We think highly of men when we do not know the extent of their capabilities, for we always suppose that more exists when we only see half.

Pettiness of mind, ignorance and presumption are the cause of stubbornness, because stubborn people only want to believe what they themselves can imagine, and they can imagine very few things.

To be too dissatisfied with ourselves is a weakness. To be too satisfied with ourselves is a stupidity.

It is a singular characteristic of love that we cannot hide it where it exists, or pretend it where it does not exist.

We prefer people who are trying to imitate us more than those who are trying to equal us. This is because imitation is a sign of esteem, but the desire to equal others is a sign of envy.

Honest and sincere acts mislead the wicked and cause them to lose their path to their own goals, because mean-spirited people usually believe that people never act without deceit.

It is vain and useless to survey everything that goes on in the world if our study does not help us mend our ways.

Sometimes we praise the way things used to be in order to blame the present, and we esteem what is no longer in order to scorn what is.

Mean-spirited mediocrities, especially those with a smattering of learning, are the most likely to be opinionated. Only strong minds know how to correct their opinions and abandon a bad position.

Even the best-natured people, if uninstructed, are always blind and uncertain. We must take pains to instruct ourselves so that ignorance makes us neither too timid nor too bold.

Criticism should awaken our attention, not inflame our anger. We should listen to, and not flee from, those who contradict us. Truth should be our cause, no matter in what manner it comes to us.

You can experience the same thing over and over again but how you feel about it will never be the same as the first.

I'm Jewish, so I don't know much about Easter eggs.

During my 2004 presidential campaign, I was fond of saying that it was high time for the Christian right to meet the right Christians.

Europe is not a bright spot; it's all tangled up in its knickers with all that regulation.

We are saved from nothing if we are not saved from sin.

When I'm making a film, I'm the audience.

The benefits of studying abroad are almost endless.

We live, I think, in the century of science and, perhaps, even in the century of physics.

I came across awful characters when I got some kind of status and came to Hollywood. Then you have directors trying to sleep with you, assuming that you will do things because of the way you dress.

Politics is tricky; it cuts both ways. Every time you make a choice, it has unintended consequences.