The period of a [Persian] boy's education is between the ages of five and twenty, and he is taught three things only: to ride, to use the bow, and to speak the truth.

If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.

Men trust their ears less than their eyes.

The secret of success is that it is not the absence of failure, but the absence of envy.

Adversity has the effect of drawing out strength and qualities of a man that would have laid dormant in its absence.

In peace sons bury fathers, but war violates the order of nature, and fathers bury sons.

Egypt is the gift of the Nile.

Where wisdom is called for, force is of little use.

Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.

It is better to be envied than pitied.

All of life is action and passion, and not to be involved in the actions and passions of your time is to risk having not really lived at all.

Embrace your responsibility to dream big.

We hate people who honestly tell us what they think about us. We wish we were what we are not

No use wishing now for any other sin.

Montaigne is wrong in declaring that custom ought to be followed simply because it is custom, and not because it is reasonable or just.

We have to look at our history and realize that if they pretend to be our friend it's because they've got something up their sleeve.

I love what I do, and I only want more. I love the whole process. I love designing, I love figuring out how to make the clothes happen, I love the ad campaigns.

Products made in China are cheap through the exploitation of the workforce. Every time we shop, we are driving the nail further into the coffin of American manufacturing jobs.

A sociologist without an archive is like a person without a memory.

I've never really viewed myself as particularly talented. I've viewed myself as slightly above average in talent.

As I always say, 'Not always right, but never in doubt.'