Let America first praise mediocrity even, in her children, before she praises... the best excellence in the children of any other land.

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.

I am, as I am; whether hideous, or handsome, depends upon who is made judge.

Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed.

Dream tonight of peacock tails, Diamond fields and spouter whales. Ills are many, blessing few, But dreams tonight will shelter you.

Toil is man's allotment; toil of brain, or toil of hands, or a grief that's more than either, the grief and sin of idleness.

Meditation and water are wedded for ever.

I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.

Aye, aye! and I'll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I give him up.

War should be carried on like a monsoon; one changeless determination of every particle towards the one unalterable aim.

The Taj Mahal rises above the banks of the river like a solitary tear suspended on the cheek of time.

When I was first aware that I couldn't read music I didn't know I couldn't read because I could play the music that was in front of me.

It always takes two. For relationships to work, for them to break apart, for them to be fixed.

The goal of forecasting is not to predict the future but to tell you what you need to know to take meaningful action in the present

Our life would be what we made of it--nothing more, nothing less.

Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.

Why do we have to wait for special moments to say nice things or tell people we care about them?

When your ship comes in, make sure you are willing to unload it

In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it.

We have to do more than keep media giants from growing larger; they're already too big. We need a new set of rules that will break these huge companies to pieces.