It is not, of course, the subject that is or isn't dull, but the quality of attention that we do or do not pay to it. Dull subjects are those we have failed.

The difficulties, hardships and trials of life, the obstacles... are positive blessings. They knit the muscles more firmly, and teach self-reliance.

The same disappointments in life will chasten and refine one man's spirit, embitter another's.

Be methodical if you would succeed in business, or in anything. Have a work for every moment, and mind the moment's work.

The smallest thing, well done, becomes artistic.

One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth one hundred shallow faculties.

Unless a man has trained himself for his chance, the chance will only make him ridiculous.

As frost, raised to its utmost intensity, produces the sensation of fire, so any good quality, overwrought and pushed to excess, turns into its own contrary.

The petty cares, the minute anxieties, the infinite littles which go to make up the sum of human experience, like the invisible granules of powder, give the last and highest polish to a character.

Criminals are opportunists. If you've got a booming market, they're going to get away with more fraud.

The power of music that poetry lacks is the ability to persuade without argument.

When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.

slow down, oh sweet tearsflowing nectar...down my lashes' tipssomedaysomeone will kiss you away, even before you can reach my lips.

“To think the way you do,” he said smiling, “you have to be a man who lives either on a tremendous despair, or on a tremendous hope.” “On both, perhaps.”

We have freedom to demonstrate in Germany, but there is no place for incitement and insulting people who come to us from other countries.

Justin Timberlake is terrific in this film. I told him it's time to stop singing.

Anyone interested in language ends up writing about the sociological issues around it.

Your destiny is not determined by your critics. Focus on running your own race.

Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting.

Many people see Eva Peron as either a saint or the incarnation of Satan. That means I definitely can identify with her.

My brothers were my peers, but they were not the preeminent male figures in my emotional life.