The first thing you'll have to do, is the last thing you wished.

Better beggar woman and single than Queen and married.

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

A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.

The greatest power we have is the power of choice.

It is hard to fight desire; but to control it is the sign of a reasonable man.

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

It is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

Obsession is the wellspring of genius and madness.

Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.

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

Compassion is the basis of morality.

Learned we may be with another man's learning: we can only be wise with wisdom of our own.

I have had good experience and trial of this world...I know what it is to be a subject, what to be a sovereign, what to have good neighbours, and sometimes meet evil willers. I have found treason in trust, seen great benefits little regarded.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Men become wise just as they become rich, more by what they save than by what they receive.

It was a melancholy secret that reality can arouse desires but never satisfy them.

We never see ourselves as others see us.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.