Scotland by no means escaped the fate ordained for every country which is connected, but not incorporated, with another country of greater resources.

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

To sum up the whole, we should say that the aim of the Platonic philosophy was to exalt man into a god.

It is possible to be below flattery as well as above it. One who trusts nobody will not trust sycophants. One who does not value real glory will not value its counterfeit.

Finesse is the best adaptation of means to circumstances.

People crushed by law have no hopes but from power. If laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to laws.

I would rather be poor in a cottage full of books than a king without the desire to read.

The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.

Ye diners out from whom we guard our spoons.

Nothing is so galling to a people not broken in from birth as a paternal, or, in other words, a meddling government, a government which tells them what to read, and say, and eat, and drink and wear.

Your Constitution is all sail and no anchor.

If we need the protection of men, let us first ask it from God. If we prevail with Him, the power of the most mighty and of the most wicked must minister to our relief.

When we hear the bird sing, it hears only how to love. (Quand on entend l'oiseau chanter, - Lui n'entend que comment aimer.)

Making a film, I've learned, can be an exhausting process, due to the need for backing, distribution, etc.

Those who are unjust in one Thing, will be so in others.

Your reason is your friend. It defends the island of your awareness. But you don't want your reason to rule everything.

The present stage redefines the possibilities of man and nature in accordance with the new means available for their realization.

Health ... is the first and greatest of all blessings.

I believe that the truth with a capital T is at the center of all the great religious teachings.

But because truly being here is so much; because everything here apparently needs us, this fleeting world, which in some strange way keeps calling to us. Us, the most fleeting of all.

By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done