Francis Bacon

Seek ye first the good things of the mind, and the rest will either be supplied or its loss will not be felt.

Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion.

Life, an age to the miserable, and a moment to the happy.

Speech of yourself ought to be seldom and well chosen.

Riches are for spending.

He that hath knowledge spareth his words.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to prepare for the long haul, the rise and fall, and let neither define your sense of self.

Necessity is the mother of taking chances.

Nowadays the host does not admit you to his hearth, but has got the mason to build one for yourself somewhere in his alley, and hospitality is the art of keeping you at the greatest distance.

You get a reputation for stability if you are stable for years.

Every man is an impossibility until he is born.

The greatest genius is the most indebted person.

I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.

The hues of the opal, the light of the diamond, are not to be seen if the eye is too near.

Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.

Measure your health by your sympathy with morning and spring. If there is no response in you to the awakening of nature – if the prospect of an early morning walk does not banish sleep, if the warble of the first bluebird does not thrill you – know that the morning and spring of your life are past. Thus may you feel your pulse.

Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

Shame arises from the fear of men, conscience from the fear of God.

I do not like work even when someone else does it.

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.

The flowery style is not unsuitable to public speeches or addresses, which amount only to compliment. The lighter beauties are in their place when there is nothing more solid to say; but the flowery style ought to be banished from a pleading, a sermon, or a didactic work.