It is very easy in the world to live by the opinion of the world. It is very easy in solitude to be self-centered. But the finished man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.
I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.
Fortitude is the marshal of thought, the armor of the will, and the fort of reason.
The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.
Perpetual modernness is the measure of merit in every work of art.
We need much less than we think we need.
You cannot dream yourself into a character you must hammer and forge yourself into one.
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another.
As Puppets are to Men, and Babies to Children, so is Man’s Workmanship to God’s: We are the Picture, he the Reality.
Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it. Martyrdom is the test.
Watch what you say, and whatever you say, practice it.
The wise man applauds he who he thinks most virtuous; the rest of the world applauds the wealthy.
I have a higher and grander standard of principle than George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won’t.
So far as a person thinks; they are free.
The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.
He that has more knowledge than judgment, is made for another man’s use more than his own.
He that gives good advice builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example builds with both.
The report of my death was an exaggeration.
You are perfect. An exquisitely fine work of art, labor of love, suspended in silence. Bejeweled, trembling, kissed by a breeze, mesmerized by your beauty. You await in silence, beckoning me to a silken-wrapped slumber.
The reward of one’s duty is the power to fulfill another.
