Francis Bacon

Small amounts of philosophy lead to atheism, but larger amounts bring us back to God.

If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them.

It is a strange desire, to seek power and lose liberty, or to seek power over others and to lose power over a man’s self. The rising unto place is laborious, and by pains men come to greater pains, and it is sometimes base; and by indignities men come to dignities. The standing is slippery, and the regress is either a downfall or at least an eclipse, which is a melancholy thing.

Judges must beware of hard constructions and strained inferences, for there is no worse torture than that of laws.

A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it.

Nothing destroys authority more than the unequal and untimely interchange of power stretched too far and relaxed too much.

I would be a billionaire if I was looking to be a selfish boss. That’s not me.

I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one’s life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important.

If necessity is the mother of invention, discontent is the father of progress.

We went to theatres and museums with a crowd of bodyguards.

He is richest who is content with the least.

We were afraid of attempts of kidnapping.

No man’s fortune can be an end worthy of his being.

When you have a lot of resources, the most important thing is to have had good parents and to have been brought up by people who gave one the proper values.

Much corporate giving is charitable in nature rather than philanthropic.

I think it’s sad when people make a lot of money and they want the biggest boat or the biggest car or the biggest plane.

I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute.

My life with Roman was not the fairytale that the papers reported.

Philanthropy is involved with basic innovations that transform society, not simply maintaining the status quo or filling basic social needs that were formerly the province of the public sector.

Abramovich’s got six yachts which are just gigantic and you think, ‘What a waste of money. He could transform so many people’s lives if he put that money to good use.

You know, gentlemen, that I do not owe any personal income tax. But nevertheless, I send a small check, now and then, to the Internal Revenue Service out of the kindness of my heart.