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Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 –1936) was an English writer,[philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox" Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brown,] and wrote on apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognized the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man. Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and eventually converted to Roman Catholicism from high church Anglicanism. 

Aesop (620 – 564 BC) Greek fabulist and story teller

Image: Diego Velazquez - Asoep | Museo Del Prado

"Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love"

Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was an American Reformed theologian, political activist ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor. Niebuhr was one of America's leading public intellectuals of the 20th century and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. A public theologian, he wrote and spoke frequently about the intersection of religion, politics, and public policy, with his most influential books including Moral Man and Immoral Society and The Nature and Destiny of Man. Niebuhr battled with religious liberals over what he called their naïve views of the contradictions of human nature and the optimism of the Social Gospel, and battled with religious conservatives over what he viewed as their naïve view of scripture and their narrow definition of "true religion". More

Charles Kingsley (1819 – 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working men's college, and forming labour cooperatives, which failed, but encouraged later working reforms.
Source: Britannica

Old Proverb: Most all things come with conditions, albeit hidden or unseen.

Neil Postman (1931 –  2003) was an American author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic.  He is best known for his books regarding technology and education, including Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), Conscientious Objections (1988), Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (1992), The Disappearance of Childhood (1982) and The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School (1995). He also wrote about postmodernism, semantics, linguistics, and technopolies.

Sources: Wikipedia, NeilPostman.org

Samuel Johnson (1709 -1784), was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. He was a devout Anglican and a committed Tory. Tall and robust, he displayed gestures and tics that disconcerted some on meeting him. Johnson's behavior and mannerisms have been documented in such detail by Boswell and other biographers that they have informed the posthumous diagnosis of Tourette syndrome, a condition not defined or diagnosed until late in the 19th century. ~ Quote Source: Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia ~ Wikipedia

Old proverb expressing the idea that convincing another person is best done by appealing to the interests of that person and not with reasoning skill or abstract motivations. Benjamin Franklin expressed it in a more concise form in the 1734 Poor Richard's Almanac: "Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason"

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)  British politician, army officer, and writer.

Freya Madeline Stark DBE (1893 – 1993), was a British-Italian explorer and travel writer. For her ninth birthday, Stark received a copy of One Thousand and One Nights and became fascinated with the Orient. She studied Arabic and later, Persian at Bedford College, London and the School of Oriental and African Studies. She wrote more than two dozen books on her travels in the Middle East and Afghanistan as well as several autobiographical works and essays. She was one of the first non-Arabs known to travel through the southern Arabian Desert in modern times.  ~ Quote Source: The Journey's Echo by Freya Stark

John O'Donohue (1956 - 2008) was an Irish poet, philosopher and scholar, a native Gaelic speaker. He wrote numerous international best-selling books including: Anam Cara, Beauty, Eternal Echoes, and Benedictus: A Book of Blessings- Published in the US as To Bless the Space Between Us. John O'Donohue Official Website.

Quote source: Excerpt from a radio interview with American journalist Krista Tippett had with him, "On Being," 

“For what it’s worth..... it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again”

Source: From a short story Fitzgerald wrote in 1922 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, from which the 2008 film of the same name was adapted.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer.  During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.