In an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.

Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.

I desire to go to Hell and not to Heaven. In the former I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings and princes, while in the latter are only beggars, monks and apostles

Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.

A government which does not trust its citizens to be armed is not itself to be trusted.

Men are so stupid and concerned with their present needs, they will always let themselves be deceived.

It is just as difficult and dangerous to try to free a people that wants to remain servile as it is to enslave a people that wants to remain free.

Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good.

A sign of intelligence is an awareness of one's own ignorance.

Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language.

The deeper the sorrow the less tongue it hath.

It is not how old you are, but how you are old.

Whatever crazy sorrow saith, No life that breathes with human breath Has ever truly longed for death.

Tranquillity hides in small spaces, and when found needs to be treasured, because you know it's a phantom that will slip away again.

Man never knows what he wants; he aspires to penetrate mysteries and as soon as he has, wants to re-establish them. Ignorance irritates him and knowledge cloys.

I've been writing my entire life, and I'll always write.

There's a lot of memorization that goes on in school. You memorize vocabulary words and all these sorts of things.

Kids love me because I write stories that tell them about their capacity for evil. I'm one of the few writers who lets you cleanse yourself that way.

It's tough at the top. It's tough at the bottom. But in between you could use them for horse-shoes.