We part more easily with what we possess, than with our expectations of what we wish for; because expectation always goes beyond enjoyment.

The truly generous is the truly wise, and he who loves not others lives unblest!

Such is the power of imagination, that even a chimerical pleasure in expectation affects us more than a solid pleasure in possession.

Logic is the art of thinking well: the mind, like the body, requires to be trained before it can use its powers in the most advantageous way.

Luxury possibly may contribute to give bread to the poor; but if there were no luxury, there would be no poor.

Were wisdom to be sold, she would give no price; every man is satisfied with the share he has from nature.

Parsimony is enough to make the master of the golden mines as poor as he that has nothing; for a man may be brought to a morsel of bread by parsimony as well as profusion.

Men are guided less by conscience than by glory; and yet the shortest way to glory is to be guided by conscience.

To a zealot every one of his own sect is a saint, while the most upright of a different sect are to him children of perdition.

Ridicule, which chiefly arises from pride, a selfish passion, is but at best a gross pleasure, too rough an entertainment for those who are highly polished and refined.

No man ever did a designed injury to another, but at the same time he did a greater to himself.

Most people spend their entire lives just trying to live life

It's through the small things that we develop our moral imagination, so that we can understand the sufferings of others.

O, I have read his Heart in his wicked eyes many a time. The very devil is in them.

By concentrating on precision, one arrives at technique, but by concentrating on technique one does not arrive at precision.

I want so much to believe in true love.

I'm sure Sting's a lovely guy. It's just that nobody wants to be seen as that holier-than-thou thing. That over-earnestness is a bit of a problem with people in bands and celebrities or whatever.

Are those cat hairs on your lapel, or have you been dating a blonde with a crew cut?

The life-force may be the least understood force on earth.

Do what you do don't let the label tell you to do something else.

I'm tryna put out the right stuff and just do me and not pay attention to who's hating and who's loving me and make the music I love to make, and make it the best I can.