Suffering by nature or chance never seems so painful as suffering inflicted on us by the arbitrary will of another.

To read a book is to hold an entire world in the palm of your hand. That world is unique to you; no two readers can ever inhabit the same world

Pride is an established conviction of one’s own paramount worth in some particular respect, while vanity is the desire of rousing such a conviction in others, and it is generally accompanied by the secret hope of ultimately coming to the same conviction oneself. Pride works from within; it is the direct appreciation of oneself. Vanity is the desire to arrive at this appreciation indirectly, from without.

It would be better if there were nothing. Since there is more pain than pleasure on earth, every satisfaction is only transitory, creating new desires and new distresses, and the agony of the devoured animal is always far greater than the pleasure of the devourer

Pride is generally censured and decried, but mainly by those who have nothing to be proud of.

If a man wants to read good books, he must make a point of avoiding bad ones; for life is short, and time and energy limited.

The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, the man of talent is driven by it.