Now I believe I can hear the philosophers protesting that it can only be misery to live in folly, illusion, deception and ignorance, but it isn't -it's human.

What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.

Apothegms are in history, the same as pearls in the sand, or gold in the mine.

To know nothing is the happiest life.

Read first the best books. The important thing for you is not how much you know, but the quality of what you know.

What passes out of one's mouth passes into a hundred ears. It is a great misfortune not to have sense enough to speak well.

Picture the prince, such as most of them are today: a man ignorant of the law, well-nigh an enemy to his people's advantage, while intent on his personal convenience, a dedicated voluptuary, a hater of learning, freedom and truth, without a thought for the interests of his country, and measuring everything in terms of his own profit and desires.