William Penn

I desire to gain your Love and Friendship by a kind, Just and Peaceful Life.

All excess is ill, but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is quarrelsome, lascivious, impudent, dangerous and bad.

Only trust theyself, and another shall noet betray thee

Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants.

O Lord, help me not to despise or oppose what I do not understand.

Have wholesome, but not costly Food, and be rather cleanly than dainty in ordering it.

In fine, he that is drunk is not a Man: Because he is so long void of Reason, that distinguishes a Man from a Beast.

Let us consider that we are all partially insane. It will explain us to each other; it will unriddle many riddles; it will make clear and simple many things which are involved in haunting and harassing difficulties and obscurities now.

Good men must not obey the laws too well.

Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.

Genius always finds itself a century too early.

Revolutions have never lightened the burden of tyranny: they have only shifted it to another shoulder.

There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.

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

A wicked fellow is the most pious when he takes to it. He’ll beat you all at piety.

Hunger is never delicate; they who are seldom gorged to the full with praise may be safely fed with gross compliments, for the appetite must be satisfied before it is disgusted.

No one ever became great by imitation.

All excess is ill, but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is quarrelsome, lascivious, impudent, dangerous and bad.

Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other.

I never could keep a promise. I do not blame myself for this weakness, because the fault must lie in my physical organization. It is likely that such a very liberal amount of space was given to the organ which enables me to make promises that the organ which should enable me to keep them was crowded out. But I grieve not. I like no half-way things. I had rather have one faculty nobly developed than two faculties of mere ordinary capacity.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.