The wise man throws himself on the side of his assailants. It is more his interest than it is theirs to find his weak point.

In general, every evil to which we do not succumb is a benefactor. 

At times the whole world seems to be in conspiracy to importune you with emphatic trifles. Friend, client, child, sickness, fear, want, charity, all knock at once at thy closet door and say,—’Come out unto us.’ But keep thy state; come not into their confusion.

God enters by a private door into every individual.

Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble.

God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose.

All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.

Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of everyone of its members.

All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves.

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now

Let us leave hurry to slaves.

Today is a king in disguise.

Grow angry slowly – there’s plenty of time.

The imagination is not a talent of some men but is the health of every man.

I will say, get health. No labor, pains, temperance, poverty, nor exercise, that can gain it, must be grudged.

We don’t grow old. When we cease to grow, we become old.

A foreign country is a point of comparison, where from to judge his own.

The uses of travel are occasional, and short; but the best fruit it finds, when it finds it, is conversation; and this is a main function of life.

He who travels to be amused, or to get somewhat which he does not carry, travels away from himself, and grows old even in youth among old things.

The soul is no traveler; the wise man stays at home, and when his necessities, his duties, on any occasion call him from his house, or into foreign lands, he is at home still.

A man is what he thinks about all day long. 

Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.

Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you.

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.

Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world.

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

Every artist was first an amateur.

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.

We become what we think about all day long.

An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.

Hitch your wagon to a star.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

Our greatest strength lies not in never having fallen, but in rising every time we fall.

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. 

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.

Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.

Imitation is suicide.

Blame is safer than praise.

Great men exist that there may be greater men. 

Live well, learn plenty, laugh often, love much.

Genius is religious.

Give and it shall be given you.

A man is a god in ruins.