Reason is not measured by size or height but by principle.
Difficulties are things that show what men are.
Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.
If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, “He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone”.
Any one thing in the creation is sufficient to demonstrate a Providence to an humble and grateful mind.
Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.
The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing.
The good or ill of a man lies within his own will.
One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent.
Only the educated are free.
He is a drunkard who takes more than three glasses though he be not drunk.
Try not to react merely in the moment. Pull back from the situation. Take a wider view. Compose yourself.
Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.
Don't seek for everything to happen as you wish it would, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will – then your life will flow well.
You may be always victorious if you will never enter into any contest where the issue does not wholly depend upon yourself.
It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.
Forgiveness is better than revenge, for forgiveness is the sign of a gentle nature, but revenge is the sign of a savage nature.
We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral.
Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public.
Know, first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.
Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.
The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.
Contentment comes not so much from great wealth as from few wants.
If you wish to be a writer, write.
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.
We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.
Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.
People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them.
There is nothing good or evil save in the will.
A little wisp of soul carrying a corpse.
If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.
Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed.
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.
It takes more than just a good looking body. You've got to have the heart and soul to go with it.
Man is troubled not by events but by the meaning he gives them.
A man that seeks truth and loves it must be reckoned precious to any human society.
Whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit.
If you do not wish to be prone to anger do not feed the habit give it nothing which may tend to its increase.
There are some things which men confess with ease and others with difficulty.
Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.
No great thing is created suddenly.
Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.
Preach not to others what they should eat but eat as becomes you and be silent.
It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them.
To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete.
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
Remember never to say that you are alone, for you are not alone; nay, God is within, and your genius is within.
