Aphorisms
(page 25)
The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.
Two things awe me most, the starry sky above me and the moral law within me.
Silence is a true friend who never betrays.
Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.
Misery loves company.
Friendship is the marriage of the soul, and this marriage is liable to divorce.
The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?
The coward only threatens when he is safe.
Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.
Integrity is the essence of everything successful.
Some animals are cunning and evil-disposed, as the fox; others, as the dog, are fierce, friendly, and fawning. Some are gentle and easily tamed, as the elephant; some are susceptible of shame, and watchful, as the goose. Some are jealous and fond of ornament, as the peacock.
Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change.
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them.
No trace of slavery ought to mix with the studies of the freeborn man. No study, pursued under compulsion, remains rooted in the memory.