There are friendships merely for pleasure, some for the exchange of ideas. Rarest are those friends of one's inmost self.

The sage has one advantage: he is immortal. If this is not his century, many others will be.

Don't express your ideas too clearly. Most people think little of what they understand, and venerate what they do not.

Help others solve their problems; standing farther away, you can often see matters more clearly than they do. . . The greatest service you can render someone else is helping him or her help themselves.

True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island... to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.

Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong.

You have to appear wiser and more prudent than is required by the people you are dealing with if you want to give a high opinion of yourself.