, and so on. ”

“ But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it, and when your turn comes to die you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. ”

“ That is to say, every day they do a kindness to some one. It does not matter who the person is (so long as it is not themselves) , friend or stranger, man or woman, or child.
And the kindness, or "good turn" need not be a big thing. You can generally get a chance of doing a little kindness in your own home, such as helping your mother or a servant to do some little job about the house; or you can, if away from home, help an old lady to carry her parcel, or take a little child safely across the street, or do something of that sort. ”

“ Well, I want Girl Scouts to learn to be almost like detectives in their sharpness in noticing small signs and reading the meaning of them, not merely for the purpose of studying animals and birds, but also for studying their human fellow creatures.
It is by noticing small signs of distress or poverty in people that you can often help them in the best way. Generally those people who most need help are the ones who hide their distress ”

“ But if once we make it into a formal scheme of serious instruction for efficiency, we miss the whole point and value of the Scout training, and we trench the work of the schools without the trained experts for carrying it out. ”

“ In the Brownie Pack every Brownie obeys the wishes of the leader. So it is in our nation. The Americans are a very big pack, but they have their one chief, the President. To be successful as an army in a battle or as the team in a football match all should obey their captain. If everybody started to play the game in his own way, there would be confusion, and there could be no results. But if we "play the game" according to orders our country will always be successful.
And in the same way, as a Brownie you must obey the Lieutenant of your Eight. ”

“ This body of men must be prepared for every kind of fighting. Sometimes on foot, sometimes on horseback, sometimes in the mountains, often with pioneer work, wading through rivers and making bridges, and so on. But they have to be a skilful lot of men, brave and enduring, ready to turn out at any time, winter or summer, or to sacrifice themselves if necessary in order that peace may reign throughtout India while they keep down any hostile raids against it. ”

“ It is the dreams which we teach them: it is the Utopias which we conceive for them: it is the thoughts which we think for them, which will rebuild the world. Give us the young before the evil has held them and we will create a new Heaven and a new Earth. ”

“ Girls and women with clear heads and adaptability are entering in amazing numbers into business and professional life, proving that their brains are not inferior to those of men. They have been keen to take up new tasks and quick to learn unfamiliar processes and their employers have been generous in acknowledging that skill comes only with practice.
But the authorities found on examining women for their new employments, that the lack was not entirely or fundamentally that of technical training but that a preliminary course was needed particularly in health knowledge and in discipline. ”

“ So don't become a Patrol Leader merely for the swagger of it or the sake of wearing an extra badge or two, but really think whether you are fitted to lead those girls, and take it up with the best of your ability to make good Scouts of them. You have got to command your Patrol; well, you can only command others if you have their confidence, and you can only have their confidence if you have confidence in yourself; you can only have confidence in yourself by knowing your work thoroughly and well. ”

“ That is the aim of our training.
Happy, smiling face, ready resourcefulness and quick intelligence in carrying out any job that may be given is the evidence of keen esprit de corps in the Patrol, are by far the best indications to the inspecting officer as to whether or not true Scout training is practised by the Captain in her Troop.
Give Us the Young!
As Benjamin Kidd has written, let our cry be:———
"Oh! you wise men who would reconstruct the world! Give us the young. Give us the young. Do what you will with the world, only give us the young. ”

“ A Scout's Duty is to be Useful and to Help Others.
She is to do her duty before anything else, even though she gives up her own pleasure, or comfort, or safety to do it. When in difficulty to know which of two things to do, she must ask herself, "Which is my duty?"—that is, "Which is best for other people?"—and do that one. ”

“ Character is largely a matter of environment and training, and, later on, of experience. Undoubtedly the mother's influence gives as a rule the first impetus to character. A mother cannot give that which she does not possess herself. Therefore it is all-important that the mothers of our country should possess character of a high quality in order to inculcate it in their children. Hitherto the girls, some of the future mothers of our race, have had little character training as a direct part of their education. ”

“ Besides worshipping God in church, the knights always recognised His work in the things which He made, such as animals, plants, and scenery. And so it is with the Scouts to-day, that wherever they go they love the woodlands, the mountains, and the prairie, and they like to watch and know about the animals that inhabit them, and the wonders of the flowers and plants. No man is much good, either to himself or to others, unless he believes in God and obeys His laws. So every Scout should have a religion. ”

“ Till it does so it will remain Instruction instead of education. Our object in the Scouts is to supply healthy play and recreation: but play when organised need not be waste of time. In these days we cannot afford, nor is it fair on them, to let children waste time and then to launch them "half-baked" into the sea of life-troubles. The Scout training offers them ideals and activities which supplement, without tiring them, the teaching of the school.
Results and experience of five years shows that the scheme is successful in attracting girls of every class in every part of the world. ”

“ You save every particle of food and in this way you learn not only cleanliness, but thrift and economy. And you very soon realise how cheaply you can live in camp, and how very much enjoyment you can get for very little money. And as you live in the fresh, pure air of God you find that your own thoughts are clean and pure as the air around you. There is hardly one of the Scout Laws that is not better carried out after you have been living and practising it in camp. ”

“ We do not want to trespass on the school teacher's ground nor to adopt school curricula or examination systems. Quite the contrary. The weak point of modern education is that though it recognises the value of more up-to-date subjects it has not yet broken away from old methods in presenting them to the child. ”

“ Instead of being hysterical and useless, she was as cool and ready to do the right thing as if she had been in bomb-raids every day of her life. Well, that is what any girl can do if she only prepares herself for it. ”

“ So the wretched Girl Scouts, when they are forced to play these dull games and to do the terrible hard work of Scouting, need something to cheer them up. All they have to do is to learn a few jingles and to sing them, stamp, bang, or whistle them as they go along, and they are sure to feel the better for it. ”