Francis Bacon

Suspicions that the mind, of itself, gathers, are but buzzes; but suspicions that are artificially nourished and put into men’s heads by the tales and whisperings of others, have stings.

The great advantages of simulation and dissimulation are three. First to lay asleep opposition and to surprise. For where a man’s intentions are published, it is an alarum to call up all that are against them. The second is to reserve a man’s self a fair retreat: for if a man engage himself, by a manifest declaration, he must go through, or take a fall. The third is, the better to discover the mind of another. For to him that opens himself, men will hardly show themselves adverse; but will fair let him go on, and turn their freedom of speech to freedom of thought.

Prosperity discovers vice, adversity discovers virtue.

The desire of excessive power caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge caused men to fall.

God’s first creature, which was light.

Nakedness is uncomely, as well in mind as body, and it addeth no small reverence to men’s manners and actions if they be not altogether open. Therefore set it down: That a habit of secrecy is both politic and moral.

The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year.

When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult.

I hate a fellow whom pride, or cowardice, or laziness drives into a corner, and who does nothing when he is there but sit and growl; let him come out as I do, and bark.

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.

We want a few mad people now. See where the sane ones have landed us!

Only a man’s character is the real criterion of worth.

Think of and look at your work as though it were done by your enemy. I you look at it to admire it, you are lost.

Logic is like the sword

Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.

Depend upon it that if a man talks of his misfortunes there is something in them that is not disagreeable to him; for where there is nothing but pure misery there never is any recourse to the mention of it.

How many are the things I can do without!

We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.

There was never a century nor a country that was short of experts who knew the Deity’s mind and were willing to reveal it.