In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run it is a weighing machine.

It is no difficult trick to bring a great deal of energy, study, and native ability into Wall Street and to end up with losses instead of profits. These virtues, if channeled in the wrong directions, become indistinguishable from handicaps.

Confusing speculation with investment is always a mistake.

As in roulette, same is true of the stock trader, who will find that the expense of trading weights the dice heavily against him.

The underlying principles of sound investment should not alter from decade to decade, but the application of these principles must be adapted to significant changes in the financial mechanisms and climate.

The chief losses to investors come from the purchase of low-quality securities at times of favorable business conditions.

The determining trait of the enterprising (or active, or aggressive) investor is his willingness to devote time and care to the selection of securities that are both sound and more attractive than the average.