Nothing important on Wall Street can be counted on to occur exactly in the same way as it happened before.
Benjamin GrahamThe market is always making mountains out of molehills and exaggerating ordinary vicissitudes into major setbacks.
Benjamin GrahamThe stock market resembles a huge laundry in which institutions take in large blocks of each others washing ... without rhyme or reason.
Benjamin GrahamBuy when most people, including experts, are pessimistic, and sell when they are actively optimistic.
Benjamin GrahamThe defensive (or passive) investor will place chief emphasis on the avoidance of serious mistakes or losses. His second aim will be freedom from effort, annoyance, and the need for making frequent decisions.
Benjamin GrahamThe most realistic distinction between the investor and the speculator is found in their attitude toward stock-market movements. The speculator's primary interest lies in anticipating and profiting from market fluctuations. The investor's primary interest lies in acquiring and holding suitable securities at suitable prices. Market movements are important to him in a practical sense, because they alternately create low price levels at which he would be wise to buy and high price levels at which he certainly should refrain from buying and probably would be wise to sell.
Benjamin Graham