Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.
Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.
Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.
I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.
It is not the length of life, but the depth.
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.
The earth laughs in flowers.
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.
Life is a journey, not a destination.
Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.
Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.
Be not the slave of your own past – plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-respect, with new power, and with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.