Francis Bacon

Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried, or childless men.

Acorns were good until bread was found.

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

I had rather believe all the Fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a Mind.

He that hath knowledge spareth his words.

People have discovered that they can fool the devil; but they can’t fool the neighbors.

All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. The fight to the finish spirit is the one… characteristic we must posses if we are to face the future as finishers.

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.

Courage consists in equality to the problem before us.

The most advanced nations are always those who navigate the most.

Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.

I would not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well.

When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it.

Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Moms. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.

A man’s wife has more power over him than the state has.

It happened once that a youth and a maiden beheld each other in a public assembly for the first time

We must hold a man amenable to reason for the choice of his daily craft or profession. It is not an excuse any longer for his deeds that they are the custom of his trade. What business has he with an evil trade?

All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.

Few of us have vitality enough to make any of our instincts imperious.

Our humanity is a poor thing, except for the divinity that stirs within us.