I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest who complained of bad luck.

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.

We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.

The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.

Some men are like pyramids, which are very broad where they touch the ground, but grow narrow as they reach the sky.

As for marigolds, poppies, hollyhocks, and valorous sunflowers, we shall never have a garden without them, both for their own sake, and for the sake of old-fashioned folks, who used to love them.

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.

The thistle is a prince. Let any man that has an eye for beauty take a view of the whole plant, and where will he see a more expressive grace and symmetry; and where is there a more kingly flower?

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.

He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.

Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.

Life is hard. People can't be trusted. Vigilance is key. Be wise about whom you love, and when you do love, do it with every fiber of your being...'til death do you part.

Blue eyes say "Love me or I die" black eyes say "Love me or I kill thee."

You can't make love without art.

The study of mathematics, like the Nile, begins in minuteness but ends in magnificence.

At the age of thirty-five, I have just begun to become the kind of person who could understand the kind of book I would want to write.

the artist is not separate from the work and therefore cannot judge it.

I do not believe that the Good Lord plays dice.

This is the sleep: being absent, being not present to the present moment, being somewhere else.

A child from the age of 2 or 3 absorbs what is in the environment and what generates hatred for anyone perceived to be different.

When it is not possible to reason with holy warriors, it is necessary to immobilize them or crush them.