The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.

The test of good manners is to be patient with the bad ones.

The beginning of wisdom is to desire it.

Man is wise only while in search of wisdom; when he imagines he has attained it, he is a fool.

Kings may be judges of the earth, but wise men are the judges of kings.

As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

Plan for this world as if you expect to live forever; but plan for the hereafter as if you expect to die tomorrow.

As long as a word remains unspoken, you are its master; once you utter it, you are its slave.

If you want to keep something concealed from your enemy, don't disclose it to your friend.

There are three types of friends: those like food without which you can't live those like medicine which you need occasionally and those like an illness which you never want.

The Sage was asked to define good manners? to which he replied, To bear patiently the rude ones.

some soap opera, you know, real people pretending to be fake people with made-up problems being watched by real people to forget their real problems.

The secret protects itself. It is found only in the spirit and practice of the Work.

Government is a trust and the officers of the government are trustees and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.

Courage is a value. My faith is the organizing principle in my life and what underpins my faith is courage and love, and so I have to be in the arena if I'm going to live in alignment with my values.

Success never needs an excuse.

Go do the right thing.

To me, beauty is a lived thing.

I get a trickling few scripts that I'm lucky enough that some of them are great. I don't get loads of scripts.

A poet's work consists less in seeking words for his ideas than in seeking ideas for his words and predominant rhythms.

Alexander Hamilton originated the put and take system in our national treasury: the taxpayers put it in, and the politicians take it out