I defy you to agitate any fellow with a full stomach.

You never know what you can do till you try.

It is by attempting to reach the top at a single leap that so much misery is caused in the world.

Sit down to write what you have thought, and not to think what you shall write.

If the people of Sheffield could only receive a tenth part of what their knives sell for by retail in America, Sheffield might pave its streets with silver.

Men fail much oftener from want of perseverance than from want of talent.

Never esteem men on account of their riches or their station. Respect goodness, find it where you may.

Nothing is so well calculated to produce a death-like torpor in the country as an extended system of taxation and a great national debt.

The power which money gives is that of brute force; it is the power of the bludgeon and the bayonet.

Men of integrity are generally pretty obstinate, in adhering to an opinion once adopted.

I was a countryman and a father before I was a writer on political subjects... Born and bred up in the sweet air myself, I was resolved that my children should be bred up in it too.

The misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never happen.

Those who really value Ukrainian sovereignty should opt for real independence and a positive neutrality: neither a plaything of the West nor Moscow.

It is better to travel well than to arrive.

Nature hides her secrets because of her essential loftiness, but not by means of ruse.

A monk asks:Is there anything more miraculous than the wonders of nature?The master answers:Yes, your awareness of the wonders of nature.

Everyone can afford to give away a smile.

Even though I really admire what Beyonce does, and she's probably got one of the best live shows in the world - honestly! - that's so not my style.

If I found Yoko Ono floating in my pool, I'd punish my dog.

Yes, but also one of the problems for a novelist in Ireland is the fact that there are no formal manners. I mean some people have beautiful manners but there's no kind of agreed form of manners.

A man will always promise to do more than he can do to a woman he cannot understand.