Most of the appearance of mirth in the world is not mirth, it is art. The wounded spirit is not seen, but walks under a disguise.

Defeat should never be a source of discouragement but rather a fresh stimulus.

The seven wise men of Greece, so famous for their wisdom all the world over, acquired all that fame, each of them, by a single sentence consisting of two or three words.

Similes prove nothing, but yet greatly lighten and relieve the tedium of argument.

An Aristotle was but the rubbish of an Adam, and Athens but the rudiments of Paradise.

Guilt upon the conscience, like rust upon iron, both defiles and consumes it, gnawing and creeping into it, as that does which at last eats out the very heart and substance of the metal.

Innocence is like polished armor; it adorns and defends.

Much reading is like much eating -wholly useless without digestion.

The covetous person lives as if the world were made altogether for him, and not he for the world.

Abstinence is the great strengthener and clearer of reason.

An obstacle is often an unrecognized opportunity

I am motivated by thoughts of my sorrowful little client and the screwing that he got. I'm the only lawyer Donny Ray has, and it will take much more than paper to slow me down.

For this is wisdom: to live to take what fate or the Gods may give.

When one looks truly at the good side of everyone, others come to love him very naturally, and he does not need even a speck of flattery.

I feel that if you made your writing too contrived to meet the market, it wouldn't be any good.

Music survives everything, and like God, it is always present. It needs no help, and suffers no hindrance.

Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and feel the wind blowing.

I have come not to teach but to awaken.

Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.

I don't think either team can win it.

The parliament is the supreme decision-making and legislative body in any democracy. It reflects the collective desires of the citizens and makes laws.