Cultivation of mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence.

Dignity does not consist in possessing honours, but in deserving them.

People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.

A man is not rightly conditioned until he is a happy, healthy, and prosperous being; and happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a harmonious adjustment of the inner with the outer of the man with his surroundings.

Everywhere man blames nature and fate yet his fate is mostly but the echo of his character and passion, his mistakes and his weaknesses.

To live alone is the fate of all great souls.

I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people.

Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

As far as I knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, Black men desired them and Black women worked for them.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.

A people and their religion must be judged by social standards based on social ethics. No other standard would have any meaning if religion is held to be necessary good for the well-being of the people.

A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.

A man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

There are four million different kinds of animals and plants in the world. That’s four million solutions to the problem of staying alive.

Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission

Poverty is... Curable like any disease. Ignorance, dependence, inefficiency, laziness, want of the spirit of enterprise are the real real causes of poverty.

Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.

We need more light about each other. Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity.