Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.

To live is not merely to breathe; it is to act; it is to make use of our organs, senses, faculties - of all those parts of ourselves which give us the feeling of existence

The very essence of instinct is that it's followed independently of reason.

You want a love which is born out of meditation, not born out of the mind.

I know I am but mortal and so therewhilst prepare myself for death, whensoever it shall please God to send it.

Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

Love make us poets, and the approach of death should make us philosophers.

Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.

But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.

To me, being an intellectual doesn't mean knowing about intellectual issues; it means taking pleasure in them.

Everything excellent is as difficult as it is rare.

If you don't know where you're from, you'll have a hard time saying where you're going.

There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.

To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

Never ruin an apology with an excuse.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence.

If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave.

An intelligent hell would be better than a stupid paradise.

Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination.

Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that's no reason not to give it.