At court one becomes a sort of human ant eater, and learns to catch one's prey by one's tongue.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonHe who esteems trifles for themselves is a trifler; he who esteems them for the conclusions to be drawn from them, or the advantage to which they can be put, is a philosopher.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonPatience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonWhat men want is not talent, it is purpose; in other words, not the power to achieve, but the will to labor.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonOf all the weaknesses little men rail against, there is none that they are more apt to ridicule than the tendency to believe. And of all the signs of a corrupt heart and a feeble head, the tendency of incredulity is the surest. Real philosophy seeks rather to solve than to deny.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton